Micah 7

New King James Version

Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

7 Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who ^(A)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which ^(B)my soul desires.
²The ^(C)faithful^[a] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
^(D)Every man hunts his brother with a net.

³That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a ^(E)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
⁴The best of them is ^(F)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.

⁵^(G)Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your ^(H)bosom.
⁶For ^(I)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
⁷Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will ^(J)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

⁸^(K)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
^(L)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
⁹^(M)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my ^(N)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
¹⁰Then she who is my enemy will see,
And ^(O)shame will cover her who said to me,
^(P)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.

¹¹In the day when your ^(Q)walls are to be built,
In that day ^[b]the decree shall go far and wide.
¹²In that day ^(R)they^[c] shall come to you
From Assyria and the ^[d]fortified cities,
From the ^[e]fortress to ^[f]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
¹³Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And ^(S)for the fruit of their deeds.

God Will Forgive Israel

¹⁴Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell ^[g]solitarily in a ^(T)woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.

¹⁵“As^(U) in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show ^[h]them ^(V)wonders.”

¹⁶The nations ^(W)shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
^(X)They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
¹⁷They shall lick the ^(Y)dust like a serpent;
^(Z)They shall crawl from their holes like ^[i]snakes of the earth.
^(AA)They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.
¹⁸^(AB)Who is a God like You,
^(AC)Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of ^(AD)the remnant of His heritage?

^(AE)He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in ^(AF)mercy.^[j]
¹⁹He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all ^[k]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
²⁰^(AG)You will give truth to Jacob
And ^[l]mercy to Abraham,
^(AH)Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.