Micah 1

¹The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.  ² Hear, O peoples, all of you,
listen, O earth and all who are in it,
that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

³ Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads the high places of the earth.  ⁴ The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
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 house of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
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.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.  ⁷ All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

⁸ Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.  ⁹ For her wound is incurable;
it has come to Judah.
It ^[a] has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.  ¹⁰ Tell it not in Gath ^[b] ;
weep not at all. ^[c]
In Beth Ophrah ^[d]
roll in the dust.  ¹¹ Pass on in nakedness and shame,
you who live in Shaphir. ^[e]
Those who live in Zaanan ^[f]
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
its protection is taken from you.  ¹² Those who live in Maroth ^[g] writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the LORD,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.  ¹³ You who live in Lachish, ^[h]
harness the team to the chariot.
You were the beginning of sin
to the Daughter of Zion,
for the transgressions of Israel
were found in you.  ¹⁴ Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Aczib ^[i] will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.  ¹⁵ I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah. ^[j]
He who is the glory of Israel
will come to Adullam.  ¹⁶ Shave your heads in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourselves as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.

Micah 2

Man’s Plans and God’s

¹ Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.  ² They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud a man of his home,
a fellowman of his inheritance.  ³ Therefore, the LORD says:
“I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.  ⁴ In that day men will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;
my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ”  ⁵ Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide the land by lot.

False Prophets

⁶ “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
“Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”  ⁷ Should it be said, O house of Jacob:
“Is the Spirit of the LORD angry?
Does he do such things?”
“Do not my words do good
to him whose ways are upright?  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.
You take away my blessing
from their children forever.  ¹⁰ Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.  ¹¹ If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’
he would be just the prophet for this people!

Deliverance Promised

¹² “I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.  ¹³ One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their king will pass through before them,
the LORD at their head.”