Micah 1–3

1The word of the Lord that came ^ato Micah ^bthe Moreshite ^c—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham, ^dAhaz, ^eand Hezekiah, ^fkings of Judah.

Coming Judgment on Israel

²Listen, all you peoples; ^g

pay attention, earth ^hand everyone in it! ⁱ

The Lord God will be a witness against you, ^j

the Lord, from His holy temple. ^k

³Look, the Lord is leaving His place ^l

and coming down to trample

the heights ^mof the earth. ⁿ

⁴The mountains will melt beneath Him,

and the valleys will split apart,

like wax near a fire, ^o

like water cascading down a mountainside.

⁵All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion

and the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the rebellion of Jacob?

Isn’t it Samaria? ^p

And what is the high place of Judah? ^q

Isn’t it Jerusalem?

⁶Therefore, I will make Samaria

a heap of ruins ^rin the countryside,

a planting area ^sfor a vineyard.

I will roll her stones ^tinto the valley

and expose her foundations. ^u

⁷All her carved images will be smashed ^vto pieces;

all her wages ^wwill be burned in the fire,

and I will destroy all her idols.

Since she collected the wages of a prostitute, ^x

they will be used again for a prostitute.

Micah’s Lament

⁸Because of this I will lament and wail;

I will walk barefoot and naked. ^y

I will howl like the jackals ^z

and mourn like ostriches. ^a

⁹For her wound is incurable ^b

and has reached even Judah; ^c

it has approached the gate of my people, ^d

as far as Jerusalem.

¹⁰Don’t announce it in Gath, ^e

don’t weep at all.

Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.

¹¹Depart in shameful nakedness, ^f

you residents of Shaphir;

the residents of Zaanan ^gwill not come out.

Beth-ezel is lamenting;

its support ^his taken from you.

¹²Though the residents of Maroth

anxiously wait for something good, ⁱ

disaster has come from the Lord ^j

to the gate of Jerusalem.

¹³Harness the horses to the chariot,

you residents of Lachish. ^k

This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion,

because Israel’s acts of rebellion ^lcan be traced to you.

¹⁴Therefore, send farewell gifts ^mto Moresheth-gath;

the houses of Achzib ⁿare a deception ^o

to the kings of Israel.

¹⁵I will again bring a conqueror

against you who live in Mareshah. ^p

The nobility ^qof Israel will come to Adullam. ^r

¹⁶Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair ^s

in sorrow for your precious children;

make yourselves as bald as an eagle,

for they have been taken from you into exile. ^t

Oppressors Judged

2Woe to those who dream up wickedness

and prepare evil plans ^uon their beds!

At morning light ^vthey accomplish it

because the power is in their hands. ^w

²They covet fields ^xand seize them; ^y

they also take houses.

They deprive a man of his home, ^z

a person of his inheritance. ^a

³Therefore, the Lord says:

I am now planning ^ba disaster

against this nation; ^c

you cannot free your necks from it. ^d

Then you will not walk so proudly ^e

because it will be an evil time. ^f

⁴In that day one will take up ^ga taunt against you,

and lament mournfully, ^hsaying,

“We are totally ruined! ⁱ

He measures out the allotted land of my people.

How He removes it from me!

He allots our fields ^jto traitors.”

⁵Therefore, there will be no one

in the assembly of the Lord

to divide the land by casting lots. ^kl

God’s Word Rejected

⁶“Quit your preaching,” ^mthey ⁿpreach.

“They should not preach these things; ^o

shame will not overtake us.” ^pq

⁷House of Jacob, should it be asked,

“Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? ^r

Are these the things He does?”

Don’t My words bring good ^s

to the one who walks uprightly? ^t

⁸But recently My people have risen up

like an enemy: ^u

You strip off the splendid robe ^v

from those who are passing through confidently, ^w

like those returning from war.

⁹You force ^xthe women of My people

out of their comfortable homes,

and you take My blessing ^yz

from their children forever.

¹⁰Get up and leave,

for this is not your place of rest, ^a

because defilement ^bbrings destruction—

a grievous destruction! ^c

¹¹If a man of wind ^dcomes

and invents lies: ^e

“I will preach to you about wine and beer,” ^f

he would be just the preacher for this people! ^g

The Remnant Regathered

¹²I will indeed gather ^hall of you, Jacob;

I will collect the remnant of Israel. ⁱ

I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,

like a flock in the middle of its fold.

It will be noisy with people. ^j

¹³One who breaks open the way

will advance before them;

they will break out, pass through the gate,

and leave by it.

Their King will pass through before them,

the Lord as their leader.

Unjust Leaders Judged

3Then I said, “Now listen, ^kleaders of Jacob,

you rulers of the house of Israel.

Aren’t you supposed to know what is just? ^l

²You hate good and love evil.

You tear off people’s skin ^m

and strip their flesh from their bones.

³You eat the flesh ⁿof my people

after you strip their skin from them

and break their bones.

You chop them up ^o

like flesh for the cooking pot,

like meat in a cauldron.”

⁴Then they will cry out ^pto the Lord,

but He will not answer them.

He will hide His face from them at that time ^q

because of the crimes they have committed.

False Prophets Judged

⁵This is what the Lord says

concerning the prophets

who lead my people astray, ^r

who proclaim ^speace

when they have food to sink their teeth into

but declare war against the one

who puts nothing in their mouths.

⁶Therefore, it will be night ^tfor you—

without visions;

it will grow dark for you—

without divination. ^u

The sun will set ^von these prophets,

and the daylight will turn black over them.

⁷Then the seers will be ashamed ^w

and the diviners disappointed. ^x

They will all cover their mouths ^yz

because there will be no answer from God. ^a

⁸As for me, however, I am filled with power ^b

by the Spirit of the Lord,

with justice and courage,

to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion

and to Israel his sin. ^c

Zion’s Destruction

⁹Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob, ^d

you rulers of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice ^e

and pervert everything that is right,

¹⁰who build Zion with bloodshed ^f

and Jerusalem with injustice.

¹¹Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe, ^g

her priests teach for payment, ^h

and her prophets practice divination for money.

Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,

“Isn’t the Lord ⁱamong us?

No disaster will overtake us.”

¹²Therefore, because of you,

Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become ruins, ^j

and the hill of the temple mount ^k

will be a thicket. ^l