Micah 2
New King James Version
Woe to Evildoers
2 Woe to those who devise iniquity,
And [a]work out evil on their beds!
At (A)morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They (B)covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, against this (C)family I am devising (D)disaster,
From which you cannot remove your necks;
Nor shall you walk haughtily,
For this is an evil time.
4 In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,
And (E)lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:
‘We are utterly destroyed!
He has changed the [b]heritage of my people;
How He has removed it from me!
To [c]a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”
5 Therefore you will have no [d]one to determine boundaries by lot
In the assembly of the Lord.
Lying Prophets
6 “Do not prattle,” you say to those who [e]prophesy.
So they shall not prophesy [f]to you;
[g]They shall not return insult for insult.
7 You who are named the house of Jacob:
“Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?
Are these His doings?
Do not My words do good
To him who walks uprightly?
8 “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—
You pull off the robe with the garment
From those who trust you, as they pass by,
Like men returned from war.
9 The women of My people you cast out
From their pleasant houses;
From their children
You have taken away My glory forever.
10 “Arise and depart,
For this is not your (F)rest;
Because it is (G)defiled, it shall destroy,
Yes, with utter destruction.
11 If a man should walk in a false spirit
And speak a lie, saying,
‘I will [h]prophesy to you [i]of wine and drink,’
Even he would be the (H)prattler of this people.
Israel Restored
12 “I(I) will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together (J)like sheep of [j]the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
(K)They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out,
Pass through the gate,
And go out by it;
(L)Their king will pass before them,
(M)With the Lord at their head.”
Footnotes
- Micah 2:1 Plan
- Micah 2:4 Lit. portion
- Micah 2:4 Lit. one turning back, an apostate
- Micah 2:5 Lit. one casting a surveyor’s line
- Micah 2:6 Or preach, lit. drip words
- Micah 2:6 Lit. to these
- Micah 2:6 Vg. He shall not take shame
- Micah 2:11 Or preach, lit. drip
- Micah 2:11 concerning
- Micah 2:12 Heb. Bozrah
Micah 2
New American Standard Bible 1995
Woe to Oppressors
2 Woe to those who (A)scheme iniquity,
Who work out evil on their beds!
[a](B)When morning comes, they do it,
For it is in the (C)power of their hands.
2 They (D)covet fields and then (E)seize them,
And houses, and take them away.
They [b](F)rob a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am (G)planning against this (H)family a calamity
From which you (I)cannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk (J)haughtily,
For it will be an (K)evil time.
4 “On that day they will (L)take up against you a [c]taunt
And [d](M)utter a bitter lamentation and say,
‘We are completely (N)destroyed!
He exchanges the portion of my people;
How He removes it from me!
To the apostate He (O)apportions our fields.’
5 “Therefore you will have no one [e](P)stretching a measuring line
For you by lot in the assembly of the Lord.
6 ‘(Q)Do not [f]speak out,’ so they [g]speak out.
But if [h]they do (R)not [i]speak out concerning these things,
(S)Reproaches will not be turned back.
7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob:
‘Is the Spirit of the Lord (T)impatient?
Are these His doings?’
Do not My words (U)do good
To the one (V)walking uprightly?
8 “[j]Recently My people have arisen as an (W)enemy—
You (X)strip the [k]robe off the garment
From (Y)unsuspecting passers-by,
From those returned from war.
9 “The women of My people you (Z)evict,
Each one from her pleasant house.
From her children you take My (AA)splendor forever.
10 “Arise and go,
For this is no place (AB)of rest
Because of the (AC)uncleanness that brings on destruction,
A painful destruction.
11 “If a man walking after wind and (AD)falsehood
Had told lies and said,
‘I will [l]speak out to you concerning (AE)wine and liquor,’
He would be [m]spokesman to (AF)this people.
12 “I will surely (AG)assemble all of you, Jacob,
I will surely gather the (AH)remnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in the fold;
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture
They will be noisy with men.
13 “The breaker goes up before them;
They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it.
So their king goes on before them,
And the Lord at their head.”
Footnotes
- Micah 2:1 Lit In the light of the morning
- Micah 2:2 Lit oppress
- Micah 2:4 Or proverb
- Micah 2:4 Lit lament
- Micah 2:5 Lit casting
- Micah 2:6 Lit flow
- Micah 2:6 Lit flow
- Micah 2:6 I.e. God’s prophets
- Micah 2:6 Lit flow
- Micah 2:8 Lit And yesterday
- Micah 2:8 Or ornaments
- Micah 2:11 Lit flow
- Micah 2:11 Lit one who flows oracles
Micah 2
English Standard Version
Woe to the Oppressors
2 (A)Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil (B)on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and (C)seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against (D)this family I am devising disaster,[a]
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you (E)shall not walk haughtily,
(F)for it will be a time of disaster.
4 In that day (G)they shall take up a taunt song against you
and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
(H)he changes the portion of my people;
(I)how he removes it from me!
(J)To an apostate he allots our fields.”
5 Therefore you will have none (K)to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
6 (L)“Do not preach”—thus they preach—
(M)“one should not preach of such things;
(N)disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
(O)Has the Lord grown impatient?[b]
Are these his deeds?
Do not my words do good
to him who walks uprightly?
8 But lately (P)my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.[c]
9 The women of my people you drive out
from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
my splendor forever.
10 (Q)Arise and go,
for this is no (R)place to rest,
because of (S)uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
11 If a man should go about and (T)utter wind and lies,
saying, “I will preach to you (U)of wine and strong drink,”
he would be the preacher for this people!
12 I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
(V)I will gather (W)the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
(X)like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.
13 (Y)He who opens the breach goes up before them;
they break through and pass the gate,
(Z)going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
(AA)the Lord at their head.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
