The word of the Lord that came(A) to Micah(B) the Moreshite(C)—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham,(D) Ahaz,(E) and Hezekiah,(F) kings of Judah.

Coming Judgment on Israel

Listen, all you peoples;(G)
pay attention, earth[a] and everyone in it!(H)
The Lord God will be a witness against you,(I)
the Lord, from His holy temple.(J)
Look, the Lord is leaving His place(K)
and coming down to trample
the heights[b] of the earth.(L)
The mountains will melt beneath Him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax near a fire,(M)
like water cascading down a mountainside.
All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion
and the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?(N)
And what is the high place of Judah?(O)
Isn’t it Jerusalem?
Therefore, I will make Samaria
a heap of ruins(P) in the countryside,
a planting area(Q) for a vineyard.
I will roll her stones(R) into the valley
and expose her foundations.(S)
All her carved images will be smashed(T) to pieces;
all her wages(U) will be burned in the fire,
and I will destroy all her idols.
Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,(V)
they will be used again for a prostitute.

Micah’s Lament

Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.(W)
I will howl like the jackals(X)
and mourn like ostriches.[c]
For her wound is incurable(Y)
and has reached even Judah;(Z)
it has approached the gate of my people,(AA)
as far as Jerusalem.

10 Don’t announce it in Gath,(AB)
don’t weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
11 Depart in shameful nakedness,(AC)
you residents of Shaphir;
the residents of Zaanan(AD) will not come out.
Beth-ezel is lamenting;
its support[d] is taken from you.
12 Though the residents of Maroth
anxiously wait for something good,(AE)
disaster has come from the Lord(AF)
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.(AG)
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion,
because Israel’s acts of rebellion(AH) can be traced to you.
14 Therefore, send farewell gifts(AI) to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib(AJ) are a deception(AK)
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror
against you who live in Mareshah.(AL)
The nobility[e] of Israel will come to Adullam.(AM)
16 Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair(AN)
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.(AO)

Oppressors Judged

Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans(AP) on their beds!
At morning light(AQ) they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.(AR)
They covet fields(AS) and seize them;(AT)
they also take houses.
They deprive a man of his home,(AU)
a person of his inheritance.(AV)

Therefore, the Lord says:

I am now planning(AW) a disaster
against this nation;(AX)
you cannot free your necks from it.(AY)
Then you will not walk so proudly(AZ)
because it will be an evil time.(BA)
In that day one will take up(BB) a taunt against you,
and lament mournfully,(BC) saying,
“We are totally ruined!(BD)
He measures out the allotted land of my people.
How He removes it from me!
He allots our fields(BE) to traitors.”
Therefore, there will be no one
in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by casting lots.[f](BF)

God’s Word Rejected

“Quit your preaching,”(BG) they[g] preach.
“They should not preach these things;(BH)
shame will not overtake us.”[h](BI)
House of Jacob, should it be asked,
“Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?(BJ)
Are these the things He does?”
Don’t My words bring good(BK)
to the one who walks uprightly?(BL)
But recently My people have risen up
like an enemy:(BM)
You strip off the splendid robe(BN)
from those who are passing through confidently,(BO)
like those returning from war.
You force(BP) the women of My people
out of their comfortable homes,
and you take My blessing[i](BQ)
from their children forever.
10 Get up and leave,
for this is not your place of rest,(BR)
because defilement(BS) brings destruction—
a grievous destruction!(BT)
11 If a man of wind[j] comes
and invents lies:(BU)
“I will preach to you about wine and beer,”(BV)
he would be just the preacher for this people!(BW)

The Remnant Regathered

12 I will indeed gather(BX) all of you, Jacob;
I will collect the remnant of Israel.(BY)
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in the middle of its fold.
It will be noisy with people.(BZ)
13 One who breaks open the way
will advance before them;
they will break out, pass through the gate,
and leave by it.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord as their leader.

Unjust Leaders Judged

Then I said, “Now listen,(CA) leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?(CB)
You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin(CC)
and strip their flesh from their bones.
You eat the flesh(CD) of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up(CE)
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
Then they will cry out(CF) to the Lord,
but He will not answer them.
He will hide His face from them at that time(CG)
because of the crimes they have committed.

False Prophets Judged

This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,(CH)
who proclaim(CI) peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
Therefore, it will be night(CJ) for you—
without visions;
it will grow dark for you—
without divination.(CK)
The sun will set(CL) on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
Then the seers will be ashamed(CM)
and the diviners disappointed.(CN)
They will all cover their mouths[k](CO)
because there will be no answer from God.(CP)

As for me, however, I am filled with power(CQ)
by the Spirit of the Lord,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin.(CR)

Zion’s Destruction

Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob,(CS)
you rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice(CT)
and pervert everything that is right,
10 who build Zion with bloodshed(CU)
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,(CV)
her priests teach for payment,(CW)
and her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord(CX) among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,(CY)
and the hill of the temple mount(CZ)
will be a thicket.(DA)

