Micah 3-5 New International Version

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

3 Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders^(A) 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;^(B)
³who eat my people’s flesh,^(C)
    strip off their skin
    and break their bones in pieces;^(D)
who chop^(E) them up like meat for the pan,
    like flesh for the pot?^(F)”

⁴Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.^(G)
At that time he will hide his face^(H) from them
because of the evil they have done.^(I)

⁵This is what the Lord says:

“As for the prophets
    who lead my people astray,^(J)
they proclaim ‘peace’^(K)
    if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
    who refuses to feed them.
⁶Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
    and darkness, without divination.^(L)
The sun will set for the prophets,^(M)
    and the day will go dark for them.^(N)
⁷The seers will be ashamed^(O)
    and the diviners disgraced.^(P)
They will all cover^(Q) their faces^(R)
    because there is no answer from God.^(S)”
⁸But 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.^(T)

⁹Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;^(U)
¹⁰who build^(V) Zion with bloodshed,^(W)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.^(X)
¹¹Her leaders judge for a bribe,^(Y)
    her priests teach for a price,^(Z)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.^(AA)
Yet they look^(AB) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”^(AC)
¹²Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,^(AD)
    the temple^(AE) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.^(AF)

The Mountain of the Lord^(AG)

4 In the last days

the mountain^(AH) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,^(AI)
and peoples will stream to it.^(AJ)

²Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,^(AK)
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.^(AL)
He will teach us^(AM) his ways,^(AN)
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law^(AO) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
³He will judge between many peoples
    and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.^(AP)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.^(AQ)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war^(AR) anymore.^(AS)
⁴Everyone will sit under their own vine
    and under their own fig tree,^(AT)
and no one will make them afraid,^(AU)
    for the Lord Almighty has spoken.^(AV)
⁵All the nations may walk
    in the name of their gods,^(AW)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
    our God for ever and ever.^(AX)

The Lord’s Plan

⁶“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;^(AY)
    I will assemble the exiles^(AZ)
    and those I have brought to grief.^(BA)
⁷I will make the lame my remnant,^(BB)
    those driven away a strong nation.^(BC)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion^(BD)
    from that day and forever.^(BE)
⁸As for you, watchtower of the flock,
    stronghold^[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored^(BF) to you;
    kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.^(BG)”

⁹Why do you now cry aloud—
    have you no king^[b]^(BH)?
Has your ruler^[c] perished,
    that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?^(BI)
¹⁰Writhe 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;^(BJ)
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem^(BK) you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

¹¹But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat^(BL) over Zion!”
¹²But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,^(BM)
    that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
¹³“Rise and thresh,^(BN) 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.”^(BO)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,^(BP)
    their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

5 ^[d]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek^(BQ) with a rod.

²“But you, Bethlehem^(BR) Ephrathah,^(BS)
    though you are small among the clans^[e] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler^(BT) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,^(BU)
    from ancient times.”^(BV)

³Therefore Israel will be abandoned^(BW)
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.

⁴He will stand and shepherd his flock^(BX)
    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^(BY)
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

⁵And he will be our peace^(BZ)
    when the Assyrians invade^(CA) our land
    and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
    even eight commanders,^(CB)
⁶who will rule^[f] the land of Assyria with the sword,
    the land of Nimrod^(CC) with drawn sword.^[g]^(CD)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
    when they invade our land
    and march across our borders.^(CE)

⁷The remnant^(CF) of Jacob will be
    in the midst of many peoples
like dew^(CG) from the Lord,
    like showers on the grass,^(CH)
which do not wait for anyone
    or depend on man.
⁸The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
    in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,^(CI)
    like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles^(CJ) as it goes,
    and no one can rescue.^(CK)
⁹Your hand will be lifted up^(CL) 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.^(CM)
¹¹I will destroy the cities^(CN) of your land
    and tear down all your strongholds.^(CO)
¹²I will destroy your witchcraft
    and you will no longer cast spells.^(CP)
¹³I will destroy your idols^(CQ)
    and your sacred stones from among you;^(CR)
you will no longer bow down
    to the work of your hands.^(CS)
¹⁴I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles^[h]^(CT)
    when I demolish your cities.
¹⁵I will take vengeance^(CU) in anger and wrath
    on the nations that have not obeyed me.”