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.

⁵ Put no faith in a friend, do not let your hope be placed in a relation: keep watch on the doors of your mouth against her who is resting on your breast.

⁶ For the son puts shame on his father, the daughter goes against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's haters are those of his family.

⁷ But as for me, I am looking to the Lord; I am waiting for the God of my salvation: the ears of my God will be open to me.

⁸ Do not be glad because of my sorrow, O my hater: after my fall I will be lifted up; when I am seated in the dark, the Lord will be a light to me.

⁹ I will undergo the wrath of the Lord, because of my sin against him; till he takes up my cause and does what is right for me: when he makes me come out into the light, I will see his righteousness;

¹⁰ And my hater will see it and be covered with shame; she who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? my eyes will see their desire effected on her, now she will be crushed under foot like the dust of the streets.

¹¹ A day for building your walls! in that day will your limits be stretched far and wide.

¹² In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the towns of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

¹³ But the land will become a waste because of its people, as the fruit of their works.

¹⁴ Keep your people safe with your rod, the flock of your heritage, living by themselves in the woods in the middle of Carmel: let them get their food in Bashan and Gilead as in the past.

¹⁵ As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, let us see things of wonder.

¹⁶ The nations will see and be shamed because of all their strength; they will put their hands on their mouths, their ears will be stopped.

¹⁷ They will take dust as their food like a snake, like the things which go flat on the earth; they will come shaking with fear out of their secret places: they will come with fear to the Lord our God, full of fear because of you.

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, offering forgiveness for evil-doing and overlooking the sins of the rest of his heritage? he does not keep his wrath for ever, because his delight is in mercy.

¹⁹ He will again have pity on us; he will put our sins under his feet: and you will send all our sins down into the heart of the sea.

²⁰ You will make clear your good faith to Jacob and your mercy to Abraham, as you gave your oath to our fathers from times long past.

¹ We who are strong have to be a support to the feeble, and not give pleasure to ourselves.

² Let every one of us give pleasure to his neighbour for his good, to make him strong.

³ For Christ did not give pleasure to himself, but, as it is said, The bitter words of those who were angry with you came on me.

⁴ Now those things which were put down in writing before our time were for our learning, so that through quiet waiting and through the comfort of the holy Writings we might have hope.

⁵ Now may the God who gives comfort and strength in waiting make you of the same mind with one another in harmony with Christ Jesus:

⁶ So that with one mouth you may give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ So then, take one another to your hearts, as Christ took us, to the glory of God.

⁸ Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision to give effect to the undertakings given by God to the fathers,

⁹ And so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercy; as it is said, For this reason I will give praise to you among the Gentiles, and I will make a song to your name.

¹⁰ And again he says, Take part, you Gentiles, in the joy of his people.

¹¹ And again, Give praise to the Lord, all you Gentiles; and let all the nations give praise to him.

¹² And again Isaiah says, There will be the root of Jesse, and he who comes to be the ruler over the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles put their hope.

¹³ Now may the God of hope make you full of joy and peace through faith, so that all hope may be yours in the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴ And I myself am certain of you, brothers, that you are full of what is good, complete in all knowledge, able to give direction to one another.

¹⁵ But I have, in some measure, less fear in writing to you to put these things before you again, because of the grace which was given to me by God,

¹⁶ To be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, doing the work of a priest in the good news of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be pleasing to God, being made holy by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ So I have pride in Christ Jesus in the things which are God's.

¹⁸ And I will keep myself from talking of anything but those things which Christ has done by me to put the Gentiles under his rule in word and in act,

¹⁹ By signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have given all the good news of Christ;

²⁰ Making it my purpose not to take the good news where Christ was named, so that my work might not be resting on that of others;

²¹ But as it is said in the holy Writings, They will see, to whom the news of him had not been given, and those to whose ears it had not come will have knowledge.

²² For which reason I was frequently kept from coming to you:

²³ But now, having no longer any place in these parts and having had for a number of years a great desire to come to you,

²⁴ Whenever I go to Spain (for it is my hope to see you on my way, and to be sent on there by you, if first I may in some measure have been comforted by your company)--

²⁵ But now I go to Jerusalem, taking help for the saints.

²⁶ For it has been the good pleasure of those of Macedonia and Achaia to send a certain amount of money for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

²⁷ Yes, it has been their good pleasure; and they are in their debt. For if the Gentiles have had a part in the things of the Spirit which were theirs, it is right for them, in the same way, to give them help in the things of the flesh.

²⁸ So when I have done this, and have given them this fruit of love, I will go on by you into Spain.

²⁹ And I am certain that when I come, I will be full of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰ Now I make request to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you will be working together with me in your prayers to God for me;

³¹ So that I may be kept safe from those in Judaea who have not put themselves under the rule of God, and that the help which I am taking for Jerusalem may be pleasing to the saints;

³² So that I may come to you in joy by the good pleasure of God, and have rest with you.

³³ Now may the God of peace be with you all. So be it.