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.

²Hear,^(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

³Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling^(L) place;
    he comes down^(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.^(N)
⁴The mountains melt^(O) beneath him^(P)
    and the valleys split apart,^(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
⁵All 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)
⁷All 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

⁸Because 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.
⁹For 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.
¹⁰Tell it not in Gath^[a];
    weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah^[b]
    roll in the dust.
¹¹Pass 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.
¹²Those 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.
¹³You 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.
¹⁴Therefore 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.
¹⁵I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.^[g]^(AO)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.^(AP)
¹⁶Shave^(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.
²They 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)

³Therefore, 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.
⁴In 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.’”

⁵Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land^(BC) by lot.^(BD)

False Prophets

⁶“Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
    “Do not prophesy about these things;
    disgrace^(BE) will not overtake us.^(BF)”
⁷You 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)
⁸Lately 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.
⁹You drive the women of my people
    from their pleasant homes.^(BI)
You take away my blessing
    from their children forever.
¹⁰Get up, go away!
    For this is not your resting place,^(BJ)
because it is defiled,^(BK)
    it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
¹¹If 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)
¹³The 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)
³who 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)”

⁴Then 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)

⁵This 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.
⁶Therefore 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)
⁷The 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)”
⁸But 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)

⁹Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;^(CM)
¹⁰who build^(CN) Zion with bloodshed,^(CO)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.^(CP)
¹¹Her 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)
¹²Therefore 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)

²Many 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.
³He 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)
⁴Everyone 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)
⁵All 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)
⁷I 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)
⁸As 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)”

⁹Why 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)
¹⁰Writhe 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.

¹¹But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat^(ED) over Zion!”
¹²But 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.