Micah 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
1 Woe is me! I am like the one who gathers summer fruit,
when the vines have been gleaned;
There is no cluster to eat,
no early fig that I crave.
2 The faithful have vanished from the earth,
no mortal is just!
They all lie in wait to shed blood,
each one ensnares the other.(A)
3 Their hands succeed at evil;
the prince makes demands,
The judge is bought for a price,
the powerful speak as they please.(B)
4 The best of them is like a brier,
the most honest like a thorn hedge.
The day announced by your sentinels!
Your punishment has come;
now is the time of your confusion.
5 Put no faith in a friend,
do not trust a companion;
With her who lies in your embrace
watch what you say.(C)
6 For the son belittles his father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
and your enemies are members of your household.(D)
IV. Confidence in God’s Future
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
I will wait for God my savior;
my God will hear me!(E)
8 [a]Do not rejoice over me, my enemy![b]
though I have fallen, I will arise;
though I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.
9 I will endure the wrath of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
Until he pleads my case,
and establishes my right.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see his righteousness.
10 When my enemy sees this,
shame shall cover her:
She who said to me,
“Where is the Lord, your God?”
My eyes shall see her downfall;
now she will be trampled[c] underfoot,
like mud in the streets.
11 [d]It is the day for building your walls;
on that day your boundaries shall be enlarged.
12 It is the day when those from Assyria to Egypt
shall come to you,
And from Tyre even to the River,
from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain;(F)
13 And the earth shall be a waste
because of its inhabitants,
as a result of their deeds.
14 [e]Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your heritage,
That lives apart(G) in a woodland,
in the midst of an orchard.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
15 As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.
16 The nations will see and will be put to shame,
in spite of all their strength;
They will put their hands over their mouths;
their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like crawling things on the ground;
They will come quaking from their strongholds;
they will tremble in fear of you, the Lord, our God.
18 [f]Who is a God like you, who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but instead delights in mercy,(H)
19 And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our iniquities?
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and loyalty to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our ancestors
from days of old.(I)
Footnotes
- 7:8–20 The book concludes with a collection of confident prayers for deliverance, affirmations of faith, and announcements of salvation. Most of these verses bear the marks of use in worship, and probably arose in the exilic or postexilic periods.
- 7:8–10 An individual, possibly personified Jerusalem, expresses confidence that the Lord will deliver her from her enemy (cf. Ps 23).
- 7:10 She who said…she will be trampled: in the Old Testament, cities are often personified as women. Here, the prophet is speaking of the enemies’ cities.
- 7:11–13 An announcement of salvation to Zion. The walls of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, its inhabitants who are now scattered from Assyria to Egypt shall return, but the other peoples will suffer for their evil deeds.
- 7:14–17 A prayer that God will care for the people as in ancient days (v. 14) is answered (vv. 15–17) when the Lord promises to do marvelous things. The nations shall be afraid and turn to the Lord.
- 7:18–20 The final lines of the book contain a hymn of praise for the incomparable God, who pardons sin and delights in mercy. Thus the remnant, those left after the exile, is confident in God’s compassion and in the ancient promises sworn to the ancestors.
Micah 7
New King James Version
Sorrow for Israel’s Sins
7 Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (A)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (B)my soul desires.
2 The (C)faithful[a] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
(D)Every man hunts his brother with a net.
3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a (E)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
4 The best of them is (F)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.
5 (G)Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your (H)bosom.
6 For (I)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (J)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort
8 (K)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(L)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
9 (M)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (N)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see,
And (O)shame will cover her who said to me,
(P)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.
11 In the day when your (Q)walls are to be built,
In that day [b]the decree shall go far and wide.
12 In that day (R)they[c] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [d]fortified cities,
From the [e]fortress to [f]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And (S)for the fruit of their deeds.
God Will Forgive Israel
14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell [g]solitarily in a (T)woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.
16 The nations (W)shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
(X)They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the (Y)dust like a serpent;
(Z)They shall crawl from their holes like [i]snakes of the earth.
