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Micah 1-4
Contemporary English Version
Micah 1-4
Contemporary English Version
1 (A) I am Micah from Moresheth.[a] And this is the message about Samaria and Jerusalem[b] that the Lord gave to me when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah[c] were the kings of Judah.
Judgment on Samaria
2 Listen, all of you!
Earth and everything on it,
pay close attention.
The Lord God accuses you
from his holy temple.[d]
3 And he will come down
to crush underfoot
every pagan altar.
4 Mountains will melt
beneath his feet
like wax beside a fire.
Valleys will vanish like water
rushing down a ravine.
5 This will happen because of
the terrible sins of Israel,
the descendants of Jacob.
Samaria has led Israel to sin,
and pagan altars at Jerusalem
have made Judah sin.
6 So the Lord will leave Samaria
in ruins—
merely an empty field
where vineyards are planted.
He will scatter its stones
and destroy its foundations.
7 Samaria's idols will be smashed,
and the wages
of temple prostitutes[e]
will be destroyed by fire.
Silver and gold from those idols
will then be used by foreigners
as payment for prostitutes.
Judah Is Doomed
8 Because of this tragedy,[f]
I go barefoot and naked.
My crying and weeping
sound like howling wolves
or ostriches.
9 The nation is fatally wounded.
Judah is doomed.
Jerusalem will fall.
10 Don't tell it in Gath!
Don't even cry.
Instead, roll in the dust
at Beth-Leaphrah.[g]
11 Depart naked and ashamed,
you people of Shaphir.[h]
The town of Bethezel[i] mourns
because no one from Zaanan[j]
went out to help.[k]
12 Everyone in Maroth[l]
hoped for the best,
but the Lord sent disaster
down on Jerusalem.
13 Get the war chariots ready,
you people of Lachish.[m]
You led Jerusalem into sin,
just as Israel did.[n]
14 Now you will have to give
a going-away gift[o]
to Moresheth.[p]
Israel's kings will discover
that they cannot trust
the town of Achzib.[q]
15 People of Mareshah,[r]
the Lord will send someone
to capture your town.
Then Israel's glorious king
will be forced to hide
in Adullam Cave.[s]
16 Judah, shave your head
as bald as a vulture
and start mourning.
Your precious children[t]
will be dragged off
to a foreign country.
Punishment for Those Who Abuse Their Power
2 Doomed! You're doomed!
At night you lie in bed,
making evil plans.
And when morning comes,
you do what you've planned
because you have the power.
2 You grab any field or house
that you want;
you cheat families
out of homes and land.
3 But here is what the Lord says:
“I am planning trouble for you.
Your necks will be caught
in a noose,
and you will be disgraced
in this time of disaster.”
4 When that happens,
this sorrowful song
will be sung about you:
“Ruined! Completely ruined!
The Lord has taken our land
and given it to traitors.”[u]
5 And so you will never again
own property
among the Lord's people.
6 “Enough of your preaching!”
That's what you tell me.
“We won't be disgraced,
so stop preaching!”
7 Descendants of Jacob,
is it right for you to claim
that the Lord did what he did
because he was angry?
Doesn't he always bless
those who do right?
8 My people, you have turned against
one another!
You have even stolen
clothes right off the backs
of innocent neighbors
who pass by in peace.[v]
9 You take over lovely homes
that belong to the women
of my nation.
Then you cheat their children
out of the inheritance
that comes from the Lord.[w]
10 Get out of here, you crooks!
You'll find no rest here.
You're not fit to belong
to the Lord's people,
and you will be destroyed.[x]
11 The only prophet you want
is a liar who will say,
“Drink and get drunk!”
A Promise of Hope
12 I, the Lord, promise
to bring together
the people of Israel
who have survived.
I will gather them,
just as a shepherd
brings sheep together,
and there will be many.
13 I will break down the gate
and lead them out—
then I will be their king.
Evil Rulers and Lying Prophets
3 Listen to me,
you rulers of Israel!
You know right from wrong,
2 but you prefer to do evil
instead of what is right.
You skin my people alive.
You strip off their flesh,
3 break their bones,
cook it all in a pot,
and gulp it down.
4 Someday you will beg the Lord
to help you,
but he will turn away
because of your sins.
5 You lying prophets promise
security for anyone
who gives you food,
but disaster for anyone
who refuses to feed you.
Here is what the Lord says
to you prophets:
6 “You will live in the dark,
far from the sight of the sun,
with no message from me.
7 You prophets and fortunetellers
will all be disgraced,
with no message from me.”
8 But the Lord has filled me
with power and his Spirit.
I have been given the courage
to speak about justice
and to tell you people of Israel
that you have sinned.
