Micah 3:1–5:15
1 And I said,
“aHear now, heads of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel.
Is it not for you to bknow justice?
2 “You who hate good and love evil,
Who atear off their skin from them
And their flesh from their bones,
3 Who aeat the flesh of my people,
Strip off their skin from them,
Break their bones
And bchop them up as for the pot
And as meat in a kettle.”
4 Then they will acry out to the Lord,
But He will not answer them.
Instead, He will bhide His face from them at that time
Because they have cpracticed evil deeds.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who alead my people astray;
When they have something to bite with their teeth,
They bcry, “Peace,”
But against him who puts nothing in their mouths
They declare holy war.
6 Therefore it will be anight for you—without vision,
And darkness for you—without divination.
The bsun will go down on the prophets,
And the day will become dark over them.
7 The seers will be aashamed
And the bdiviners will be embarrassed.
Indeed, they will all ccover their 1mouths
Because there is dno answer from God.
8 On the other hand aI am filled with power—
With the Spirit of the Lord—
And with justice and courage
To bmake known to Jacob his rebellious act,
Even to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this, aheads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who babhor justice
And twist everything that is straight,
10 Who abuild Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with violent injustice.
11 Her leaders pronounce ajudgment for a bribe,
Her bpriests instruct for a price
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord saying,
“cIs not the Lord in our midst?
Calamity will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore, on account of you
aZion will be plowed as a field,
bJerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the cmountain of the 1temple will become high places of a forest.
1 And it will come about in the alast days
That the bmountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established 1as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the cpeoples will stream to it.
2 aMany nations will come and say,
“bCome and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That cHe may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For dfrom Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And He will ajudge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, 1distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords binto plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they 2train for war.
4 Each of them will asit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With bno one to make them afraid,
For the cmouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
Each in the aname of his god,
As for us, bwe will walk
In the name of the cLord our God forever and ever.
6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble the alame
And bgather the outcasts,
Even those whom I have afflicted.
7 “I will make the lame a aremnant
And the outcasts a strong nation,
And the bLord will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on and forever.
8 “As for you, 1atower of the flock,
2Hill of the daughter of Zion,
To you it will come—
Even the bformer dominion will come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 “Now, why do you acry out loudly?
Is there no king among you,
Or has your bcounselor perished,
That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?
10 “aWrithe and labor to give birth,
Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you will bgo out of the city,
Dwell in the field,
And go to Babylon.
cThere you will be rescued;
dThere the Lord will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 “And now amany nations have been assembled against you
Who say, ‘Let her be polluted,
And let our eyes 1gloat over Zion.’
12 “But they do not aknow the thoughts of the Lord,
And they do not understand His purpose;
For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Arise and athresh, daughter of Zion,
For your horn I will make iron
And your hoofs I will make bronze,
That you may bpulverize many peoples,
That you may cdevote to the Lord their unjust gain
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
Birth of the King in Bethlehem
1 “1Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
2They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will asmite the judge of Israel on the cheek.
2 “1But as for ayou, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From byou One will go forth for Me to be cruler in Israel.
2His goings forth are dfrom long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
3 Therefore He will agive them up until the time
When she bwho is in labor has borne a child.
Then the cremainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
4 And He will arise and ashepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will 1remain,
Because 2at that time He will be great
To the bends of the earth.
5 This One awill be our peace.
When the bAssyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our 1citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6 They will ashepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of bNimrod at its entrances;
And He will cdeliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.
7 Then the aremnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like bdew from the Lord,
Like cshowers on vegetation
Which do not wait for man
Or delay for the sons of men.
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
aLike a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
And there is dnone to rescue.
9 Your hand will be alifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be cut off.
10 “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,
“aThat I will cut off your bhorses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
11 “I will also cut off the acities of your land
And tear down all your bfortifications.
12 “I will cut off asorceries from your hand,
And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
13 “aI will cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
14 “I will root out your 1aAsherim from among you
And destroy your cities.
15 “And I will aexecute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed.”