Table of Contents
Micah
1:1 The 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.
- 1:2 Hear, 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.
- 1:3 For, behold, Yahweh
comes forth out of his place,
- and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
- 1:4 The 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?
- 1:6 Therefore 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.
- 1:7 All 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.”
-
- 1:8 For 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.
- 1:9 For her wounds are
incurable;
- for it has come even to Judah.
- It reaches to the gate of my people,
- even to Jerusalem.
- 1:10 Don’t tell it in
Gath.
- Don’t weep at all.
- At Beth Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust.
- 1:11 Pass 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.
- 1:12 For the inhabitant of
Maroth waits anxiously for good,
- because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
- 1:13 Harness 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.
- 1:14 Therefore you will
give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath.
- The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
- 1:15 I will yet bring to
you, inhabitant of Mareshah.
- He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
- 1:16 Shave 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!
-
2:1 Woe 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.
- 2:2 They 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.
- 2:3 Therefore 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.
- 2:4 In 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!’”
- 2:5 Therefore you will
have no one who divides the land by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
- 2:6 “Don’t prophesy!”
- They prophesy.
- “Don’t prophesy about these things.
- Disgrace won’t overtake us.”
- 2:7 Shall 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?”
- 2:8 But 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.
- 2:9 You drive the women of
my people out from their pleasant houses;
- from their young children you take away my blessing forever.
- 2:10 Arise, and depart!
- For this is not your resting place,
- because of uncleanness that destroys,
- even with a grievous destruction.
- 2:11 If 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.
- 2:12 I 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.
- 2:13 He 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.
3:1 I said,
- “Please listen, you heads of Jacob,
- and rulers of the house of Israel:
- Isn’t it for you to know justice?
- 3:2 You who hate the good,
- and love the evil;
- who tear off their skin,
- and their flesh from off their bones;
- 3:3 who 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.
- 3:4 Then 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.”
3:5 Thus 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.
- 3:7 The seers shall be
disappointed,
- and the diviners confounded.
- Yes, they shall all cover their lips;
- for there is no answer from God.”
- 3:8 But 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.
- 3:9 Please listen to this,
you heads of the house of Jacob,
- and rulers of the house of Israel,
- who abhor justice,
- and pervert all equity.
- 3:10 They build up Zion
with blood,
- and Jerusalem with iniquity.
- 3:11 Her leaders judge for
bribes,
- and her priests teach for a price,
- and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money:
- yet they lean on Yahweh, and say,
- “Isn’t Yahweh in the midst of us?
- No disaster will come on us.”
- 3:12 Therefore 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.
-
4:1 But 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.
- 4:2 Many 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;
- 4:3 and 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.
- 4:4 But 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 Armies has spoken. 4:5 Indeed 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;
- 4:7 and 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.”
- 4:8 You, 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.
- 4:9 Now 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?
- 4:10 Be 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.
- 4:11 Now many nations have
assembled against you, that say,
- “Let her be defiled,
- and let our eye gloat over Zion.”
- 4:12 But 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.
- 4:13 Arise 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.
-
5:1 Now 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.
- 5:2 But 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.
- 5:3 Therefore 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.
- 5:4 He 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.
- 5:5 He 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.
- 5:6 They 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.
- 5:7 The 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.
- 5:8 The 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.
- 5:9 Let 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.
- 5:11 I will cut off the
cities of your land,
- and will tear down all your strongholds.
- 5:12 I will destroy
witchcraft from your hand;
- and you shall have no soothsayers.
- 5:13 I will cut off your
engraved images and your pillars out of your midst;
- and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.
- 5:14 I will uproot your
Asherim out of your midst;
- and I will destroy your cities.
- 5:15 I will execute
vengeance in anger,
- and wrath on the nations that didn’t listen.”
6:1 Listen now to what
Yahweh says:
- “Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
- and let the hills hear what you have to say.
- 6:2 Hear, 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.
- 6:3 My people, what have I
done to you?
- How have I burdened you?
- Answer me!
- 6:4 For 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.
- 6:5 My 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.”
-
- 6:6 How 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?
- 6:7 Will 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?
- 6:8 He 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?
-
- 6:9 Yahweh’s voice calls
to the city,
- and wisdom sees your name:
- “Listen to the rod,
- and he who appointed it.
- 6:10 Are there yet
treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
- and a short ephah that is accursed?
- 6:11 Shall I be pure with
dishonest scales,
- and with a bag of deceitful weights?
- 6:12 Her rich men are full
of violence,
- her inhabitants speak lies,
- and their tongue is deceitful in their speech.
- 6:13 Therefore I also have
struck you with a grievous wound.
- I have made you desolate because of your sins.
- 6:14 You 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.
- 6:15 You 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.
- 6:16 For 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.”
-
-
7:1 Misery 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.
- 7:2 The 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.
- 7:3 Their 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.
- 7:4 The 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.
- 7:5 Don’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!
- 7:6 For 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.
- 7:7 But as for me, I will
look to Yahweh.
- I will wait for the God of my salvation.
- My God will hear me.
- 7:8 Don’t rejoice
against me, my enemy.
- When I fall, I will arise.
- When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
- 7:9 I 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.
- 7:10 Then 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.
- 7:11 A day to build your
walls—
- In that day, he will extend your boundary.
- 7:12 In 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.
- 7:13 Yet the land will be
desolate because of those who dwell therein,
- for the fruit of their doings.
- 7:14 Shepherd 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.”
- 7:16 The nations will see
and be ashamed of all their might.
- They will lay their hand on their mouth.
- Their ears will be deaf.
- 7:17 They 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.
- 7:18 Who 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.
- 7:19 He 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.
- 7:20 You 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 1:1
“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all
caps) in other translations.
[2] back
to 1:2 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
[3] back to 1:10 Beth Ophrah means literally
“House of Dust.”
[4] back to
3:7 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “Elohim.”
[5] back to 6:10 An ephah is a measure of
volume (about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel), and a short ephah is
made smaller than a full ephah for the purpose of cheating customers.
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