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Micah 2-5
New King James Version
Micah 2-5
New King James Version
Woe to Evildoers
2 Woe to those who devise iniquity,
And [a]work out evil on their beds!
At (A)morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They (B)covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, against this (C)family I am devising (D)disaster,
From which you cannot remove your necks;
Nor shall you walk haughtily,
For this is an evil time.
4 In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,
And (E)lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:
‘We are utterly destroyed!
He has changed the [b]heritage of my people;
How He has removed it from me!
To [c]a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”
5 Therefore you will have no [d]one to determine boundaries by lot
In the assembly of the Lord.
Lying Prophets
6 “Do not prattle,” you say to those who [e]prophesy.
So they shall not prophesy [f]to you;
[g]They shall not return insult for insult.
7 You who are named the house of Jacob:
“Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?
Are these His doings?
Do not My words do good
To him who walks uprightly?
8 “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—
You pull off the robe with the garment
From those who trust you, as they pass by,
Like men returned from war.
9 The women of My people you cast out
From their pleasant houses;
From their children
You have taken away My glory forever.
10 “Arise and depart,
For this is not your (F)rest;
Because it is (G)defiled, it shall destroy,
Yes, with utter destruction.
11 If a man should walk in a false spirit
And speak a lie, saying,
‘I will [h]prophesy to you [i]of wine and drink,’
Even he would be the (H)prattler of this people.
Israel Restored
12 “I(I) will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together (J)like sheep of [j]the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
(K)They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out,
Pass through the gate,
And go out by it;
(L)Their king will pass before them,
(M)With the Lord at their head.”
Wicked Rulers and Prophets
3 And I said:
“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,
And you (N)rulers of the house of Israel:
(O)Is it not for you to know justice?
2 You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from [k]My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
3 Who also (P)eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
(Q)Like flesh in the caldron.”
4 Then (R)they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.
5 Thus says the Lord (S)concerning the prophets
Who make my people stray;
Who chant [l]“Peace”
[m]While they (T)chew with their teeth,
But who prepare war against him
(U)Who puts nothing into their mouths:
6 “Therefore(V) you shall have night without [n]vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for (W)them.
7 So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
(X)For there is no answer from God.”
8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
And of justice and might,
(Y)To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And [o]pervert all equity,
10 (Z)Who build up Zion with (AA)bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
11 (AB)Her heads judge for a bribe,
(AC)Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for [p]money.
(AD)Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be (AE)plowed like a field,
(AF)Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And (AG)the mountain of the [q]temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
The Lord’s Reign in Zion(AH)
4 Now (AI)it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into (AJ)plowshares,
And their spears into [r]pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
(AK)Neither shall they learn war anymore.
4 (AL)But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid;
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 For all people walk each in the name of his god,
But (AM)we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
Forever and ever.
Zion’s Future Triumph
6 “In that day,” says the Lord,
(AN)“I will assemble the lame,
(AO)I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
7 I will make the lame (AP)a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the Lord (AQ)will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
(AR)Is there no king in your midst?
Has your counselor perished?
For (AS)pangs have seized you like a woman in [s]labor.
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,
And to (AT)Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered;
There the (AU)Lord will (AV)redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 (AW)Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, “Let her be defiled,
And let our eye (AX)look upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know (AY)the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them (AZ)like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Arise(BA) and (BB)thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall (BC)beat in pieces many peoples;
(BD)I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to (BE)the Lord of the whole earth.”
The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem
5 Now gather yourself in troops,
O daughter of troops;
He has laid siege against us;
They will (BF)strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
The Coming Messiah
2 “But you, (BG)Bethlehem (BH)Ephrathah,
Though you are little (BI)among the (BJ)thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be (BK)Ruler in Israel,
(BL)Whose goings forth are from of old,
From [t]everlasting.”
3 Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that (BM)she who is in labor has given birth;
Then (BN)the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
4 And He shall stand and (BO)feed[u] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He (BP)shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
5 And this One (BQ)shall be peace.
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
6 They shall [v]waste with the sword the land of Assyria,
And the land of (BR)Nimrod at its entrances;
Thus He shall (BS)deliver us from the Assyrian,
When he comes into our land
And when he treads within our borders.
7 Then (BT)the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
(BU)Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That [w]tarry for no man
Nor [x]wait for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a (BV)lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be [y]cut off.
10 “And it shall be in that day,” says the Lord,
“That I will (BW)cut[z] off your (BX)horses from your midst
And destroy your (BY)chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land
And throw down all your strongholds.
12 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no (BZ)soothsayers.
13 (CA)Your carved images I will also cut off,
And your sacred pillars from your midst;
You shall (CB)no more worship the work of your hands;
14 I will pluck your [aa]wooden images from your midst;
Thus I will destroy your cities.
15 And I will (CC)execute vengeance in anger and fury
On the nations that have not [ab]heard.”
