Micah 2
Common English Bible
Oppressors will themselves be ruined
2 Doom to those who devise wickedness,
to those who plan evil when they are in bed.
By the light of morning they do it,
for they are very powerful.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
houses and take them away.
They oppress a householder and those in his house,
a man and his estate.
3 Therefore, the Lord proclaims:
I myself am devising an evil against this family
from which you will not be able to remove your necks!
You will no longer be able to go about arrogantly,
for it will be an evil time.
4 On that day, a taunt will be raised against you;
someone will wail bitterly:
“We are utterly destroyed!
He exchanges the portion of my people;
he removes what belongs to me;
he gives away our fields to a rebel.”
5 Therefore, you will have no one to set boundary lines
by lot in the Lord’s assembly.
Leaders unwilling to hear God’s word
6 “They mustn’t preach!” so they preach.
“They mustn’t preach of such things!
Disgrace won’t overtake us.”
7 (Should this be said, house of Jacob?)
“Is the Lord’s patience cut short? Are these his deeds?”
Don’t my words help the one who behaves righteously?
8 But yesterday, my people, the Lord rose up as an enemy.[a]
You strip off the glorious clothes[b]
from trusting passersby, those who reject war.
9 You drive out the women of my people,
each from her cherished house;
from their young children
you take away my splendor forever.
10 Rise up and go! This can’t be the resting place;
because of its uncleanness,
it destroys and the destruction is horrific.
11 If someone were to go about inspired and say deceitfully:
“I will preach to you for wine and liquor,”
such a one would be the preacher for this people!
The false prophet’s “peace” will be destruction
12 I’ll surely gather Jacob—all of you!
I’ll surely assemble you, those who are left of Israel!
I’ll put them together like sheep in Bozrah,[c]
like a flock in its pen,
noisy with people.
13 The one who breaks out will go before them;
they will break out and pass through the gate;
they will leave by it.
They will pass on,
their king before them,
the Lord at their head.
Footnotes
- Micah 2:8 Heb lacks the Lord.
- Micah 2:8 Heb uncertain
- Micah 2:12 See Isa 34:6; 63:1.
Micah 2
Expanded Bible
The Evil Plans of People
2 ·How terrible it will be for people [L Woe to those] who plan wickedness,
who lie on their beds and make evil plans.
When the morning light comes, they do what they planned,
because they have the power to do so.
2 They ·want [covet] fields, so they take them;
they ·want [covet] houses, so they ·take them away [seize them].
They ·cheat [defraud; oppress] people to get their houses;
they rob them even of their ·property [inheritance].
3 That is why the Lord says:
“Look, I am planning ·trouble [disaster] against such people,
·and you won’t be able to save yourselves [L from which you cannot remove your necks; C like a yoke].
You will no longer walk ·proudly [arrogantly],
because it will be a ·terrible time [time of calamity/catastrophe/evil].
4 ·At that time [L In that day] people will ·make fun of [ridicule; sing a taunt against] you
and ·sing this sad song [L lament with a lamentation] about you:
‘We are completely ·ruined [destroyed];
the Lord has taken away my people’s ·land [possession; inheritance].
Yes, he has taken it away from me
and divided our fields among ·our enemies [renegades; or the traitors]!’”
5 So you will have no one from the Lord’s ·people [assembly]
to throw lots to divide the land.
Micah Is Asked Not to Prophesy
6 The ·prophets [or preachers] say, “Don’t ·prophesy [or preach] to us!
Don’t ·prophesy [preach] about these things!
·Nothing to make us feel bad will happen [L Disgrace/Humiliation will not overtake us]!”
7 But I must say this, ·people [L house] of Jacob:
·The Lord is becoming angry [or Does not the Lord grow impatient…?] about what you have done.
·My words are welcome [or Are not my words good…?]
to the person who ·does what is right [L walks uprightly].
8 But ·you are fighting against my people like an enemy [or my people have risen up against me as an enemy].
You ·take the coats [strip off the rich robe] from people who pass by peacefully;
·you plan war [or …like men returning from war].
9 You have ·forced [cast out; evicted] the women of my people
from their ·nice [pleasant] houses;
you have taken my glory
from their children forever.
10 ·Get up [Arise] and leave.
This is not your place of rest anymore.
You have made this place ·unclean [defiled],
and it is doomed to destruction.
11 ·But you people want a false prophet
who will tell you nothing but lies
[L If a man, coming as wind/spirit and lies,
should lie to you…].
You want one who ·promises to prophesy good things for you
if you give him wine and beer [or will prophesy wine and beer for you].
He’s just the prophet for you.
The Lord Promises to Rescue His People
12 “Yes, ·people of Jacob [L Jacob], I will ·bring [assemble] all of you together;
I will bring together ·all those left alive in [the remnant of] Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will be filled with ·many people [or a noisy crowd].
13 Someone will ·open the way [break out] and ·lead the people out [L go up before them].
The people will break through the gate and ·leave the city where they were held captive [L go out].
Their king will ·go out in front of [pass through before] them,
and the Lord will lead them.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.