Micah 7

¹Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; my soul desireth the firstripe fig. ²The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. ³Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is readyfor a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the mischief of his soul: thus they weave it together. ⁴The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is worsethan a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. ⁵Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. ⁶For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. ⁷But as for me, I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. ⁸Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. ⁹I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him; until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, andI shall behold his righteousness. ¹⁰Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her; which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? Mine eyes shall behold her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. ¹¹A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the decree be far removed. ¹²In that day shall they come unto thee, from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and frommountain to mountain. ¹³Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. ¹⁴Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. ¹⁵As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvelous things. ¹⁶The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. ¹⁷They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places: they shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, and shall be afraid because of thee. ¹⁸Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ¹⁹He will turn again and have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. ²⁰Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, andthe mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.