³ Why do you make me see evil-doing, and why are my eyes fixed on wrong? for wasting and violent acts are before me: and there is fighting and bitter argument.

⁹ Send destruction on them, O Lord, make a division of tongues among them: for I have seen fighting and violent acts in the town.

¹⁰ By day and night they go round the town, on the walls; trouble and sorrow are in the heart of it.

¹¹ Evil is there; cruel rule and deceit are ever in the streets.

⁸ (Because the soul of that upright man living among them was pained from day to day by seeing and hearing their crimes):

¹⁶ See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves.

¹ Sorrow is mine! for I am as when they have got in the summer fruits, like the last of the grapes: there is nothing for food, not even an early fig for my desire.

² The good man is gone from the earth, there is no one upright among men: they are all waiting secretly for blood, every man is going after his brother with a net.

³ Their hands are made ready to do evil; the ruler makes requests for money, and the judge is looking for a reward; and the great man gives decisions at his pleasure, and the right is twisted.

⁴ The best of them is like a waste plant, and their upright ones are like a wall of thorns. Sorrow! the day of their fate has come; now will trouble come on them.

⁶ And you, son of man, have no fear of them or of their words, even if sharp thorns are round you and you are living among scorpions: have no fear of their words and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.

⁸ For every word I say is a cry for help; I say with a loud voice, Violent behaviour and wasting: because the word of the Lord is made a shame to me and a cause of laughing all the day.

² If only I had in the waste land a night's resting-place for travellers, so that I might go away, far from my people! for they are all untrue, a band of false men.

³ Their tongues are bent like a bow to send out false words: they have become strong in the land, but not for good faith: they go on from evil to evil, and they have no knowledge of me, says the Lord.

⁴ Let everyone keep watch on his neighbour, and put no faith in any brother: for every brother will certainly be tricking his brother, and every neighbour will go about saying evil.

⁵ Everyone will make sport of his neighbour with deceit, not saying what is true: their tongues have been trained to say false words; they are twisted, hating to come back.

⁶ There is wrong on wrong, deceit on deceit; they have given up the knowledge of me, says the Lord.

⁸ It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.

¹ And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter.

⁵ Sorrow is mine because I am strange in Meshech, and living in the tents of Kedar.

⁶ My soul has long been living with the haters of peace.

³ Because of my envy of the men of pride, when I saw the well-being of the wrongdoers.

⁴ For they have no pain; their bodies are fat and strong.

⁵ They are not in trouble as others are; they have no part in the unhappy fate of men.

⁶ For this reason pride is round them like a chain; they are clothed with violent behaviour as with a robe.

⁷ Their eyes are bursting with fat; they have more than their heart's desire.

⁸ Their thoughts are deep with evil designs; their talk from their seats of power is of cruel acts.

⁹ Their mouth goes up to heaven; their tongues go walking through the earth.

¹ <For the chief music-maker on the Sheminith. A Psalm. Of David.> Send help, Lord, for mercy has come to an end; there is no more faith among the children of men.

² Everyone says false words to his neighbour: their tongues are smooth in their talk, and their hearts are full of deceit.