9 So listen to my message,
you rulers of Israel!
You hate justice
and twist the truth.
10 You make cruelty and murder
a way of life in Jerusalem.
11 You leaders accept bribes
for dishonest decisions.
You priests and prophets
teach and preach,
but only for money.
Then you say,
“The Lord is on our side.
No harm will come to us.”
12 (B) And so, because of you,
Jerusalem will be plowed under
and left in ruins.
Thorns will cover the mountain
where the temple now stands.
Peace and Prosperity
4 In the future, the mountain
with the Lord's temple
will be the highest of all.
It will reach above the hills,
and every nation
will rush to it.
2 People of many nations
will come and say,
“Let's go up to the mountain
of the Lord God of Jacob
and worship in his temple.”
The Lord will teach us his Law
from Jerusalem,
and we will obey him.
3 (C) He will settle arguments
between distant
and powerful nations.
They will pound their swords
and their spears
into rakes and shovels;
they will never again make war
or attack one another.
4 (D) Everyone will find rest
beneath their own fig trees
or grape vines,
and they will live in peace.
This is a solemn promise
of the Lord All-Powerful.
5 Others may follow their gods,
but we will always follow
the Lord our God.
The Lord Will Lead His People Home
6 The Lord said:
At that time
I will gather my people—
the lame and the outcasts,
and all others into whose lives
I have brought sorrow.
7 Then the lame and the outcasts
will belong to my people
and become a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will rule them
from Mount Zion forever.
8 Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
guardian of my people,
you will rule again.
9 Jerusalem, why are you crying?
Don't you have a king?
Have your advisors gone?
Are you suffering
like a woman in childbirth?
10 Keep on groaning with pain,
you people of Jerusalem!
If you escape from your city
to the countryside,
you will still be taken
as prisoners to Babylonia.
But later I will rescue you
from your enemies.
11 Zion, because of your sins
you are surrounded
by many nations who say,
“We can hardly wait
to see you disgraced.”[y]
12 But they don't know
that I, the Lord,
have gathered them here
to grind them like grain.
13 Smash them to pieces, Zion!
I'll let you be like a bull
with iron horns
and bronze hoofs.
Crush those nations
and bring their wealth to me,
the Lord of the earth.
Footnotes
- 1.1 Moresheth: A town in southern Judah not far from Gath. In verse 14 it is called Moresheth-Gath.
- 1.1 Samaria and Jerusalem: Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom (Israel), and Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom (Judah).
- 1.1 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah: Jotham, the son of Uzziah, ruled Judah 740–736 b.c.; Ahaz, the son of Jotham, ruled 736–716 b.c.; Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, ruled 716–687 b.c.
- 1.2 holy temple: Possibly the one in heaven, though it may be the Jerusalem temple.
- 1.7 wages of temple prostitutes: At pagan temples, people had sex with prostitutes as a way of worshiping the idols, and the money earned in this way was used to support the pagan religion.
- 1.8 this tragedy: Either the destruction of Samaria (verses 6,7) or the coming destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.
- 1.10 Gath … Beth-Leaphrah: Gath was a Philistine city; Beth-Leaphrah is unknown, but in Hebrew it sounds like “House of Dust.”
- 1.11 Shaphir: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Shaphir” means “beautiful.”
- 1.11 Bethezel: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Bethezel” means “house next door.”
- 1.11 Zaanan: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Zaanan” means “one who goes out.”
- 1.11 The town … help: Or “No one from Zaanan refused to desert their town, and Bethezel mourns because it is left undefended.”
- 1.12 Maroth: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Maroth” means “bitter.”
- 1.13 Lachish: The chief city of southwest Judah, about 48 kilometers from Jerusalem.
- 1.13 led … sin … did: Or “You led Jerusalem and Israel into sin.” In Hebrew “Lachish” sounds like “a team of horses (that pulls a war chariot).” And the sin may be that Lachish led the nation to trust the power of war chariots instead of the Lord. But the sin could be idolatry or some false teachings that were brought in from Egypt by way of Lachish.
- 1.14 going-away gift: The gift (dowry) that a bride's father gave her when she left the home of her parents to live with the family of her husband. In Hebrew the word for “bride” or “fiancee” sounds like “Moresheth.”
- 1.14 Moresheth: Hebrew “Moresheth-Gath”; the home of Micah (see verse 1).
- 1.14 Achzib: Meaning “lie” or “deception” was near Adullam Cave (verse 15), where David hid from King Saul (see 1 Samuel 22.1,2). Micah probably means that the people of Israel (including their king) will have to run for their lives, but will find that all hope for escape is merely a “lie” (see verse 15).
- 1.15 Mareshah: Sounds something like the Hebrew word for “conqueror” and was only a few kilometers northeast of Lachish.
