1. You would be in the right, O Lord,if I should dispute with you;even so, I must lay out the case against you.Why does the way of the wicked prosper,why do all the treacherous live in contentment?
2. You planted them; they have taken root,they flourish and bear fruit as well.You are upon their lips,but far from their thoughts.
3. Lord, you know me, you see me,you have found that my heart is with you.Pick them out like sheep for the butcher,set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4. How long must the land mourn,the grass of the whole countryside wither?Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in itbeasts and birds disappear,for they say, “God does not care about our future.”
5. If running against men has wearied you,how will you race against horses?And if you are safe only on a level stretch,what will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?
6. Your kindred and your father’s house, even they betray you; they have recruited a force against you. Do not believe them, even when they speak fair words to you.
7. I have abandoned my house,cast off my heritage;The beloved of my soul I have deliveredinto the hand of her foes.
8. My heritage has become for melike a lion in the thicket;She has raised her voice against me,therefore she has incurred my hatred.
9. My heritage is a prey for hyenas,is surrounded by vultures;Come, gather together, all you wild animals,come and eat!
10. Many shepherds have ravaged my vineyard,have trampled down my heritage;My delightful portion they have turnedinto a desert waste.
11. They have made it a mournful waste,desolate before me,Desolate, the whole land,because no one takes it to heart.