The Prophet’s Lament

1 The prophet said, “How miserable I am! I have become like one of the good people taken away, when the faithful vanished from the land, like the last summer fruit, like gleanings after the grape harvest.⁠a No one does good deeds. I long for the good.” 2 The faithful have vanished from the land. No upright person remains among human beings. They all lie in ambush to shed innocent blood. Each hands his brother over to destruction.

3 They use their hands for evil, not for good. The ruler makes demands. The judge says, “Do something for me, and I’ll repay you.” The great man speaks his heart’s desire. How terrible for them, for they have corrupted it!

4 It is hard for the good among them to escape his power, as from a thornbush, and for the upright as from a thorny hedge. The day when you hoped for good is a day of disaster. The time of punishment for your deeds has arrived. Now their confusion will come.

5 Do not rely on a friend or trust a companion. Guard what you say even from the wife of your covenant. 6 For⁠b at that time a son will dishonor his father, a daughter will quarrel with her mother, and a daughter-in-law will despise her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.

Hope for Deliverance

7 But I will⁠c find joy in the Lord’s Memra, delight in the God who brings about my salvation. My God will accept my prayer.

8 Rome,⁠d my enemy, do not celebrate over me! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I have lived as if in darkness, the Lord will shine on me.

9 Jerusalem said, “I have accepted a curse from the Lord because I sinned before Him. I will bear it until He judges my case and avenges my humiliation. He will bring me out into the light, and I will see His justice.

10 “Rome, my enemy, will see, and shame will cover her. She said to me, ‘Where were you saved by the Memra of the Lord your God?’ My eyes will see her downfall. She will be trampled like mud in the streets.

11 “At that time Israel’s congregations will be rebuilt, and⁠e the nations’ decrees will be abolished. 12 At that time the exiles will gather from Assyria and the fortified cities, from⁠f Greater Armenia and the besieged towns, as far as the Euphrates, the Western Sea, and the mountain ranges. 13 The land will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of their deeds.”

Prayer for the People

14 Sustain Your people through Your Memra. The people of Your inheritance will live apart in⁠g the world that will be renewed. Those desolate in the forest will settle in Carmel. They will be sustained in Bashan’s land and Gilead, as in ancient days.

15 As when they left the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders.

16 The nations will see and be ashamed of all their strength. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will be deafened.

17 They will fall face down on the ground, like snakes crawling in the dust. They will tremble as they leave their fortresses. They will be destroyed before the Lord our God, and will be afraid before You.

God’s Forgiveness

18 There is⁠h none besides You! You are the God who forgives wrongdoing and passes over the offenses of the survivors of His inheritance. He does not keep His anger forever, because He delights in doing good.

19 His Memra will again have mercy on us. In His love He will trample our offenses and throw all Israel’s sins into the depths of the sea.

20 You will fulfill Your faithfulness to Jacob for his children, as You swore to him at Bethel, and Your kindness to Abraham for his descendants, as You swore to him between the pieces.⁠i Remember for us the binding of Isaac, bound on the altar before You. Do kind deeds for us, as You swore to our ancestors in ancient days.