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The Total Corruption of the People

7Woe is me! For I have become like one who,
   after the summer fruit has been gathered,
   after the vintage has been gleaned,
finds no cluster to eat;
   there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger.
² The faithful have disappeared from the land,
   and there is no one left who is upright;
they all lie in wait for blood,
   and they hunt each other with nets.
³ Their hands are skilled to do evil;
   the official and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the powerful dictate what they desire;
   thus they pervert justice.^*
4 The best of them is like a brier,
   the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of their^* sentinels, of their^* punishment, has come;
   now their confusion is at hand.
⁵ Put no trust in a friend,
   have no confidence in a loved one;
guard the doors of your mouth
   from her who lies in your embrace;
⁶ for the son treats the father with contempt,
   the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
   your enemies are members of your own household.
⁷ But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
   I will wait for the God of my salvation;
   my God will hear me.

Penitence and Trust in God

⁸ Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy;
   when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
   the Lord will be a light to me.
⁹ I must bear the indignation of the Lord,
   because I have sinned against him,
until he takes my side
   and executes judgement for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
   I shall see his vindication.
¹⁰ Then my enemy will see,
   and shame will cover her who said to me,
   ‘Where is the Lord your God?’
My eyes will see her downfall;^*
   now she will be trodden down
   like the mire of the streets.

A Prophecy of Restoration

¹¹ A day for the building of your walls!
   In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
¹² In that day they will come to you
   from Assyria to^* Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
   from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
¹³ But the earth will be desolate
   because of its inhabitants,
   for the fruit of their doings.

¹⁴ Shepherd your people with your staff,
   the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
   in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
   as in the days of old.
¹⁵ As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
   show us^* marvellous things.
¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed
   of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
   their ears shall be deaf;
¹⁷ they shall lick dust like a snake,
   like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
   they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
   and they shall stand in fear of you.

God’s Compassion and Steadfast Love

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
   and passing over the transgression
   of the remnant of your^* possession?
He does not retain his anger for ever,
   because he delights in showing clemency.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion upon us;
   he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our^* sins
   into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob
   and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
   from the days of old.

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. ²Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure^* for the last days. ⁴Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient, therefore, beloved,^* until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.^{* 9}Beloved,^* do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! ¹⁰As an example of suffering and patience, beloved,^* take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12 Above all, my beloved,^* do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ¹⁷Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

19 My brothers and sisters,^* if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, ²⁰you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s^* soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.