Micah 2

Woe to Evildoers

2Woe to those who devise iniquity,

And ¹work out evil on their beds!

At ^amorning light they practice it,

Because it is in the power of their hand.

²They ^bcovet fields and take them by violence,

Also houses, and seize them.

So they oppress a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

³Therefore thus says the Lord:

“Behold, against this ^cfamily I am devising ^ddisaster,

From which you cannot remove your necks;

Nor shall you walk haughtily,

For this is an evil time.

⁴In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,

And ^elament with a bitter lamentation, saying:

‘We are utterly destroyed!

He has changed the ²heritage of my people;

How He has removed it from me!

To ³a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”

⁵Therefore you will have no ⁴one to determine boundaries by lot

In the assembly of the Lord.

Lying Prophets

⁶“Do not prattle,” you say to those who ⁵prophesy.

So they shall not prophesy ⁶to you;

⁷They shall not return insult for insult.

⁷You who are named the house of Jacob:

“Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?

Are these His doings?

Do not My words do good

To him who walks uprightly?

⁸“Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—

You pull off the robe with the garment

From those who trust you, as they pass by,

Like men returned from war.

⁹The women of My people you cast out

From their pleasant houses;

From their children

You have taken away My glory forever.

¹⁰“Arise and depart,

For this is not your ^frest;

Because it is ^gdefiled, it shall destroy,

Yes, with utter destruction.

¹¹If a man should walk in a false spirit

And speak a lie, saying,

‘I will ⁸prophesy to you ⁹of wine and drink,’

Even he would be the ^hprattler of this people.

Israel Restored

¹²“I ⁱwill surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;

I will put them together ^jlike sheep of ¹the fold,

Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;

^kThey shall make a loud noise because of so many people.

¹³The one who breaks open will come up before them;

They will break out,

Pass through the gate,

And go out by it;

^lTheir king will pass before them,

^mWith the Lord at their head.”