Micah 7
New King James Version
Sorrow for Israel’s Sins
7 Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (A)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (B)my soul desires.
2 The (C)faithful[a] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
(D)Every man hunts his brother with a net.
3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a (E)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
4 The best of them is (F)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.
5 (G)Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your (H)bosom.
6 For (I)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (J)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort
8 (K)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(L)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
9 (M)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (N)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see,
And (O)shame will cover her who said to me,
(P)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.
11 In the day when your (Q)walls are to be built,
In that day [b]the decree shall go far and wide.
12 In that day (R)they[c] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [d]fortified cities,
From the [e]fortress to [f]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And (S)for the fruit of their deeds.
God Will Forgive Israel
14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell [g]solitarily in a (T)woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.
16 The nations (W)shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
(X)They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the (Y)dust like a serpent;
(Z)They shall crawl from their holes like [i]snakes of the earth.
(AA)They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.
18 (AB)Who is a God like You,
(AC)Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of (AD)the remnant of His heritage?
(AE)He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in (AF)mercy.[j]
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all [k]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 (AG)You will give truth to Jacob
And [l]mercy to Abraham,
(AH)Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:2 Or loyal
- Micah 7:11 Or the boundary shall be extended
- Micah 7:12 Lit. he, collective of the captives
- Micah 7:12 Heb. arey mazor, possibly cities of Egypt
- Micah 7:12 Heb. mazor, possibly Egypt
- Micah 7:12 The Euphrates
- Micah 7:14 Alone
- Micah 7:15 Lit. him, collective for the captives
- Micah 7:17 Lit. crawlers
- Micah 7:18 Or lovingkindness
- Micah 7:19 Lit. their
- Micah 7:20 Or lovingkindness
Micah 7
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Prophet’s Lament
7 I am miserable.
I have become like someone gathering summer fruit
when it is time to glean the vineyard.
There is no bunch of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs I crave.
2 The faithful[a] have been carried off from the land.
There is no one upright among mankind.
They all lie in wait for blood.
Each one hunts his brother with a net.
3 Both hands are skilled at evil.
The officials ask for bribes,
and the judges as well.
The important man says what he wants.
Together, they plot it out.
4 The best of them is like a brier bush,
the most upright like a hedge of thorns.
The day for your watchman,
the day for your punishment has come.
Now confusion[b] has come for them.
5 Do not trust a neighbor.
Do not put confidence in a close friend.
Watch what comes out of your mouth,
even when you lie down with the wife you embrace.
6 For a son will declare that his father is a fool.
A daughter will rise up against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7 But as for me, I will keep watching for the Lord.
I will wait for God my Savior.
My God will hear me.
God’s People Will Rise Again
8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy.
When I fall, I will rise.
When I sit in the darkness, the Lord will be a light for me.
9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case and obtains a favorable verdict for me.
He will bring me to the light.
I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see this and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her as she is being trampled like mud in the streets.
11 It will be a day to rebuild city walls.
On that day your boundary will be extended.
12 On that day people will come to you
from the lands of Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt even to the River Euphrates,
from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 The land will be laid waste because of its inhabitants,
as a result of the fruit of their deeds.
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that is your inheritance,
the flock which dwells by itself in a forest,
in the middle of fertile pastureland.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.
The Lord’s Response
15 As I did in the days you came out from the land of Egypt,
I will show you wonderful miracles.
The People’s Praise
16 The nations will see and be ashamed of their lack of strength.
They will place their hand over their mouth.
Their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick up dust like a snake,
like the things that creep on the earth.
They will come from their hiding places, shaking with fear.
They will come trembling to the Lord our God,
and they will be afraid in your presence.
18 Who is a God like you, who forgives guilt,
and who passes over the rebellion of the survivors from his inheritance?
He does not hold onto his anger forever.
He delights in showing mercy.
19 He will have compassion on us again.
He will overcome our guilty deeds.
You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham,
as you swore to our fathers from days of old.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.