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

Israel is corrupt

1 I feel so empty inside—
like someone starving
for grapes or figs,
after the vines and trees
have all been picked clean.

2 No one is loyal to God;
no one does right.
Everyone is brutal
and eager to deceive
everyone else.

3 People cooperate to commit crime.
Judges and leaders demand bribes,
and rulers cheat in court.t

4 The most honest of them
is worse than a thorn patch.
Your doom has come!
Lookouts sound the warning,
and everyone panics.

5 Don't trust anyone,
not even your best friend,
and be careful what you say
to the one you love.

6 Sons refuse to respectt
their own fathers,
daughters rebel against
their own mothers,
and daughters-in-law despise
their mothers-in-law.
Your family is now your enemy.

7 But I trust the Lord God
to save me,
and I will wait for him
to answer my prayer.

The nation turns to God

8 My enemies, don't be glad
because of my troubles!
I may have fallen,
but I will get up;
I may be sitting in the dark,
but the Lord is my light.

9 I have sinned against the Lord.
And so I must endure his anger,
until he comes to my defence.
But I know that I will see him
making things right for me
and leading me to the light.

10 You, my enemies, said,
“The Lord God is helpless.”
Now each of you
will be disgraced
and put to shame.
I will see you trampled
like mud in the street.

A bright future

11 Towns of Judah, the day is coming
when your walls will be rebuilt,
and your boundaries enlarged.

12 People will flock to you
from Assyria and Egypt,
from Babyloniat
and everywhere else.

13 Those nations will suffer disaster
because of what they did.

Micah's prayer and the Lord's answer

14 Lead your people, Lord!
Come and be our shepherd.
Grasslands surround us,
but we live in a forest.
So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,t
and let us find pasture
as we did long ago.

15 I, the Lord, will work miracles
just as I did when I led you
out of Egypt.

16 Nations will see this
and be ashamed because
of their helpless armies.
They will be in shock,
unable to speak or hear,

17 because of their fear of me,
your Lord and God.
Then they will come trembling,
crawling out of their fortresses
like insects or snakes,
lapping up the dust.

No one is like God

The people said:

18 Our God, no one is like you.
We are all that is left
of your chosen people,
and you freely forgive
our sin and guilt.
You don't stay angry for ever;
you're glad to have pity

19 and pleased to be merciful.
You will trample on our sins
and throw them in the sea.

20 You will keep your word
and be faithful to Jacob
and to Abraham,
as you promised our ancestors
many years ago.