Micah
1:1The word of Yahweh that came to Micah
the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw
concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
1:2Hear, you peoples, all of you.
Listen,
O earth, and all that is therein:
And let the Lord Yahweh be witness
against you,
The
Lord from his holy temple.
1:3For, behold, Yahweh comes forth out of
his place,
And
will come down and tread on the high places
of the earth.
1:4The mountains melt under him,
And
the valleys split apart,
Like
wax before the fire,
Like
waters that are poured down a steep place.
1:5"All this is for the disobedience
of Jacob,
And
for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the disobedience of Jacob?
Isn't
it Samaria?
And what are the high places of
Judah?
Aren't
they Jerusalem?
1:6Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble
heap of the field,
Like
places for planting vineyards;
And I will pour down its stones
into the valley,
And
I will uncover its foundations.
1:7All her idols will be beaten to pieces,
And
all her temple gifts will be burned with
fire,
And
all her images I will destroy;
For of the hire of a prostitute
has she gathered them,
And
to the hire of a prostitute shall they return."
1:8For this I will lament and wail;
I will
go stripped and naked;
I will
howl like the jackals,
And
moan like the daughters of owls.
1:9For her wounds are incurable;
For
it has come even to Judah.
It reaches to the gate of my people,
Even
to Jerusalem.
1:10Don't tell it in Gath,
Don't
weep at all.
At Beth
Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust.
1:11Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness
and shame.
The
inhabitant of Zaanan won't come out.
The
wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you
his protection.
1:12For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously
for good,
Because
evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate
of Jerusalem.
1:13Harness the chariot to the swift steed,
inhabitant of Lachish.
She
was the beginning of sin to the daughter
of Zion;
For
the transgressions of Israel were found
in you.
1:14Therefore you will give a parting gift
to Moresheth-gath.
The
houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing
to the kings of Israel.
1:15I will yet bring to you, inhabitant of
Mareshah,
He who
is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
1:16Shave your heads,
And
cut off your hair for the children of your
delight.
Enlarge your baldness like the vulture;
For
they have gone into captivity from you!
2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity
And
work evil on their beds!
When the morning is light, they
practice it,
Because
it is in the power of their hand.
2:2They covet fields, and seize them;
And
houses, and take them away:
And
they oppress a man and his house,
Even
a man and his heritage.
2:3Therefore thus says Yahweh:
"Behold, I am planning against
these people a disaster,
From
which you will not remove your necks,
Neither
will you walk haughtily;
For
it is an evil time.
2:4In that day they will take up a parable
against you,
And
lament with a doleful lamentation, saying,
'We
are utterly ruined!
My people's
possession is divided up.
Indeed
he takes it from me and assigns our fields
to traitors!'"
2:5Therefore you will have no one who divides
the land by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
2:6"Don't you prophesy!"
They
prophesy.
"Don't prophesy about these
things.
Disgrace
won't overtake us."
2:7Shall it be said, O house of Jacob:
"Is
the Spirit of Yahweh angry?
Are
these his doings?
Don't
my words do good to him who walks blamelessly?"
2:8But lately my people have risen up as
an enemy.
You
strip the robe and clothing from those who
pass by without a care, returning from battle.
2:9You drive the women of my people out from
their pleasant houses;
From
their young children you take away my blessing
forever.
2:10Arise, and depart!
For
this is not your resting place,
Because
of uncleanness that destroys,
Even
with a grievous destruction.
2:11If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood
lies:
'I will
prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink;'
He would
be the prophet of this people.
2:12I will surely assemble, Jacob, all of
you;
I will
surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together as the
sheep of Bozrah,
As a
flock in the midst of their pasture;
They
will swarm with people.
2:13He who breaks open the way goes up before
them.
They
break through the gate, and go out.
And
their king passes on before them,
With
Yahweh at their head."
3:1I said,
"Please listen, you heads of
Jacob,
And
rulers of the house of Israel:
Isn't
it for you to know justice?
3:2You who hate the good,
And
love the evil;
Who
tear off their skin,
And
their flesh from off their bones;
3:3Who also eat the
flesh of my people,
And
flay their skin from off them,
And
break their bones,
And
chop them in pieces, as for the pot,
And
as flesh within the caldron.
3:4Then they will cry to Yahweh,
But
he will not answer them.
Yes, he will hide his face from
them at that time,
Because
they made their deeds evil."
3:5Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray; for those who
feed their teeth, they proclaim, "Peace!"
and whoever doesn't provide for their mouths,
they prepare war against him:
3:6"Therefore night is over you, with
no vision,
And
it is dark to you, that you may not divine;
And
the sun will go down on the prophets,
And
the day will be black over them.
