The Prophet Acknowledges
Woe is me! For I amLike the fruit pickers, like the agrape gatherers.There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,Or a bfirst-ripe fig which 1I crave.Lit my soulIs 24:13Is 28:4; Hos 9:102 The 1godly person has aperished from the land,And there is no upright person among men.All of them lie in wait for bbloodshed;Each of them hunts the other with a cnet.Or loyalIs 57:1Is 59:7; Mic 3:10Jer 5:26; Hos 5:13 Concerning evil, both hands do it awell.The prince asks, also the judge, for a bbribe,And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;So they weave it together.Prov 4:16, 17Amos 5:12; Mic 3:114 The best of them is like a abriar,The most upright like a bthorn hedge.The day when you post your watchmen,Your cpunishment will come.Then their dconfusion will occur.Ezek 2:6; 28:24Nah 1:10Is 10:3; Hos 9:7Is 22:55 Do not atrust in a neighbor;Do not have confidence in a friend.From her who lies in your bosomGuard 1your lips.Lit openings of your mouthJer 9:46 For ason treats father contemptuously,Daughter rises up against her mother,Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;bA man’s enemies are the men of his own household.Matt 10:21, 35; Luke 12:53Matt 10:36
God Is the Source of Salvation and Light
7 But as for me, I will awatch expectantly for the LORD;I will bwait for the God of my salvation.My cGod will hear me.Hab 2:1Ps 130:5; Is 25:9Ps 4:38 aDo not rejoice over me, O bmy enemy.Though I fall I will crise;Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a dlight for me.Prov 24:17; Obad 12Mic 7:10Amos 9:11Is 9:2
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORDBecause I have sinned against Him,Until He apleads my case and executes justice for me.He will bring me out to the blight,And I will see His 1crighteousness.I.e. right dealingJer 50:34Ps 37:6; Is 42:7, 16Is 46:13; 56:110 Then my enemy will see,And shame will cover her who asaid to me,“Where is the LORD your God?”My eyes will look on her;1At that time she will 2be btrampled downLike mire of the streets.Lit NowLit become a trampled placeJoel 2:17Is 51:23; Zech 10:511 It will be a day for abuilding your walls.On that day will your boundary be extended.Is 54:11; Amos 9:1112 It will be a day when 1they will acome to youFrom Assyria and the cities of Egypt,From Egypt even to the 2Euphrates,Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.Lit heLit RiverIs 19:23-25; 60:4, 913 And the earth will become adesolate because of her inhabitants,On account of the bfruit of their deeds.Jer 25:11; Mic 6:13Is 3:10, 11; Mic 3:4
14 aShepherd Your people with Your bscepter,The flock of Your 1possessionWhich dwells by itself in the woodland,In the midst of 2a fruitful field.Let them feed in cBashan and GileaddAs in the days of old.Or inheritanceOr CarmelPs 95:7; Is 40:11; 49:10; Mic 5:4Lev 27:32; Ps 23:4Jer 50:19Amos 9:1115 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,I will show 1ayou miracles.”Lit himEx 3:20; 34:10; Ps 78:1216 Nations awill see and be ashamedOf all their might.They will bput their hand on their mouth,Their ears will be deaf.Is 26:11Mic 3:717 They will alick the dust like a serpent,Like breptiles of the earth.They will come ctrembling out of their 1fortresses;To the LORD our God they will come in ddreadAnd they will be afraid before You.Lit fastnessesPs 72:9; Is 49:23Deut 32:24Ps 18:45Is 25:3; 59:1918 Who is a God like You, who apardons iniquityAnd passes over the rebellious act of the bremnant of His 1possession?He does not cretain His anger forever,Because He ddelights in 2unchanging love.Or inheritanceOr lovingkindnessEx 34:7, 9; Is 43:25Mic 2:12; 4:7; 5:7, 8Ps 103:8, 9, 13Jer 32:4119 He will again have compassion on us;aHe will tread our iniquities under foot.Yes, You will bcast all 1their sinsInto the depths of the sea.Several ancient versions read ourJer 50:20Is 38:17; 43:25; Jer 31:3420 You will give 1atruth to JacobAnd 2unchanging love to Abraham,Which You bswore to our forefathersFrom the days of old.Or faithfulnessOr lovingkindnessGen 24:27; 32:10Deut 7:8, 12