Micah 7

Israel’s Misery

7What misery is mine!

I am like one who gathers summer fruit

at the gleaning of the vineyard;

there is no cluster of grapes to eat,

none of the early figs^c that I crave.

²The faithful have been swept from the land;^d

not one^e upright person remains.

Everyone lies in wait^f to shed blood;^g

they hunt each other^h with nets.ⁱ

³Both hands are skilled in doing evil;^j

the ruler demands gifts,

the judge accepts bribes,^k

the powerful dictate what they desire—

they all conspire together.

⁴The best of them is like a brier,^l

the most upright worse than a thorn^m hedge.

The day God visits you has come,

the day your watchmen sound the alarm.

Now is the time of your confusion.ⁿ

⁵Do not trust a neighbor;

put no confidence in a friend.^o

Even with the woman who lies in your embrace

guard the words of your lips.

⁶For a son dishonors his father,

a daughter rises up against her mother,^p

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.^q

⁷But as for me, I watch^r in hope^s for the Lord,

I wait for God my Savior;

my God will hear^t me.

Israel Will Rise

⁸Do not gloat over me,^u my enemy!

Though I have fallen, I will rise.^v

Though I sit in darkness,

the Lord will be my light.^w

⁹Because I have sinned against him,

I will bear the Lord’s wrath,^x

until he pleads my case^y

and upholds my cause.

He will bring me out into the light;^z

I will see his righteousness.^a

¹⁰Then my enemy will see it

and will be covered with shame,^b

she who said to me,

“Where is the Lord your God?”^c

My eyes will see her downfall;^d

even now she will be trampled^e underfoot

like mire in the streets.

¹¹The day for building your walls^f will come,

the day for extending your boundaries.

¹²In that day people will come to you

from Assyria^g and the cities of Egypt,

even from Egypt to the Euphrates

and from sea to sea

and from mountain to mountain.^h

¹³The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,

as the result of their deeds.ⁱ

Prayer and Praise

¹⁴Shepherd^j your people with your staff,^k

the flock of your inheritance,

which lives by itself in a forest,

in fertile pasturelands.^al

Let them feed in Bashan^m and Gileadⁿ

as in days long ago.^o

¹⁵“As in the days when you came out of Egypt,

I will show them my wonders.^p”

¹⁶Nations will see and be ashamed,^q

deprived of all their power.

They will put their hands over their mouths^r

and their ears will become deaf.

¹⁷They will lick dust^s like a snake,

like creatures that crawl on the ground.

They will come trembling^t out of their dens;

they will turn in fear^u to the Lord our God

and will be afraid of you.

¹⁸Who is a God^v like you,

who pardons sin^w and forgives^x the transgression

of the remnant^y of his inheritance?^z

You do not stay angry^a forever

but delight to show mercy.^b

¹⁹You will again have compassion on us;

you will tread our sins underfoot

and hurl all our iniquities^c into the depths of the sea.^d

²⁰You will be faithful to Jacob,

and show love to Abraham,^e

as you pledged on oath to our ancestors^f

in days long ago.^g