Footnotes
- Micah 2:1 Plan
- Micah 2:4 Lit. portion
- Micah 2:4 Lit. one turning back, an apostate
- Micah 2:5 Lit. one casting a surveyor’s line
- Micah 2:6 Or preach, lit. drip words
- Micah 2:6 Lit. to these
- Micah 2:6 Vg. He shall not take shame
- Micah 2:11 Or preach, lit. drip
- Micah 2:11 concerning
- Micah 2:12 Heb. Bozrah
- Micah 3:2 Lit. them
- Micah 3:5 All is well
- Micah 3:5 For those who feed them
- Micah 3:6 Prophetic revelation
- Micah 3:9 Lit. twist
- Micah 3:11 Lit. silver
- Micah 3:12 Lit. house
- Micah 4:3 pruning knives
- Micah 4:9 childbirth
- Micah 5:2 Lit. the days of eternity
- Micah 5:4 shepherd
- Micah 5:6 devastate
- Micah 5:7 wait
- Micah 5:7 delay
- Micah 5:9 destroyed
- Micah 5:10 destroy
- Micah 5:14 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Micah 5:15 obeyed
Micah 2-5
New International Version
Micah 2-5
New International Version
Human Plans and God’s Plans
2 Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil(A) on their beds!(B)
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields(C) and seize them,(D)
and houses, and take them.
They defraud(E) people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.(F)
3 Therefore, the Lord says:
“I am planning disaster(G) against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(H)
for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day people will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;(I)
my people’s possession is divided up.(J)
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.’”
False Prophets
6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
“Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace(M) will not overtake us.(N)”
7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
“Does the Lord become[a] impatient?
Does he do such things?”
“Do not my words do good(O)
to the one whose ways are upright?(P)
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.(Q)
You take away my blessing
from their children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,(R)
because it is defiled,(S)
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver(T) comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’(U)
that would be just the prophet for this people!(V)
Deliverance Promised
12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant(W) of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.(X)
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before(Y) them;
they will break through the gate(Z) 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(AA) 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;(AB)
3 who eat my people’s flesh,(AC)
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;(AD)
who chop(AE) them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?(AF)”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.(AG)
At that time he will hide his face(AH) from them
because of the evil they have done.(AI)
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,(AJ)
they proclaim ‘peace’(AK)
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.(AL)
The sun will set for the prophets,(AM)
and the day will go dark for them.(AN)
7 The seers will be ashamed(AO)
and the diviners disgraced.(AP)
They will all cover(AQ) their faces(AR)
because there is no answer from God.(AS)”
8 But 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.(AT)
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;(AU)
10 who build(AV) Zion with bloodshed,(AW)
and Jerusalem with wickedness.(AX)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(AY)
her priests teach for a price,(AZ)
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(BA)
Yet they look(BB) for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”(BC)
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(BD)
the temple(BE) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(BF)
The Mountain of the Lord(BG)
4 In the last days
the mountain(BH) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(BI)
and peoples will stream to it.(BJ)
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(BK)
to the temple of the God of Jacob.(BL)
He will teach us(BM) his ways,(BN)
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(BO) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(BP)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(BQ)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war(BR) anymore.(BS)
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,(BT)
and no one will make them afraid,(BU)
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.(BV)
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,(BW)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.(BX)
The Lord’s Plan
6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame;(BY)
I will assemble the exiles(BZ)
and those I have brought to grief.(CA)
7 I will make the lame my remnant,(CB)
those driven away a strong nation.(CC)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion(CD)
from that day and forever.(CE)
8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold[b] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored(CF) to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.(CG)”
9 Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king[c](CH)?
Has your ruler[d] perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?(CI)
10 Writhe 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;(CJ)
there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem(CK) you
out of the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat(CL) over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,(CM)
that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Rise and thresh,(CN) 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.”(CO)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,(CP)
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
5 [e]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek(CQ) with a rod.
2 “But you, Bethlehem(CR) Ephrathah,(CS)
though you are small among the clans[f] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler(CT) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,(CU)
from ancient times.”(CV)
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned(CW)
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock(CX)
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness(CY)
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace(CZ)
when the Assyrians invade(DA) our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,(DB)
6 who will rule[g] the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(DC) with drawn sword.[h](DD)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they invade our land
and march across our borders.(DE)
7 The remnant(DF) of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew(DG) from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,(DH)
which do not wait for anyone
or depend on man.
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,(DI)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles(DJ) as it goes,
and no one can rescue.(DK)
9 Your hand will be lifted up(DL) in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed.
10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses from among you
and demolish your chariots.(DM)
11 I will destroy the cities(DN) of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.(DO)
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.(DP)
13 I will destroy your idols(DQ)
and your sacred stones from among you;(DR)
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.(DS)
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[i](DT)
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance(DU) in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me.”
Footnotes
- Micah 2:7 Or Is the Spirit of the Lord
- Micah 4:8 Or hill
- Micah 4:9 Or King
- Micah 4:9 Or Ruler
- Micah 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:14, and 5:2-15 is numbered 5:1-14.
- Micah 5:2 Or rulers
- Micah 5:6 Or crush
- Micah 5:6 Or Nimrod in its gates
- Micah 5:14 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.