Micah 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Moral Decline
7 How sad for me!
For I am like one who—
when the summer fruit has been gathered
after the gleaning of the grape harvest(A)—
finds no grape cluster to eat,
no early fig, which I crave.(B)
2 Godly people have vanished from the land;(C)
there is no one upright among the people.(D)
All of them wait in ambush to shed blood;(E)
they hunt each other with a net.(F)
3 Both hands are good(G) at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;(H)
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier;(I)
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.(J)
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;(K)
at this time their panic is here.(L)
5 Do not rely on a friend;(M)
don’t trust in a close companion.
Seal your mouth
from the woman who lies in your arms.
6 Surely a son considers his father a fool,(N)
a daughter opposes her mother,
and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 But I will look to the Lord;(O)
I will wait for the God of my salvation.(P)
My God will hear me.(Q)
Zion’s Vindication
8 Do not rejoice over me,(R) my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will stand up;(S)
though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.(T)
9 Because I have sinned against Him,
I must endure the Lord’s rage
until He argues my case(U)
and establishes justice for me.(V)
He will bring me into the light;(W)
I will see His salvation.[a](X)
10 Then my enemy will see,
and she will be covered with shame,
the one who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”(Y)
My eyes will look at her in triumph;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.(Z)
11 A day will come for rebuilding your walls;(AA)
on that day your boundary will be extended.(AB)
12 On that day people will come to you(AC)
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates River
and from sea to sea
and mountain to mountain.
13 Then the earth will become a wasteland(AD)
because of its inhabitants
and as a result of their actions.(AE)
Micah’s Prayer Answered
14 Shepherd Your people(AF) with Your staff,(AG)
the flock that is Your possession.
They live alone(AH) in a woodland
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead(AI)
as in ancient times.(AJ)
15 I will perform miracles for them[b]
as in the days of your exodus
from the land of Egypt.(AK)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed
of[c] all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,(AL)
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake;(AM)
they will come trembling out of their hiding places(AN)
like reptiles slithering on the ground.(AO)
They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God;(AP)
they will stand in awe of You.
18 Who is a God like You,(AQ)
removing iniquity and passing over rebellion(AR)
for the remnant of His inheritance?(AS)
He does not hold on to His anger forever,(AT)
because He delights in faithful love.(AU)
19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.(AV)
You will cast all our[d] sins
into the depths of the sea.(AW)
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob(AX)
and faithful love to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers(AY)
from days long ago.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:9 Or righteousness
- Micah 7:15 = Israel
- Micah 7:16 Or ashamed in spite of
- Micah 7:19 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read their
Micah 7
Common English Bible
The prophet laments
7 I’m doomed!
I’ve become like one who,
even after the summer fruit has been gathered,
after the ripened fruits have been collected,
has no cluster of grapes to eat,
no ripe fig that I might desire.
2 Faithful ones have perished from the land;
there is no righteous one among humanity.
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
they hunt each other with nets.
3 Their hands are skilled at doing evil.
Official and judge alike ask for a bribe;
the powerful speak however they like;
this is how they conspire.
4 The good among them are like a briar;
those who do the right thing are like a thorny thicket.
(A day for your lookouts![a]
Your punishment has arrived.
The confusion of the wicked[b] is nearby.)
5 Don’t rely on a friend;
put no trust in a companion;
guard the doors of your mouth from she who lies in your embrace.
6 Son disrespects father;
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
the enemies of a man are those of his own household.
7 But me! I will keep watch for the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Zion speaks
8 Do not rejoice[c] over me, my enemy,
because when I fall, I will rise;
if I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.
9 I must bear the raging of the Lord,
for I have sinned against him,
until he decides my case and provides justice for me.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see by means of his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see;
shame will cover her who said to me:
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her ruin;[d]
now she will become something to be trampled,
like mud in the streets.
Micah responds to Zion
11 A day for the building of your walls!
On that day, the boundary will be distant.
12 On that day, they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
13 And the earth will become desolate because of her inhabitants,
because of the fruit of their actions.
Micah intercedes for the people
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the sheep of your inheritance,
those dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as a long time ago.
God agrees
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show Israel wonderful things.
The prophet continues
16 Nations will see and be ashamed of all their strength;
they will cover their mouths;
their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick dust like the snake,
like things that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling from their strongholds to the Lord our God;
they will dread and fear you!
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity,
overlooking the sin of the few remaining for his inheritance?
He doesn’t hold on to his anger forever;
he delights in faithful love.
19 He will once again have compassion on us;
he will tread down our iniquities.
You will hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will provide faithfulness to Jacob, faithful love to Abraham,
as you swore to our ancestors a long time ago.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:4 Heb uncertain
- Micah 7:4 Heb lacks the wicked.
- Micah 7:8 Rejoice (feminine singular)
- Micah 7:10 Heb lacks ruin.
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