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“1 ¶ Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits,
as the grapegleanings of the vintage: [there is] no cluster to eat: my
soul desired the firstripe fruit. 2 The good [man] is perished out of
the earth: and [there is] none upright among men: they all lie in wait
for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 That they may
do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh]
for a reward; and the great [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire:
so they wrap it up. 4 The best of them [is] as a brier: the most upright
[is sharper] than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen [and] thy
visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. 5 Trust ye not in a
friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth
from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father,
the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against
her mother in law; a man’s enemies [are] the men of his own house.”
“7 ¶ Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my
salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy:
when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be]
a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I
have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment
for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his
righteousness. 10 Then [she that is] mine enemy shall see [it], and
shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God?
mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of
the streets. 11 [In] the day that thy walls are to be built, [in] that
day shall the decree be far removed. 12 [In] that day [also] he shall
come even to thee from Assyria, and [from] the fortified cities, and
from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and [from]
mountain to mountain. 13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate
because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.”
“14 ¶ Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which
dwell solitarily [in] the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed
[in] Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15 According to the days
of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous
[things]. 16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might:
they shall lay [their] hand upon [their] mouth, their ears shall be
deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of
their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD
our God, and shall fear because of thee. 18 Who [is] a God like unto
thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the
remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he
delighteth [in] mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion
upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to
Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old.” (Micah 7:1-20 AV)
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