Micah 2

1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.s3 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.ss5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.

6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.s

7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?ss8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.ss9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.s10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.s

12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.

Micah 2

God Has Had Enough

1-5 Doom to those who plot evil, who go to bed dreaming up crimes! As soon as it's morning, they're off, full of energy, doing what they've planned. They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them. God has had enough. He says, "I have some plans of my own: Disaster because of this interbreeding evil! Your necks are on the line. You're not walking away from this. It's doomsday for you. Mocking ballads will be sung of you, and you yourselves will sing the blues: 'Our lives are ruined, our homes and lands auctioned off. They take everything, leave us nothing! All is sold to the highest bidder.'" And there'll be no one to stand up for you, no one to speak for you before God and his jury.

6-7 "Don't preach," say the preachers. "Don't preach such stuff. Nothing bad will happen to us. Talk like this to the family of Jacob? Does God lose his temper? Is this the way he acts? Isn't he on the side of good people? Doesn't he help those who help themselves?"

8-11 "What do you mean, 'good people'! You're the enemy of my people! You rob unsuspecting people out for an evening stroll. You take their coats off their backs like soldiers who plunder the defenseless. You drive the women of my people out of their ample homes. You make victims of the children and leave them vulnerable to violence and vice. Get out of here, the lot of you. You can't take it easy here! You've polluted this place, and now you're polluted—ruined! If someone showed up with a good smile and glib tongue and told lies from morning to night— 'I'll preach sermons that will tell you how you can get anything you want from God: More money, the best wines...you name it'— you'd hire him on the spot as your preacher!

12-13 "I'm calling a meeting, Jacob. I want everyone back—all the survivors of Israel. I'll get them together in one place— like sheep in a fold, like cattle in a corral— a milling throng of homebound people! Then I, God, will burst all confinements and lead them out into the open. They'll follow their King. I will be out in front leading them."