Micah 7
Contemporary English Version
Israel Is Corrupt
7 I feel so empty inside—
like someone starving
for grapes or figs,
after the vines and trees
have all been picked clean.
2 No one is loyal to God;
no one does right.
Everyone is brutal
and eager to deceive
everyone else.
3 People cooperate to commit crime.
Judges and leaders demand bribes,
and rulers cheat in court.[a]
4 The most honest of them
is worse than a thorn patch.
Your doom has come!
Lookouts sound the warning,
and everyone panics.
5 Don't trust anyone,
not even your best friend,
and be careful what you say
to the one you love.
6 (A) Sons refuse to respect
their own fathers,
daughters rebel against
their own mothers,
and daughters-in-law despise
their mothers-in-law.
Your family is now your enemy.
7 But I trust the Lord God
to save me,
and I will wait for him
to answer my prayer.
The Nation Turns to God
8 My enemies, don't be glad
because of my troubles!
I may have fallen,
but I will get up;
I may be sitting in the dark,
but the Lord is my light.
9 I have sinned against the Lord.
And so I must endure his anger,
until he comes to my defense.
But I know that I will see him
making things right for me
and leading me to the light.
10 You, my enemies, said,
“The Lord God is helpless.”
Now each of you
will be disgraced
and put to shame.
I will see you trampled
like mud in the street.
A Bright Future
11 Towns of Judah, the day is coming
when your walls will be rebuilt,
and your boundaries enlarged.
12 People will flock to you
from Assyria and Egypt,
from Babylonia[b]
and everywhere else.
13 Those nations will suffer disaster
because of what they did.
Micah's Prayer and the Lord's Answer
14 Lead your people, Lord!
Come and be our shepherd.
Grasslands surround us,
but we live in a forest.
So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,[c]
and let us find pasture
as we did long ago.
15 I, the Lord, will work miracles
just as I did when I led you
out of Egypt.
16 Nations will see this
and be ashamed because
of their helpless armies.
They will be in shock,
unable to speak or hear,
17 because of their fear of me,
your Lord and God.
Then they will come trembling,
crawling out of their fortresses
like insects or snakes,
lapping up the dust.
No One Is Like God
The people said:
18 Our God, no one is like you.
We are all that is left
of your chosen people,
and you freely forgive
our sin and guilt.
You don't stay angry forever;
you're glad to have pity
19 and pleased to be merciful.
You will trample on our sins
and throw them in the sea.
20 You will keep your word
and be faithful to Jacob
and to Abraham,
as you promised our ancestors
many years ago.
Micah 7
Legacy Standard Bible
There Is No Upright Person
7 Woe is me! For I am
Like the fruit pickers, like the (A)grape gatherers.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
Or a (B)first-ripe fig which my soul desires.
2 The [a]holy one has (C)perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men.
All of them lie in wait for (D)bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a (E)net.
3 Concerning evil, both hands do it (F)well.
The prince asks, also the judge, for a (G)payment,
And a great man speaks the craving of his soul;
So they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a (H)briar,
The most upright like a (I)thorn hedge.
The day when you post your watchmen,
Your (J)punishment will come.
[b]At that time their (K)panic will happen.
5 Do not (L)believe in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a close companion.
From her who lies in your bosom
Guard the openings of your mouth.
6 For (M)son treats father as a wicked fool;
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
(N)A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
Yahweh Is a Light for Me
7 But as for me, I will (O)watch expectantly for Yahweh;
I will (P)wait for the God of my salvation.
My (Q)God will hear me.
8 (R)Do not be glad over me, O (S)my enemy.
Though I fall I will (T)rise;
Though I inhabit the darkness, Yahweh is a (U)light for me.
9 I will bear the rage of Yahweh
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He (V)pleads my case and does justice for me.
He will bring me out to the (W)light,
And I will see His [c](X)righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who (Y)said to me,
“Where is Yahweh your God?”
My eyes will look on her;
[d]At that time she will [e]be (Z)trampled down
Like mire of the streets.
11 It will be a day for (AA)building your walls.
On that day your boundary will be extended.
12 It will be a day when [f]they will (AB)come to you
From Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
From Egypt even to the [g]River,
Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 And the earth will become (AC)desolate because of her inhabitants,
On account of the (AD)fruit of their deeds.
14 (AE)Shepherd Your people with Your (AF)scepter,
The flock of Your inheritance
Which dwells by itself in the forest,
In the midst of [h]a fruitful orchard.
Let them feed in (AG)Bashan and Gilead
(AH)As in the ancient days.
15 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,
I will show [i](AI)you wondrous deeds.”
16 Nations (AJ)will see and be ashamed
Of all their might.
They will (AK)put their hand on their mouth;
Their ears will be deaf.
17 They will (AL)lick the dust like a serpent,
Like (AM)crawling things of the earth.
They will come (AN)trembling out of their [j]fortresses;
To Yahweh our God they will come in (AO)dread,
And they will be afraid before You.
18 Who is a God like You, who (AP)forgives iniquity
And passes over the transgression of the (AQ)remnant of His inheritance?
He does not (AR)hold fast to His anger forever
Because He (AS)delights in lovingkindness.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
(AT)He will subdue our iniquities.
And You will (AU)cast all [k]their sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give [l](AV)truth to Jacob
And lovingkindness to Abraham,
Which You (AW)swore to our fathers
From the days of old.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:2 Or one of lovingkindness
- Micah 7:4 Lit Now
- Micah 7:9 Right dealing
- Micah 7:10 Lit Now
- Micah 7:10 Lit become a trampled place
- Micah 7:12 Lit he
- Micah 7:12 The Euphrates River
- Micah 7:14 Or Carmel
- Micah 7:15 Lit him
- Micah 7:17 Lit fastnesses
- Micah 7:19 Several ancient versions our
- Micah 7:20 Or faithfulness
Micah 7
King James Version
7 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.
2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
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