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
International Standard Version
God’s Warning to His People
2 “Woe to those who are crafting iniquity,
planning evil well into the night![a]
When morning’s light comes,
they carry out their plans[b] because they have the power to do so.
2 They covet fields and seize them;
they covet[c] houses, and grab them, too.
They harass the valiant man, along with his household,
an individual and his estate.
3 “Therefore this is what the Lord says,
‘I’m crafting evil against this family,
from which you can’t escape.[d]
You won’t strut around arrogantly,
because the times are evil.’
4 “When this happens,[e] someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully,
‘We are completely ruined!
He has given my people’s heritage to others.[f]
How he has removed it from me,
dividing up our fields!’
5 “This is why there will not be left even a single person
to settle boundary disputes[g] in the Lord’s community.
6 To those who speak out, they will declare,
‘Don’t prophesy to anyone!’
so their shame won’t go away.
7 “It is said, house of Jacob,
‘The Spirit of the Lord is limited,
if he acts this way, is he not?’
“But my words benefit those who live righteously, do they not?
8 Lately my people have acted like an enemy—
you strip travelers who thought they were[h] as secure
as those who return from war.
9 You have evicted the wives of my people from their dream homes;
you have removed my majesty from their children permanently.
10 “Get up and go,
because there’s no rest for you here!
Since everything[i] is polluted, it can only cause destruction,
even heavy destruction.
11 Suppose a man who keeps company with a deceiving spirit prophesies like this:
‘Drink wine and strong drink!’
Won’t the people accept him as a prophet?”
The Coming Judgment
12 “Jacob, how I will surely gather all of you!
How I will gather the survivors of Israel!
I will gather them together like sheep in a pen,[j]
like the flock in the midst of the sheepfold.
There will be a great commotion because of all[k] the people.
13 God will stand up and break through[l] in their presence.
Then they will pass through the gate, going out by it.
Their king will pass in front of them
with the Lord at their head.”
Footnotes
- Micah 2:1 Lit. evil upon their beds
- Micah 2:1 The Heb. lacks their plans
- Micah 2:2 The Heb. lacks they covet
- Micah 2:3 Lit. can’t remove your necks
- Micah 2:4 Lit. In that day
- Micah 2:4 The Heb. lacks to others
- Micah 2:5 Lit. to stretch out a measuring line
- Micah 2:8 The Heb. lacks thought they were
- Micah 2:10 Lit. it
- Micah 2:12 Or sheep of Bozrah
- Micah 2:12 The Heb. lacks all
- Micah 2:13 Lit. The one who breaks through will arise
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