The word of the Lord that came to Micah (A)of Moresheth (B)in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw (C)concerning (D)Samaria and Jerusalem.

The Coming Destruction

(E)Hear, you peoples, all of you;[a]
    (F)pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and (G)let the Lord God be a witness against you,
    (H)the Lord from his holy temple.
For behold, (I)the Lord is coming out of (J)his place,
    and will come down and (K)tread upon the high places of the earth.
And (L)the mountains will melt under him,
    and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
    like waters poured down a steep place.
All this is for (M)the transgression of Jacob
    and for the sins of the house of Israel.
(N)What is the transgression of Jacob?
    Is it not (O)Samaria?
And what is (P)the high place of Judah?
    Is it not Jerusalem?
Therefore I will make (Q)Samaria (R)a heap in the open country,
    a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones (S)into the valley
    and (T)uncover her foundations.
All (U)her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
    (V)all her wages shall be burned with fire,
    and all her idols I will lay waste,
for from (W)the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
    and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

(X)For this I will lament and wail;
    I will go (Y)stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation (Z)like the jackals,
    and mourning (AA)like the ostriches.
(AB)For her wound is incurable,
    and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
    to Jerusalem.

10 (AC)Tell it not in (AD)Gath;
    weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
    (AE)roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way,
    inhabitants of Shaphir,
    (AF)in nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
    do not come out;
the lamentation of Beth-ezel
    shall take away from you its standing place.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
    wait anxiously for good,
because disaster has come down (AG)from the Lord
    to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
    inhabitants of (AH)Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
    to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
    (AI)the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts[b]
    to (AJ)Moresheth-gath;
the houses of (AK)Achzib shall be a deceitful thing
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring (AL)a conqueror to you,
    inhabitants of (AM)Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
    shall come to (AN)Adullam.
16 (AO)Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
    for the children of your delight;
(AP)make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
    for they shall go from you into exile.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:2 Hebrew all of them
  2. Micah 1:14 Or give dowry

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth(A) during the reigns of Jotham,(B) Ahaz(C) and Hezekiah,(D) kings of Judah(E)—the vision(F) he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear,(G) you peoples, all of you,(H)
    listen, earth(I) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(J) against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.(K)

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
    he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
    and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
    because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
    Is it not Samaria?(R)
What is Judah’s high place?
    Is it not Jerusalem?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(S)
I will pour her stones(T) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(U)
All her idols(V) will be broken to pieces;(W)
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.(X)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(Y)
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(Z) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(AA) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague(AB) is incurable;(AC)
    it has spread to Judah.(AD)
It has reached the very gate(AE) of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
    weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
    roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked(AF) and in shame,
    you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
    will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
    it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
    waiting for relief,(AG)
because disaster(AH) has come from the Lord,
    even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(AI)
    harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(AJ) began,
    for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(AK)
    to Moresheth(AL) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](AM) will prove deceptive(AN)
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.[g](AO)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.(AP)
16 Shave(AQ) your head in mourning
    for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
    for they will go from you into exile.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
  2. Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
  3. Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
  4. Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
  5. Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
  6. Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
  7. Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.

Job Laments His Birth

After this Job (A)opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said:

(B)“Let the day perish on which I was born,
    and the night that said,
    ‘A man is conceived.’
Let that day be darkness!
    May God above not seek it,
    nor light shine upon it.
Let gloom and (C)deep darkness claim it.
    Let clouds dwell upon it;
    let the blackness of the day terrify it.
That night—let thick darkness seize it!
    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
    let it not come into the number of the months.
Behold, let that night be barren;
    let no joyful cry enter it.
Let those curse it who curse the day,
    who are ready to rouse up (D)Leviathan.
Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
    let it hope for light, but have none,
    nor see (E)the eyelids of the morning,
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,
    nor hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why (F)did I not die at birth,
    come out from the womb and expire?
12 Why did (G)the knees receive me?
    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
    who (H)rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not as a hidden (I)stillborn child,
    as infants who never see the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
    and there the weary are at (J)rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
    they hear not the voice of (K)the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
    and the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery,
    and life to (L)the bitter in soul,
21 who (M)long for death, but it comes not,
    and dig for it more than for (N)hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice exceedingly
    and are glad when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose (O)way is hidden,
    whom God has (P)hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes (Q)instead of[a] my bread,
    and my (R)groanings are poured out like water.
25 (S)For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
    and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
    I have no rest, but trouble comes.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before

Job Speaks

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.(A) He said:

“May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’(B)
That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.
May gloom and utter darkness(C) claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
That night—may thick darkness(D) seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year
    nor be entered in any of the months.
May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy(E) be heard in it.
May those who curse days[a] curse that day,(F)
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(G)
May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,(H)
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
    to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?(I)
12 Why were there knees to receive me(J)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down(K) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest(L)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,(M)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,(N)
15 with princes(O) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.(P)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,(Q)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?(R)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,(S)
    and there the weary are at rest.(T)
18 Captives(U) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s(V) shout.(W)
19 The small and the great are there,(X)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,(Y)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,(Z)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,(AA)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?(AB)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,(AC)
    whom God has hedged in?(AD)
24 For sighing(AE) has become my daily food;(AF)
    my groans(AG) pour out like water.(AH)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded(AI) has happened to me.(AJ)
26 I have no peace,(AK) no quietness;
    I have no rest,(AL) but only turmoil.”(AM)

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:8 Or curse the sea