Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

7:1 I am depressed!1

Indeed,2 it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested.3

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much.4

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared5 from the land;

there are no godly men left.6

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;7

they hunt their own brother with a net.8

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;9

government officials and judges take bribes,10

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.11

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes.12

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen—

your appointed time of punishment—is on the way,13

and then you will experience confusion.14

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms!15

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges16 her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants.17

7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament.18