7:1 I am depressed!
Indeed, it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,
and the grapes have been harvested.
There is no grape cluster to eat,
no fresh figs that I crave so much.
7:2 Faithful men have disappeared from the land;
there are no godly men left.
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;
they hunt their own brother with a net.
7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;
government officials and judges take bribes,
prominent men make demands,
and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.
7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;
the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes.
The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –
your appointed time of punishment – is on the way,
and then you will experience confusion.