Micah 5-7

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

5 Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; a state of siege has been placed against us. They shall smite the ruler of Israel with a rod (a scepter) on the cheek.

² But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah; [yet] out of you shall One come forth for Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days (eternity).^(A)

³ Therefore shall He give them up until the time that she who travails has brought forth; then what is left of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel.

⁴ And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall dwell [secure], for then shall He be great [even] to the ends of the earth.^(B)

⁵ And this [One] shall be our peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads upon our soil and in our palaces, then will we raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes among men.^(C)

⁶ And they shall rule and waste the land of Assyria with the sword and the land of Nimrod within her [Assyria’s own] gates. Thus shall He [the Messiah] deliver us from the Assyrian [representing the opposing powers] when he comes into our land and when he treads on our borders.

⁷ Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers upon the grass which [come suddenly and] tarry not for man nor wait for the sons of men.^(D)

⁸ And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many peoples like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion [suddenly appearing] among the flocks of sheep which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is no deliverer.

⁹ Your hand will be lifted up above your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.

¹⁰ And in that day, says the Lord, I will cut off your horses [on which you depend] from among you and will destroy your chariots.^(E)

¹¹ And I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds.

¹² And I will cut off witchcrafts and sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers.

¹³ Your carved images also I will cut off and your statues or pillars out of your midst, and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.

¹⁴ And I will root out your Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah] and I will destroy your cities [the seats of false worship].^(F)

¹⁵ And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance upon the nations which would not obey [vengeance such as they have not heard of before].

6 Hear now what the Lord says: Arise, contend and plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.

² Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy, and you strong and enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with His people, and He will [pleadingly] contend with Israel.

³ O My people, what have I done to you? And in what have I wearied you? Testify against Me [answer Me]!

⁴ For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house where you were bond servants, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

⁵ O My people, [earnestly] remember now what Balak king of Moab devised and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; [remember what the Lord did for you] from ^[a]Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous and saving acts of the Lord.^(G)

⁶ With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?^(H)

⁹ The voice of the Lord calls to the city [Jerusalem]—and it is sound wisdom to hear and fear Your name—Hear (heed) the rod and Him Who has appointed it.

¹⁰ Are there not still treasures gained by wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure [a false measure for grain] that is abominable and accursed?

¹¹ Can I be pure [Myself, and acquit the man] with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?^(I)

¹² For [the city’s] rich men are full of violence; her inhabitants have spoken lies and their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.

¹³ Therefore I have also smitten you with a deadly wound and made you sick, laying you desolate, waste, and deserted because of your sins.

¹⁴ You shall eat but not be satisfied, and your emptiness and hunger shall remain in you; you shall carry away [goods and those you love] but fail to save them, and those you do deliver I will give to the sword.

¹⁵ You shall sow but not reap; you shall tread olives but not anoint yourselves with oil, and [you shall extract juice from] the grapes but not drink the wine.

¹⁶ For the statutes of [idolatrous] Omri you have kept, and all the works of the house of [wicked] Ahab, and you walk in their counsels. Therefore I will make you a desolation and an astonishment and your [city’s] inhabitants a hissing, and you shall bear the reproach and scorn of My people.

7 Woe is me! For I am as when the summer fruits have been gathered, as when the vintage grapes have been gleaned and there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig for which my appetite craves.

² The godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; each hunts his brother with a net.

³ Both their hands are put forth and are upon what is evil to do it diligently; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire. Thus they twist between them [the course of justice].

⁴ The best of them is like a brier; the most upright or the straightest is like a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even of [God’s] judgment and your punishment, has come; now shall be their perplexity and confusion.

⁵ Trust not in a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Keep the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom.^(J)

⁶ For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies are the men (members) of his own house.^(K)

⁷ But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

⁸ Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.

⁹ I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteous deliverance.^(L)

¹⁰ Then my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see my desire upon her; now she will be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

¹¹ In the day that your walls are to be built [a day for building], in that day shall the boundary [of Israel] be far extended and the decree [against her] be far removed.^(M)

¹² In that day they will come to you from Assyria and from the cities of Matzor [Egypt] and from Egypt even to the river [Euphrates], from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

¹³ Yet shall the earth be desolate because of those who dwell in it, for the fruit of their doings.

¹⁴ Rule and feed Your people with Your rod and scepter, the flock of Your inheritance who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel [a garden land]; they shall feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

¹⁵ As in the days of your coming forth from the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.

¹⁶ The nations shall see [God’s deliverance] and be ashamed of all their might [which cannot be compared to His]. They shall lay their hands upon their mouths in consternation; their ears shall be deaf.

¹⁷ They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their strongholds and close places. They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our God and shall be afraid and stand in awe because of You [O Lord].^(N)

¹⁸ Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.

¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.^(O)

²⁰ You will show Your faithfulness and perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness and mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.^(P)