| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires. | 1I am depressed! Indeed, it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered, and the grapes have been harvested. There is no grape cluster to eat, no fresh figs that I crave so much. |
| 2The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net. | 2Faithful men have disappeared from the land; there are no godly men left. They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; they hunt their own brother with a net. |
| 3That they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together. | 3They are determined to be experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. |
| 4The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity. | 4The best of them is like a thorn; the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen--your appointed time of punishment--is on the way, and then you will experience confusion. |
| 5Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom. | 5Do not rely on a friend; do not trust a companion! Don't even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! |
| 6For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household. | 6For a son thinks his father is a fool, a daughter challenges her mother, and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are his own servants. |
| 7Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. | 7But I will keep watching for the LORD; I will wait for the God who delivers me. My God will hear my lament. |
| 8Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me. | 8My enemies, do not gloat over me! Though I have fallen, I will get up. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. |
| 9I 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 forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. | 9I must endure the LORD's anger, for I have sinned against him. But then he will defend my cause, and accomplish justice on my behalf. He will lead me out into the light; I will experience firsthand his deliverance. |
| 10Then she who is my enemy will see, And shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; Now she will be trampled down Like mud in the streets. | 10When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame. They say to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" I will gloat over them. Then they will be trampled down like mud in the streets. |
| 11In the day when your walls are to be built, In that day the decree shall go far and wide. | 11It will be a day for rebuilding your walls; in that day your boundary will be extended. |
| 12In that day they shall come to you From Assyria and the fortified cities, From the fortress to the River, From sea to sea, And mountain to mountain. | 12In that day people will come to you from Assyria as far as Egypt, from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, from the seacoasts and the mountains. |
| 13Yet the land shall be desolate Because of those who dwell in it, And for the fruit of their deeds. | 13The earth will become desolate because of what its inhabitants have done. |
| 14Shepherd Your people with Your staff, The flock of Your heritage, Who dwell solitarily in a woodland, In the midst of Carmel; Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, As in days of old. | 14Shepherd your people with your shepherd's rod, the flock that belongs to you, the one that lives alone in a thicket, in the midst of a pastureland. Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, as they did in the old days. |
| 15“As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders.” | 15"As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt, I will show you miraculous deeds." |
| 16The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; They shall put their hand over their mouth; Their ears shall be deaf. | 16Nations will see this and be disappointed by all their strength, they will put their hands over their mouths, and act as if they were deaf. |
| 17They shall lick the dust like a serpent; They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the LORD our God, And shall fear because of You. | 17They will lick the dust like a snake, like serpents crawling on the ground. They will come trembling from their strongholds to the LORD our God; they will be terrified of you. |
| 18Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. | 18There is no other God like you! You forgive sin and pardon the rebellion of those who remain among your people. You do not remain angry forever, but delight in showing loyal love. |
| 19He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. | 19You will once again have mercy on us; you will conquer our evil deeds; you will hurl our sins into the depths of the sea. |
| 20You will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old. | 20You will be loyal to Jacob and extend your loyal love to Abraham, which you promised on oath to our ancestors in ancient times. |
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