3:7The seers shall be disappointed,
And
the diviners confounded.
Yes, they shall all cover their
lips;
For
there is no answer from God."
3:8But as for me, I am full of power by the
Spirit of Yahweh,
And
of judgment, and of might,
To declare
to Jacob his disobedience,
And
to Israel his sin.
3:9Please listen to this, you heads of the
house of Jacob,
And
rulers of the house of Israel,
Who
abhor justice,
And
pervert all equity.
3:10They build up Zion with blood,
And
Jerusalem with iniquity.
3:11Her leaders judge for bribes,
And
her priests teach for a price,
And
her prophets of it tell forturnes for money:
Yet they lean on Yahweh, and say,
Isn't
Yahweh in the midst of us?
No disaster
will come on us.
3:12Therefore Zion for your sake will be
plowed like a field,
And
Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
And
the mountain of the temple like the high
places of a forest.
4:1But in the latter days,
It will
happen that the mountain of Yahweh's temple
will be established on the top of the mountains,
And
it will be exalted above the hills;
And
peoples will stream to it.
4:2Many nations will go and say,
"Come,
and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
And
to the house of the God of Jacob;
And
he will teach us of his ways,
And
we will walk in his paths."
For out of Zion will go forth the
law,
And
the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem;
4:3And he will judge between many peoples,
And
will decide concerning strong nations afar
off.
They
will beat their swords into plowshares,
And
their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against
nation,
Neither
will they learn war any more.
4:4But they will sit every man under his
vine and under his fig tree;
And
no one will make them afraid:
For
the mouth of Yahweh of Hosts has spoken.
4:5Indeed all the nations may walk in the
name of their gods;
But
we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God
forever and ever.
4:6"In that day," says Yahweh,
"I
will assemble that which is lame,
And
I will gather that which is driven away,
And
that which I have afflicted;
4:7And I will make
that which was lame a remnant,
And
that which was cast far off a strong nation:
And
Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion
from then on, even forever.
4:8You, tower of the flock, the hill of the
daughter of Zion,
To you
it will come,
Yes,
the former dominion will come,
The
kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
4:9Now why do you cry out aloud?
Is there
no king in you?
Has
your counselor perished,
That
pains have taken hold of you as of a woman
in travail?
4:10Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
daughter of Zion,
Like
a woman in travail;
For
now you will go forth out of the city,
And
will dwell in the field,
And
will come even to Babylon.
There you will be rescued.
There
Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of
your enemies.
4:11Now many nations have assembled against
you, that say,
'Let
her be defiled,
And
let our eye gloat over Zion.'
4:12But they don't know the thoughts of Yahweh,
Neither
do they understand his counsel;
For
he has gathered them like the sheaves to
the threshing floor.
4:13Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion;
For
I will make your horn iron,
And
I will make your hoofs brass;
And you will beat in pieces many
peoples:
And I will devote their gain to
Yahweh,
And
their substance to the Lord of the whole
earth.
5:1Now you shall gather yourself in troops,
Daughter
of troops.
He has laid siege against us;
They
will strike the judge of Israel with a rod
on the cheek.
5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Being
small among the clans of Judah,
Out
of you one will come forth to me that is
to be ruler in Israel;
Whose
goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
5:3Therefore he will abandon them until the
time that she who is in labor gives birth.
Then
the rest of his brothers will return to
the children of Israel.
5:4He shall stand, and shall shepherd in
the strength of Yahweh,
In the
majesty of the name of Yahweh his God:
And
they will live, for then he will be great
to the ends of the earth.
5:5He will be our peace when Assyria invades
our land,
And
when he marches through our fortresses,
Then
we will raise against him seven shepherds,
And
eight leaders of men.
5:6They will rule the land of Assyria with
the sword,
And
the land of Nimrod in its gates.
He will deliver us from the Assyrian,
When
he invades our land,
And
when he marches within our border.
5:7The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst
of many peoples,
Like
dew from Yahweh,
Like
showers on the grass,
That
don't wait for man,
Nor
wait for the sons of men.
5:8The remnant of Jacob will be among the
nations,
In the
midst of many peoples,
Like
a lion among the animals of the forest,
Like
a young lion among the flocks of sheep;
Who,
if he goes through, treads down and tears
in pieces,
And
there is no one to deliver.
5:9Let your hand be lifted up above your
adversaries,
And
let all of your enemies be cut off.
5:10"It will happen in that day,"
says Yahweh,
"That
I will cut off your horses out of the midst
of you,
And
will destroy your chariots.