- 1.15 Adullam Cave: See the note at 1.14.
- 1.16 precious children: The towns mentioned in verses 10-15.
- 2.4 The Lord … traitors: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 2.8 of innocent neighbors … peace: Or “of your unsuspecting soldiers returning home from battle.”
- 2.9 inheritance … Lord: The Hebrew text has “my glory,” which refers to the inheritance of land that the Lord had promised his people.
- 2.10 destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 4.11 We … disgraced: Or “We'll pull up your skirt and expose your nakedness!”
Micah 1-4
New International Version
Micah 1-4
New International Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth(A) during the reigns of Jotham,(B) Ahaz(C) and Hezekiah,(D) kings of Judah(E)—the vision(F) he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear,(G) you peoples, all of you,(H)
listen, earth(I) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(J) against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.(K)
Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem
3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
4 The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?(R)
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.(S)
I will pour her stones(T) into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.(U)
7 All her idols(V) will be broken to pieces;(W)
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.(X)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(Y)
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”
Weeping and Mourning
8 Because of this I will weep(Z) and wail;
I will go about barefoot(AA) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague(AB) is incurable;(AC)
it has spread to Judah.(AD)
It has reached the very gate(AE) of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked(AF) and in shame,
you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,(AG)
because disaster(AH) has come from the Lord,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(AI)
harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(AJ) began,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(AK)
to Moresheth(AL) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](AM) will prove deceptive(AN)
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.[g](AO)
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.(AP)
16 Shave(AQ) your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.(AR)
Human Plans and God’s Plans
2 Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil(AS) on their beds!(AT)
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields(AU) and seize them,(AV)
and houses, and take them.
They defraud(AW) people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.(AX)
3 Therefore, the Lord says:
“I am planning disaster(AY) against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(AZ)
for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day people will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;(BA)
my people’s possession is divided up.(BB)
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.’”
False Prophets
6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
“Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace(BE) will not overtake us.(BF)”
7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
“Does the Lord become[h] impatient?
Does he do such things?”
“Do not my words do good(BG)
to the one whose ways are upright?(BH)
8 Lately my people have risen up
like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
from those who pass by without a care,
like men returning from battle.
9 You drive the women of my people
from their pleasant homes.(BI)
You take away my blessing
from their children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,(BJ)
because it is defiled,(BK)
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver(BL) comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’(BM)
that would be just the prophet for this people!(BN)
Deliverance Promised
12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant(BO) of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.(BP)
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before(BQ) them;
they will break through the gate(BR) and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord at their head.”
Leaders and Prophets Rebuked
3 Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders(BS) of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;(BT)
3 who eat my people’s flesh,(BU)
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;(BV)
who chop(BW) them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?(BX)”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.(BY)
At that time he will hide his face(BZ) from them
because of the evil they have done.(CA)
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,(CB)
they proclaim ‘peace’(CC)
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.(CD)
The sun will set for the prophets,(CE)
and the day will go dark for them.(CF)
7 The seers will be ashamed(CG)
and the diviners disgraced.(CH)
They will all cover(CI) their faces(CJ)
because there is no answer from God.(CK)”
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.(CL)
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;(CM)
10 who build(CN) Zion with bloodshed,(CO)
and Jerusalem with wickedness.(CP)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(CQ)
her priests teach for a price,(CR)
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(CS)
Yet they look(CT) for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”(CU)
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(CV)
the temple(CW) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(CX)
The Mountain of the Lord(CY)
4 In the last days
the mountain(CZ) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(DA)
and peoples will stream to it.(DB)
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(DC)
to the temple of the God of Jacob.(DD)
He will teach us(DE) his ways,(DF)
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(DG) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(DH)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(DI)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war(DJ) anymore.(DK)
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,(DL)
and no one will make them afraid,(DM)
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.(DN)
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,(DO)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.(DP)
The Lord’s Plan
6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame;(DQ)
I will assemble the exiles(DR)
and those I have brought to grief.(DS)
7 I will make the lame my remnant,(DT)
those driven away a strong nation.(DU)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion(DV)
from that day and forever.(DW)
8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold[i] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored(DX) to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.(DY)”
9 Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king[j](DZ)?
Has your ruler[k] perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?(EA)
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;(EB)
there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem(EC) you
out of the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat(ED) over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,(EE)
that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Rise and thresh,(EF) Daughter Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
and you will break to pieces many nations.”(EG)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,(EH)
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
- Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
- Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
- Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
- Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
- Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
- Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.
- Micah 2:7 Or Is the Spirit of the Lord
- Micah 4:8 Or hill
- Micah 4:9 Or King
- Micah 4:9 Or Ruler
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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