1. Woe is me! For I am Like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers. There is not a cluster of grapes to eat, Or a first-ripe fig which I crave.
2. The godly person has perished from the land, And there is no upright person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; Each of them hunts the other with a net.
3. Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the desire of his soul; So they weave it together.
4. The best of them is like a briar, The most upright like a thorn hedge. The day when you post your watchmen, Your punishment will come. Then their confusion will occur.
5. Do not trust in a neighbor; Do not have confidence in a friend. From her who lies in your bosom Guard your lips.
6. For son treats father contemptuously, Daughter rises up against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man's enemies are the men of his own household.
7. But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
8. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.
9. I will bear the indignation of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness.
10. Then my enemy will see, And shame will cover her who said to me, "Where is the Lord your God?" My eyes will look on her; At that time she will be trampled down Like mire of the streets.
11. It will be a day for building your walls. On that day will your boundary be extended.