The Lord’s Rule from Restored Zion

In the last days(DB)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(DC)
will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will stream to it,(DD)
and many nations will come and say,(DE)
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(DF)
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about His ways(DG)
so we may walk in His paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion(DH)
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will settle disputes among many peoples(DI)
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows,
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
But each man will sit under his grapevine(DJ)
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.(DK)
For the mouth of the Lord(DL) of Hosts
has promised this.
Though all the peoples each walk
in the name of their gods,(DM)
we will walk(DN) in the name of Yahweh our God
forever and ever.(DO)

On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,(DP)
those I have injured.
I will make the lame into a remnant,(DQ)
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the Lord will rule over them(DR) in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
And you, watchtower for the flock,(DS)
fortified hill[l] of Daughter Zion,
the former rule(DT) will come to you,
sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.

From Exile to Victory

Now, why are you shouting loudly?(DU)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished(DV)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and cry out,[m](DW) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city(DX)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;(DY)
there the Lord will redeem you(DZ)
from the power of your enemies!
11 Many nations have now assembled against you;(EA)
they say, “Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
12 But they do not know the Lord’s intentions(EB)
or understand His plan,
that He has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Rise and thresh,(EC) Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze,
so you can crush many peoples.(ED)
Then you[n] will set apart their plunder(EE)
to the Lord for destruction,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:2 Or land
  2. Micah 1:3 Or high places
  3. Micah 1:8 Or eagle owls; lit daughters of the desert
  4. Micah 1:11 Lit its standing place; Hb obscure
  5. Micah 1:15 Lit glory
  6. Micah 2:5 Lit Lord stretching the measuring line by lot
  7. Micah 2:6 = the prophets
  8. Micah 2:6 Text emended; MT reads things. Shame will not depart.
  9. Micah 2:9 Perhaps the land
  10. Micah 2:11 Or spirit
  11. Micah 3:7 Lit mustache
  12. Micah 4:8 Or flock, Ophel
  13. Micah 4:10 Hb obscure
  14. Micah 4:13 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads I

Psalm 46

God Our Refuge

For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.[a](A)

God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)Selah

There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.(G)
The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)Selah

Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
He burns up the chariots.[b](J)
10 “Stop your fighting—and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 Yahweh of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)Selah

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 46:1 This may refer to a high pitch, perhaps a tune sung by soprano voices; the Hb word means “young women.”
  2. Psalm 46:9 Lit chariots with fire

Prologue

The revelation of[a] Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves(A) what must quickly[b] take place.(B) He sent it and signified it[c] through His angel(C) to His slave John,(D) who testified to God’s word and to the testimony[d] about Jesus Christ,(E) in all he saw.[e] The one who reads this is blessed,(F) and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep[f] what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!

John:

To the seven churches in Asia.

Grace and peace(G) to you from[g] the One who is, who was, and who is coming;(H) from the seven spirits[h](I) before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has set us free[i] from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom,[j] priests[k](J) to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

Look! He is coming with the clouds,(K)
and every eye will see Him,
including those who pierced[l] Him.
And all the families of the earth[m](L)[n]
will mourn over Him.[o](M)[p]
This is certain. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”(N) says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.[q](O) 10 I was in the Spirit[r][s](P) on the Lord’s day,[t] and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll[u] what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 I turned to see whose voice(Q) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man,[v](R) dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow—and His eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading[w] waters.(S) 16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth,(T) and His face was shining like the sun at midday.[x]

17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last,(U) 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. 20 The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[y] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands[z] are the seven churches.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:1 Or Revelation of, or A revelation of
  2. Revelation 1:1 Or soon
  3. Revelation 1:1 Made it known through symbols
  4. Revelation 1:2 Or witness
  5. Revelation 1:2 Lit as many as he saw
  6. Revelation 1:3 Or follow, or obey
  7. Revelation 1:4 Other mss add God
  8. Revelation 1:4 Or the sevenfold Spirit
  9. Revelation 1:5 Other mss read has washed us
  10. Revelation 1:6 Other mss read kings and
  11. Revelation 1:6 Or made us into (or to be) a kingdom of priests; Ex 19:6
  12. Revelation 1:7 Or impaled
  13. Revelation 1:7 Or all the tribes of the land
  14. Revelation 1:7 Gn 12:3; 28:14; Zch 14:17
  15. Revelation 1:7 Or will wail because of Him
  16. Revelation 1:7 Dn 7:13; Zch 12:10
  17. Revelation 1:9 Lit the witness of Jesus
  18. Revelation 1:10 Or in spirit; lit I became in the Spirit
  19. Revelation 1:10 John was brought by God’s Spirit into a realm of spiritual vision.
  20. Revelation 1:10 Sunday
  21. Revelation 1:11 Or book
  22. Revelation 1:13 Or like a son of man
  23. Revelation 1:15 Lit many
  24. Revelation 1:16 Lit like the sun shines in its power
  25. Revelation 1:20 Or messengers
  26. Revelation 1:20 Other mss add that you saw

Bible Gateway Recommends