Micah 7

1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; my soul desireth the first-ripe fig.2 The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.3 Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together.4 The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity.5 Trust ye not in a neighbor; put ye not confidence in a friend; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.6 For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.7 But as for me, I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me.9 I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.10 Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall see my desire upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.11 A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the decree be far removed.12 In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.13 Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.15 As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto them marvellous things.16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf.17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto Jehovah our God, and shall be afraid because of thee.18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness.19 He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

Micah 7

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

1 I am depressed!t
Indeed,t it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,
and the grapes have been harvested.t
There is no grape cluster to eat,
no fresh figs that I crave so much.t

2 Faithful men have disappearedt from the land;
there are no godly men left.t
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;t
they hunt their own brother with a net.s

3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;t
government officials and judges take bribes,t
prominent men make demands,
and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.t

4 The best of them is like a thorn;
the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes.t
The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –
your appointed time of punishment – is on the way,t
and then you will experience confusion.t

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!t

6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,
a daughter challengest her mother,
and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are his own servants.t

7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;
I will wait for the God who delivers me.
My God will hear my lament.t

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

8 My enemies,t do not gloatt over me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.s

9 I must enduret the Lord’s anger,
for I have sinned against him.
But thent he will defend my cause,t
and accomplish justice on my behalf.
He will lead me out into the light;
I will experience firsthandt his deliverance.t

10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.
They sayt to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
I will gloat over them.t
Then they will be trampled downt
like mud in the streets.

11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;
in that day your boundary will be extended.s

A Closing Prayer

12 In that day peoplet will come to yout
from Assyria as far ass Egypt,
from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River,t
from the seacoastst and the mountains.t

13 The earth will become desolatet
because of what its inhabitants have done.t

14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod,t
the flock that belongs to you,t
the one that lives alone in a thicket,
in the midst of a pastureland.ts
Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead,s
as they did in the old days.t

15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,
I will show yout miraculous deeds.”s

16 Nations will see this and be disappointed byt all their strength,
they will put their hands over their mouths,
and act as if they were deaf.t

17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like serpents crawling on the ground.t
They will come trembling from their strongholds
to the Lord our God;t
they will be terrifiedt of you.t

18 There is no other God like you!t
Yout forgive sin
and pardont the rebellion
of those who remain among your people.t
You do not remain angry forever,t
but delight in showing loyal love.

19 You will once againt have mercy on us;
you will conquert our evil deeds;
you will hurl ourt sins into the depths of the sea.s

20 You will be loyal to Jacob
and extend your loyal love to Abraham,t
which you promised on oath to our ancestorst
in ancient times.t