Micah 2

Chapter 2

Judgment against Wealthy Oppressors

1 What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night,
thinking up evil plans.
You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out,
simply because you have the power to do so.2 When you want a piece of land,
you find a way to seize it.
When you want someone’s house,
you take it by fraud and violence.
You cheat a man of his property,
stealing his family’s inheritance.3 But this is what the LORD says:
“I will reward your evil with evil;
you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose.
You will no longer walk around proudly,
for it will be a terrible time.”4 In that day your enemies will make fun of you
by singing this song of despair about you:
“We are finished,
completely ruined!
God has confiscated our land,
taking it from us.
He has given our fields
to those who betrayed us.t”5 Others will set your boundaries then,
and the LORD’s people will have no say
in how the land is divided.

True and False Prophets

6 “Don’t say such things,”
the people respond.t
“Don’t prophesy like that.
Such disasters will never come our way!”7 Should you talk that way, O family of Israel?t
Will the LORD’s Spirit have patience with such behavior?
If you would do what is right,
you would find my words comforting.8 Yet to this very hour
my people rise against me like an enemy!
You steal the shirts right off the backs
of those who trusted you,
making them as ragged as men
returning from battle.9 You have evicted women from their pleasant homes
and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them.10 Up! Begone!
This is no longer your land and home,
for you have filled it with sin
and ruined it completely.11 Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you,
“I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!”
That’s just the kind of prophet you would like!

Hope for Restoration

12 “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you;
I will gather the remnant who are left.
I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture.
Yes, your land will again
be filled with noisy crowds!13 Your leader will break out
and lead you out of exile,
out through the gates of the enemy cities,
back to your own land.
Your king will lead you;
the LORD himself will guide you.”

Micah 3

Chapter 3

Judgment against Israel’s Leaders

1 I said, “Listen, you leaders of Israel!
You are supposed to know right from wrong,2 but you are the very ones
who hate good and love evil.
You skin my people alive
and tear the flesh from their bones.3 Yes, you eat my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and break their bones.
You chop them up
like meat for the cooking pot.4 Then you beg the LORD for help in times of trouble!
Do you really expect him to answer?
After all the evil you have done,
he won’t even look at you!”5 This is what the LORD says:
“You false prophets are leading my people astray!
You promise peace for those who give you food,
but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you.6 Now the night will close around you,
cutting off all your visions.
Darkness will cover you,
putting an end to your predictions.
The sun will set for you prophets,
and your day will come to an end.7 Then you seers will be put to shame,
and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced.
And you will cover your faces
because there is no answer from God.”8 But as for me, I am filled with power—
with the Spirit of the LORD.
I am filled with justice and strength
to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion.9 Listen to me, you leaders of Israel!
You hate justice and twist all that is right.10 You are building Jerusalem
on a foundation of murder and corruption.11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes;
you priests teach God’s laws only for a price;
you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid.
Yet all of you claim to depend on the LORD.
“No harm can come to us,” you say,
“for the LORD is here among us.”12 Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;
Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights
where the Temple now stands.

Micah 4

Chapter 4

The LORD’s Future Reign

1 In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.2 People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the LORD’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.3 The LORD will mediate between peoples
and will settle disputes between strong nations far away.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore.4 Everyone will live in peace and prosperity,
enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees,
for there will be nothing to fear.
The LORD of Heaven’s Armies
has made this promise!5 Though the nations around us follow their idols,
we will follow the LORD our God forever and ever.

Israel’s Return from Exile

6 “In that coming day,” says the LORD,
“I will gather together those who are lame,
those who have been exiles,
and those whom I have filled with grief.7 Those who are weak will survive as a remnant;
those who were exiles will become a strong nation.
Then I, the LORD, will rule from Jerusalemt
as their king forever.”8 As for you, Jerusalem,
the citadel of God’s people,t
your royal might and power
will come back to you again.
The kingship will be restored
to my precious Jerusalem.9 But why are you now screaming in terror?
Have you no king to lead you?
Have your wise people all died?
Pain has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.10 Writhe and groan like a woman in labor,
you people of Jerusalem,t
for now you must leave this city
to live in the open country.
You will soon be sent in exile
to distant Babylon.
But the LORD will rescue you there;
he will redeem you from the grip of your enemies.11 Now many nations have gathered against you.
“Let her be desecrated,” they say.
“Let us see the destruction of Jerusalem.t”12 But they do not know the LORD’s thoughts
or understand his plan.
These nations don’t know
that he is gathering them together
to be beaten and trampled
like sheaves of grain on a threshing floor.13 “Rise up and crush the nations, O Jerusalem!”t
says the LORD.
“For I will give you iron horns and bronze hooves,
so you can trample many nations to pieces.
You will present their stolen riches to the LORD,
their wealth to the LORD of all the earth.”