1 The word of that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham,
Ahaz, andHezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and
Jerusalem.
2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let ADONAI
be witness against you, from holy temple.
3 For, behold, cometh forth out of place, and will come down, and
tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And the mountains shall be molten under , and the valleys shall be cleft,
as wax before the fire, andas the waters that arepoured down
a steep place.
5 For the transgression of Jacob isall this, and for the sins of the
house of Israel. What isthe transgression of Jacob? is itnot
Samaria? and what arethe high places of Judah? are theynot
Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, andas
plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the
valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.
7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires
thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay
desolate: for she gathered itof the hire of an harlot, and they shall
return to the hire of an harlot.
8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a
wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
9 For her wound isincurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come
unto the gate of my people, evento Jerusalem.
10 Declare ye itnot at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of
Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the
inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall
receive of you his standing.
12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down
from unto the gate of Jerusalem.
13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she isthe beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of
Israel were found in thee.
14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall
bea lie to the kings of Israel.
15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come
unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness
as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
~Micah 2 ~
1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the
morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
2 And they covet fields, and take themby violence; and houses, and
take themaway: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his
heritage.
3 Therefore thus saith ; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil,
from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for
this time isevil.
4 In that day shall onetake up a parable against you, and lament with
a doleful lamentation, andsay, We be utterly spoiled: hath changed
the portion of my people: how hath removed itfrom me! turning away
hath divided our fields.
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the
congregation of .
6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them thatprophesy: they shall not
prophesy to them, thatthey shall not take shame.
7 O thou that artnamed the house of Jacob, is the spirit of
straitened? arethese doings? do not my words do good to him that
walketh uprightly?
8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the
garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.
9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their
children have ye taken away my glory for ever.
10 Arise ye, and depart; for this isnot yourrest: because it
is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.
11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will
prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of
this people.
12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the
remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock
in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the
multitude ofmen.
13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed
through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them,
and on the head of them.
~Micah 3 ~
1 And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of
Israel; Is itnot for you to know judgment?
2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them,
and their flesh from off their bones;
3 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and
they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh
within the caldron.
4 Then shall they cry unto , but will not hear them: will even hide
face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their
doings.
5 Thus saith concerning the prophets that make people err, that bite
with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths,
they even prepare war against him.
6 Therefore night shall beunto you, that ye shall not have a vision;
and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go
down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall
all cover their lips; for there isno answer of .
8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of , and of judgment, and of
might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the
house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire,
and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon , and
say, Isnot among us? none evil can come upon us.
12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed asa field, and
Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places
of the forest.
~Micah 4 ~
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, thatthe mountain of the
house of shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall
be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain
of , and to the house of the of Jacob; and will teach us of
ways, and we will walk in paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the
word of from Jerusalem.
3 And shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none
shall make themafraid: for the mouth of of HOSTS hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his Elohim, and we will walk
in the name of our for ever and ever.
6 In that day, saith , will I assemble her that halteth, and I will
gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a
strong nation: and shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth,
even for ever.
8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto
thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the
daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is thereno king in thee? is thy
counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in
travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in
the field, and thou shalt go evento Babylon; there shalt thou be
delivered; there shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be
defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
12 But they know not the thoughts of , neither understand they
counsel: for shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I
will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will
consecrate their gain unto , and their substance unto of the
whole earth.
~Micah 5 ~
1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against
us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, thoughthou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yetout of thee shall come forth unto that
isto be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have beenfrom of
old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will give them up, until the time thatshe which
travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of brethren shall return
unto the children of Israel.
4 And shall stand and feed in the strength of , in the majesty of the
name of ; and they shall abide: for now shall be great unto
the ends of the earth.
5 And this MANshall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into
our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against
him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of
Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver usfrom the
Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from
, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth
for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many
people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the
flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in
pieces, and none can deliver.
9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies
shall be cut off.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith , that I will cut off thy
horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:
11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong
holds:
12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no moresoothsayers:
13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the
midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy
thy cities.
15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they
have not heard.
~Micah 6 ~
1 Hear ye now what saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and
let the hills hear thy voice.
2 Hear ye, O mountains, 's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the
earth: for hath a controversy with people, and will plead with
Israel.
3 O people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee?
testify against .
4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the
house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam
the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the
righteousness of .
6 Wherewith shall I come before , andbow myself before the high
? shall I come before with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
7 Will be pleased with thousands of rams, orwith ten thousands
of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn formy transgression, the
fruit of my body forthe sin of my soul?
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what isgood; and what doth
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy ?
9 's voice crieth unto the city, and the man ofwisdom shall see
name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the
scant measure that isabominable?
11 Shall I count thempure with the wicked balances, and with the bag
of deceitful weights?
12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof
have spoken lies, and their tongue isdeceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore also will I make theesick in smiting thee, in making theedesolate because of thy sins.
14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall bein the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and thatwhich thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but
thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab,
and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the
inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my
people.
~Micah 7 ~
1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the
grapegleanings of the vintage: there isno cluster to eat: my soul
desired the firstripe fruit.
2 The good manis perished out of the earth: and there isnone
upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his
brother with a net.
3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the
judge askethfor a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his
mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
4 The best of them isas a brier: the most upright is sharperthan a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen andthy visitation cometh;
now shall be their perplexity.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of
thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her
mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies arethe men of his own house.
7 Therefore I will look unto ; I will wait for the of my
salvation: my will hear me.
8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit
in darkness, shall bea light unto me.
9 I will bear the indignation of , because I have sinned against ,
until plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: will bring me forth to
the light, andI shall behold righteousness.
10 Then she that ismine enemy shall see it, and shame shall
cover her which said unto me, Where is thy ? mine eyes shall
behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
11 Inthe day that thy walls are to be built, inthat day
shall the decree be far removed.
12 Inthat day alsohe shall come even to thee from Assyria,
and fromthe fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river,
and from sea to sea, and frommountain to mountain.
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell
therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed people with rod, the flock of heritage, which dwell
solitarily inthe wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed inBashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto
him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay theirhand upon theirmouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes
like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of our , and shall
fear because of .
18 Who isa like unto , that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth
by the transgression of the remnant of heritage? retaineth not anger
for ever, because delighteth inmercy.
19 will turn again, will have compassion upon us; will subdue our
iniquities; and wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 wilt perform the truth to Jacob, andthe mercy to Abraham,
which hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.