Micah 2

CHAPTER 2

An Evil Time

¹Woe to those who ^adevise wickedness,

Who work out evil on their beds!

^bWhen the light of the morning comes, they do it,

For it is in the ^cpower of their hands.

²And they ^acovet fields and then ^btear them away,

And houses, and take them away.

And they ^coppress a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

³Therefore thus says Yahweh,

“Behold, I am ^adevising against this ^bfamily an evil demise

From which you ^ccannot remove your necks;

And you will not walk ^dhaughtily,

For it will be an ^eevil time.

⁴“On that day they will ^atake up against you a ¹taunt

And ^2butter a bitter wailing and say,

‘We are completely ^cdevastated!

He exchanges the portion of my people;

How He removes it from me!

To the faithless one, He ^dapportions our fields.’

⁵“Therefore you will have no one ^1astretching a measuring line

For you by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.

⁶‘^aDo not speak, dripping out words,’ they say while dripping out words.

But if ¹they do ^bnot drip out words concerning these things,

^cDishonor will not be turned back.

⁷“Is it being said, O house of Jacob:

‘Is the Spirit of Yahweh ^aimpatient?

Are these His deeds?’

Do not My words ^bdo good

To the one ^cwalking uprightly?

⁸“¹And recently My people have arisen as an ^aenemy—

You ^bstrip the ²robe off the garment

From ^cunsuspecting passers-by,

From those returned from war.

⁹“The women of My people you ^adrive out,

Each one from her pleasant house.

From her infants you take My ^bsplendor forever.

¹⁰“Arise and go,

For this is no place ^aof rest

Because of the ^buncleanness that wreaks destruction,

A painful destruction.

¹¹“If a man walking after wind and ^alying

Had acted falsely and said,

‘I will speak, dripping out words to you concerning ^bwine and liquor,’

He would be one who drips out words as a spokesman to ^cthis people.

¹²“I will surely ^aassemble all of you, Jacob;

I will surely gather the ^bremnant of Israel.

I will put them together like sheep in the fold;

Like a flock in the midst of its pasture

They will be noisy with men.

¹³“The breaker goes up before them;

They break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it.

So their king goes on before them,

And Yahweh at their head.”