1Misery is mine!
Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vineyard.
There is no cluster of grapes to eat.
My soul desires to eat the early fig.
2The godly man has perished out of the earth,
and there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
every man hunts his brother with a net.
3Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently.
The ruler and judge ask for a bribe.
The powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul.
Thus they conspire together.
4The best of them is like a brier.
The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen,
even your visitation, has come;
now is the time of their confusion.
5Don’t trust in a neighbor.
Don’t put confidence in a friend.
With the woman lying in your embrace,
be careful of the words of your mouth!
6For the son dishonors the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7But as for me, I will look to Yahweh.
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
8Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy.
When I fall, I will arise.
When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
9I will bear the indignation of Yahweh,
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my case and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light.
I will see his righteousness.
10Then my enemy will see it,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is Yahweh your God?”
My eyes will see her.
Now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.
11A day to build your walls!
In that day, he will extend your boundary.
12In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt even to the River,
and from sea to sea,
and mountain to mountain.
13Yet the land will be desolate because of those who dwell therein,
for the fruit of their doings.
14Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your heritage,
who dwell by themselves in a forest.
Let them feed in the middle of fertile pasture land,
in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15“As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.”
16The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might.
They will lay their hand on their mouth.
Their ears will be deaf.
17They will lick the dust like a serpent.
Like crawling things of the earth, they will come trembling out of their dens.
They will come with fear to Yahweh our God,
and will be afraid because of you.
18Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity,
and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage?
He doesn’t retain his anger forever,
because he delights in loving kindness.
19He will again have compassion on us.
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20You will give truth to Jacob,
and mercy to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, born immediately after Esau, and Abraham was his grandfather. He achieved the right of the firstborn by trickery, in offering his older brother, Esau, food in exchange for the birthright, who cared little for this position. He also received the blessing of firstborn from his father Jacob before his death by cunning, and with the assistance of his mother Rebekah.
After his deception of Esau, receiving the blessing from his father, Jacob escaped to his uncle Laban, who in turn deceived Jacob into working for fourteen years for the marriage of Jacob to Leah, and then his beloved Rachel. Laban also sought to deceive Jacob of wages, but God intervened to ensure he would prosper. In a time of trial, when he feared the wrath of Esau, upon returning to the land of Canaan, Jacob had an encounter with God, and his name was changed to Israel, the one who wrestles with God. Even though his early life was characterized by deception, God worked through the situation to ensure that Jacob would be the one in the line of the patriarchs, to create a great nation and ultimately fulfill His purposes in the earth, especially through the future Messiah. The Messiah would guarantee the promise of the land to Abram and a person who would rule over Abraham's descendants, but also He would bring blessings to all the people of the earth (Gen 12:1-3).
In spite of Jacob's early failure by deception, God worked through him, and finally, Jacob became a different type of man after his struggle with God. As one has said,
"Despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. But for this, it is unlikely that we would know much about Jacob, who appears to be in the middle of events while the key players are those around him. There is no great wisdom or bravery in Jacob to speak of, and we are tempted to see him as little more than God’s passive instrument. If we are tempted to think that, because we aren’t in the spotlight performing great acts for God, we are unimportant to Him, then we should consider the life of Jacob and know that, in spite of our failings, God can and will still use us in His plan."
For more on Jacob, see "Who was Jacob in the Bible?", https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jacob.html