Destruction of the Wicked

9  The voice of the Lord cries to the city—

and it is sound wisdom to fear hyour name:

“Hear of ithe rod and of him who appointed it!3

10  Can I forget any longer the treasures4 of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

and the scant measure that is accursed?

11  Shall I acquit the man jwith wicked scales

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12  Your5 rich men are kfull of violence;

your inhabitants lspeak lies,

and mtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13  Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,

nmaking you desolate because of your sins.

14  oYou shall eat, but not be satisfied,

and there shall be hunger within you;

you shall put away, but not preserve,

and what you preserve I will give to the sword.

15  pYou shall sow, but not reap;

you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;

you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.

16  For you have kept the statutes of qOmri,6

and all the works of the house of rAhab;

and you have walked in their counsels,

that I may make you sa desolation, and your7 inhabitants sa hissing;

so you shall bear tthe scorn of my people.”

Wait for the God of Salvation

7 Woe is me! For I have become

uas when the summer fruit has been gathered,

as when the grapes have been gleaned:

there is no cluster to eat,

no vfirst-ripe fig that my soul desires.

2  wThe godly has perished from the earth,

and xthere is no one upright among mankind;

ythey all lie in wait for blood,

and zeach hunts the other with a net.

3  aTheir hands are on what is evil, to do it well;

bthe prince and cthe judge ask for a bribe,

and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;

thus they weave it together.

4  The best of them is dlike a brier,

the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

The day of eyour watchmen, of your punishment, has come;

fnow their confusion is at hand.

5  gPut no trust in a neighbor;

have no confidence in a friend;

guard hthe doors of your mouth

from her who lies in your arms;1

6  for ithe son treats the father with contempt,

the daughter rises up against her mother,

the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

ja man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

7  But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

kI will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.