5:11I will cut off the cities of your land,
And
will tear down all your strongholds.
5:12I will destroy witchcraft from your hand;
And
you shall have no soothsayers.
5:13I will cut off your engraved images and
your pillars out of your midst;
And
you shall no more worship the work of your
hands.
5:14I will uproot your Asherim out of your
midst;
And
I will destroy your cities.
5:15I will execute vengeance in anger,
And
wrath on the nations that didn't listen."
6:1Listen now to what Yahweh says:
"Arise, plead your case before
the mountains,
And
let the hills hear what you have to say.
6:2Hear, you mountains, Yahweh's controversy,
And
you enduring foundations of the earth;
For
Yahweh has a controversy with his people,
And
he will contend with Israel.
6:3My people, what have I done to you?
How
have I burdened you?
Answer
me!
6:4For I brought you up out of the land of
Egypt,
And
redeemed you out of the house of bondage.
I sent
before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
6:5My people, remember now what Balak king
of Moab devised,
And
what Balaam the son of Beor answered him
from Shittim to Gilgal,
That
you may know the righteous acts of Yahweh."
6:6How shall I come before Yahweh,
And
bow myself before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt
offerings,
With
calves a year old?
6:7Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands
of rams?
With
tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my
disobedience?
The
fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What
does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
To love
mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
6:9Yahweh's voice calls to the city,
And
wisdom sees your name:
"Listen to the rod,
And
he who appointed it.
6:10Are there yet treasures of wickedness
in the house of the wicked,
And
a short ephah that is
accursed?
6:11Shall I be pure with dishonest scales,
And
with a bag of deceitful weights?
6:12Her rich men are full of violence,
Her
inhabitants speak lies,
And
their tongue is deceitful in their speech.
6:13Therefore I also have struck you with
a grievous wound.
I have
made you desolate because of your sins.
6:14You shall eat, but not be satisfied.
Your
humiliation will be in your midst.
You
will store up, but not save;
And
that which you save I will give up to the
sword.
6:15You will sow, but won't reap.
You
will tread the olives, but won't anoint
yourself with oil;
And
crush grapes, but won't drink the wine.
6:16For the statutes of Omri are kept,
And
all the works of the house of Ahab.
You
walk in their counsels,
That
I may make you a ruin,
And
her inhabitants a hissing;
And
you will bear the reproach of my people."
7:1Misery is mine!
Indeed,
I am like one who gathers the summer fruits,
as gleanings of the vinyard:
There
is no cluster of grapes to eat.
My soul
desires to eat the early fig.
7:2The 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.
7:3Their hands are on that which is evil
to do it diligently.
The
ruler and judge ask for a bribe;
And
the powerful man dictates the evil desire
of his soul.
Thus
they conspire together.
7:4The 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.
7:5Don'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!
7:6For 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.
7:7But as for me, I will look to Yahweh.
I will
wait for the God of my salvation.
My God
will hear me.
7:8Don't rejoice against me, my enemy.
When
I fall, I will arise.
When
I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light
to me.
7:9I 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 forth to the light.
I will
see his righteousness.
7:10Then my enemy will see it,
And
shame will cover her who said to me,
Where
is Yahweh your God?
Then my enemy will see me and will
cover her shame.
Now
she will be trodden down like the mire of
the streets.
7:11A day to build your walls--
In that
day, he will extend your boundary.
7:12In 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.
7:13Yet the land will be desolate because
of those who dwell therein,
For
the fruit of their doings.
7:14Shepherd your people with your staff,
The
flock of your heritage,
Who
dwell by themselves in a forest,
In the
midst of fertile pasture land, let them
feed;
In Bashan
and Gilead, as in the days of old.
7:15"As in the days of your coming forth
out of the land of Egypt,
I will
show them marvelous things."
7:16The nations will see and be ashamed of
all their might.
They
will lay their hand on their mouth.
Their
ears will be deaf.
7:17They will lick the dust like a serpent.
Like
crawling things of the earth they shall
come trembling out of their dens.
They
will come with fear to Yahweh our God,
And
will be afraid because of you.
7:18Who 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.
7:19He will again have compassion on us.
He will
tread our iniquities under foot;
And
you will cast all their sins into the depths
of the sea.
7:20You will give truth to Jacob,
and
mercy to Abraham,
As you
have sworn to our fathers from the days
of old.
Notes:
[1] back
to 1:10 Beth Ophrah means literally
"House of Dust."
[2] back to 6:10 An ephah is a measure of volume,
and a short ephah is made smaller than a
full ephah for the purpose of cheating customers.
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