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All of the faithful people are gone;
    there is not one good person left in this country.
Everyone is waiting to kill someone;
    everyone is trying to trap someone else.
With both hands they are doing evil.
    Rulers ask for money,
    and judges’ decisions are bought for a price.
Rich people tell what they want,
    and they get it.
Even the best of them is like a thornbush;
    the most honest of them is worse than a prickly plant.
The day that your watchmen[a] warned you about has come.
    Now they will be confused.

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Footnotes

  1. 7:4 watchmen Another name for prophets. The prophets were like guards who stood on a city’s wall and watched for trouble coming from far away.

The faithful have been swept from the land;(A)
    not one(B) upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait(C) to shed blood;(D)
    they hunt each other(E) with nets.(F)
Both hands are skilled in doing evil;(G)
    the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,(H)
    the powerful dictate what they desire—
    they all conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier,(I)
    the most upright worse than a thorn(J) hedge.
The day God visits you has come,
    the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
    Now is the time of your confusion.(K)

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