(AA)They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.
18 (AB)Who is a God like You,
(AC)Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of (AD)the remnant of His heritage?
(AE)He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in (AF)mercy.[j]
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all [k]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 (AG)You will give truth to Jacob
And [l]mercy to Abraham,
(AH)Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:2 Or loyal
- Micah 7:11 Or the boundary shall be extended
- Micah 7:12 Lit. he, collective of the captives
- Micah 7:12 Heb. arey mazor, possibly cities of Egypt
- Micah 7:12 Heb. mazor, possibly Egypt
- Micah 7:12 The Euphrates
- Micah 7:14 Alone
- Micah 7:15 Lit. him, collective for the captives
- Micah 7:17 Lit. crawlers
- Micah 7:18 Or lovingkindness
- Micah 7:19 Lit. their
- Micah 7:20 Or lovingkindness
Micah 7
International Children’s Bible
Micah Is Upset at the Evil That People Do
7 Poor me! I am like a hungry man.
And all the summer fruit has been picked.
There are no grapes left to eat.
There are none of the early figs I love.
2 All of the faithful people are gone.
There is not one good person left in this country.
Everyone is waiting to kill someone.
Everyone is trying to trap his brother.
3 People are good at doing evil with both hands.
Rulers ask for money.
And judges’ decisions are bought for a price.
Rich people make their wishes known.
They all join in their evil plans.
4 Even the best of them is like a thornbush.
Even the nicest of them is worse than a thornbush.
Your watchmen[a] warned you about this day.
Now it has come.
Now you will be punished.
Your punishment will amaze you.
5 Don’t trust your neighbor.
Don’t even trust a friend.
Be careful what you say,
even to your wife.
6 A son will not honor his father.
A daughter will turn against her mother.
A daughter-in-law will fight with her mother-in-law.
A person’s enemies will be members of his own family.
The Lord’s Kindness
7 Israel says, “I will look to the Lord for help.
I will wait for God to save me.
My God will hear me.
8 Enemy, don’t laugh at me.
I have fallen, but I will get up again.
I sit in the shadow of trouble now.
But the Lord will be a light for me.
9 I sinned against the Lord.
So he was angry with me.
But he will defend my case in court.
He will do what is right for me.
Then he will bring me out into the light.
I will see him set things right.
10 Then my enemies will see this,
and they will be ashamed.
My enemies said to me,
‘Where is the Lord your God?’
Now I will laugh at them.
They will fall down defeated, like the mud people walk on.”
The Jews to Return
11 The time will come when your walls will be built again.
At that time your country will grow.
12 Your people will come back to your land.
They will come from Assyria and the cities of Egypt.
They will come from the countries
between the river of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
They will come from the countries
between the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the mountains in the east.
13 The rest of the earth will be ruined.
This is because of what the people who lived in it did.
A Prayer to God
14 So shepherd your people with your stick.
Tend the flock of people who belong to you.
That flock now lives alone in the desert.
But there is fertile pasture nearby.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as they did long ago.
15 The Lord says, “I did many miracles when I brought you out of Egypt.
I will show you more miracles like that.”
16 The nations will see those miracles.
Then they will no longer brag about their power.
They will be amazed and put their hands over their mouths.
They will refuse to listen.
17 They will crawl in the dust like a snake.
They will shake with fear.
They will crawl on the ground
like insects crawling from their holes.
They will come trembling to you, Lord our God.
They will tremble in fear before you.
18 There is no God like you.
You forgive people who are guilty of sin.
You don’t look at the sins of your people
who are left alive.
You, Lord, will not stay angry forever.
You enjoy being kind.
19 Lord, you will have mercy on us again.
You will conquer our sins.
You will throw away all our sins
into the deepest sea.
20 You will be true to the people of Jacob!
You will be kind to the people of Abraham.
You will do what you promised
to our ancestors long ago.
Footnotes
- 7:4 watchmen Another name for a prophet. The prophets were like guards who stood on a city’s wall. They watched for trouble coming from far away.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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