Micah 2
Christian Standard Bible
Oppressors Judged
2 Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans(A) on their beds!
At morning light(B) they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.(C)
2 They covet fields(D) and seize them;(E)
they also take houses.
They deprive a man of his home,(F)
a person of his inheritance.(G)
3 Therefore, the Lord says:
I am now planning(H) a disaster
against this nation;(I)
you cannot free your necks from it.(J)
Then you will not walk so proudly(K)
because it will be an evil time.(L)
4 In that day one will take up(M) a taunt against you
and lament mournfully,(N) saying,
“We are totally ruined!(O)
He measures out the allotted land of my people.
How he removes it from me!
He allots our fields(P) to traitors.”
5 Therefore, there will be no one
in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by casting lots.[a](Q)
God’s Word Rejected
6 “Quit your preaching,”(R) they[b] preach.
“They should not preach these things;(S)
shame will not overtake us.”[c](T)
7 House of Jacob, should it be asked,
“Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?(U)
Are these the things he does?”
Don’t my words bring good(V)
to the one who walks uprightly?(W)
8 But recently my people have risen up
like an enemy:(X)
You strip off the splendid robe(Y)
from those who are passing through confidently,(Z)
like those returning from war.
9 You force(AA) the women of my people
out of their comfortable homes,
and you take my blessing[d](AB)
from their children forever.
10 Get up and leave,
for this is not your place of rest(AC)
because defilement(AD) brings destruction—
a grievous destruction!(AE)
11 If a man comes
and utters empty lies(AF)—
“I will preach to you about wine and beer”(AG)—
he would be just the preacher for this people!(AH)
The Remnant Regathered
12 I will indeed gather(AI) all of you, Jacob;
I will collect the remnant of Israel.(AJ)
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in the middle of its pasture.
It will be noisy with people.(AK)
13 One who breaks open the way
will advance before them;
they will break out, pass through the city gate,
and leave by it.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord as their leader.
Micah 2
King James Version
2 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 them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord; 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 is evil.
4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.
6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.
7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his 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 is not your rest: 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 of men.
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 the Lord on the head of them.
Micah 2
New International Reader's Version
People’s Plans and God’s Plans
2 How terrible it will be for those
who plan to harm others!
How terrible for those who make evil plans
before they even get out of bed!
As soon as daylight comes,
they carry out their plans.
That’s because they have the power to do it.
2 If they want fields or houses,
they take them.
They cheat people out of their homes.
They rob them of their property.
3 So the Lord says to them,
“I am planning to send trouble on you.
You will not be able to save yourselves from it.
You will not live so proudly anymore.
It will be a time of trouble.
4 At that time people will make fun of you.
They will tease you by singing a song of sadness.
They will pretend to be you and say,
‘We are totally destroyed.
Our enemies have divided up our land.
The Lord has taken it away from us!
He has given our fields to those
who turned against us.’ ”
5 So you won’t even have anyone left
in the Lord’s community
who can divide up the land for you.
Some Prophets Aren’t Really Prophets at All
6 “Don’t prophesy,” the people’s prophets say.
“Don’t prophesy about bad things.
Nothing shameful is going to happen to us.”
7 People of Jacob, should anyone say,
“The Lord is patient,
so he wouldn’t do things like that”?
The Lord replies, “What I promise brings good things
to those who lead honest lives.
8 But lately my people have attacked one another
as if they were enemies.
You strip off the rich robes
from those who happen to pass by.
They thought they were as safe as men
returning from a battle they had won.
9 You drive the women among my people
out of their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing
from their children forever.
10 Get up! Leave this land!
It is no longer your resting place.
You have made it ‘unclean.’
You have completely destroyed it.
11 Suppose a prophet goes around telling lies.
And he prophesies that you will have
plenty of wine and beer.
Then that kind of prophet would be
just right for this nation!
The Lord Promises to Save His People
12 “People of Jacob, I will gather all of you.
I will bring together
you who are still left alive in Israel.
I will gather you together like sheep in a pen.
You will be like a flock in its grasslands.
Your country will be filled with people.
13 I will open the way for you to return.
I will march in front of you.
You will break through the city gates and go free.
I am your King. I will pass through the gates
in front of you.
I, the Lord, will lead the way.”
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