Micah 7
Names of God Bible
The Lord’s People Confess Their Sin
7 Poor me!
I am like those gathering summer fruit,
like those picking grapes.
But there aren’t any grapes to eat
or any ripened figs that I crave.
2 Faithful people are gone from the earth,
and no one is decent.
All people lie in ambush to commit murder.
They trap each other with nets.
3 Their hands are skilled in doing evil.
Officials ask for gifts.
Judges accept bribes.
Powerful people dictate what they want.
So they scheme together.[a]
4 The best of them is like a briar.
The most decent person is sharper than thornbushes.
The day you thought you would be punished has come.
Now is the time you will be confused.
5 Don’t trust your neighbors.
Don’t have confidence in your friends.
Keep your mouth shut even when a woman is lying in your arms.
6 A son treats his father with contempt.
A daughter rebels against her mother.
A daughter-in-law rebels against her mother-in-law.
People’s enemies are the members of their own families.
7 I will look to Yahweh.
I will wait for Elohim to save me.
I will wait for my Elohim to listen to me.
8 Don’t laugh at me, my enemies.
Although I’ve fallen, I will get up.
Although I sit in the dark, Yahweh is my light.
9 I have sinned against Yahweh.
So I will endure his fury
until he takes up my cause and wins my case.
He will bring me into the light,
and I will see his victory.
10 Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame,
because they asked me, “Where is Yahweh your Elohim?”
Now I look at them.
They are trampled like mud in the streets.
11 The day for rebuilding your walls
and extending your borders is coming.
12 When that day comes, your people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the Euphrates River,
from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will become a wasteland for those who live on it
because of what the people living there have done.
14 With your shepherd’s staff, take care of your people,
the sheep that belong to you.
They live alone in the woods, in fertile pastures.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead like before.
15 Let us see miracles
like the time you came out of Egypt.
16 Nations will see this and be ashamed in spite of all their strength.
They will put their hands over their mouths.
Their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like snakes,
like animals that crawl on the ground.
They will come out of their hiding places trembling.
They will turn away from your presence in fear, O Yahweh our Elohim.
They will be afraid of you.
18 Who is an El like you?
You forgive sin
and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people.
You will not be angry forever,
because you would rather show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us.
You will overcome our wrongdoing.
You will throw all our sins into the deep sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob.
You will have mercy on Abraham
as you swore by an oath to our ancestors long ago.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:3 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
Micah 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Moral Decline
7 How sad for me!
For I am like one who—
when the summer fruit has been gathered
after the gleaning of the grape harvest(A)—
finds no grape cluster to eat,
no early fig, which I crave.(B)
2 Godly people have vanished from the land;(C)
there is no one upright among the people.(D)
All of them wait in ambush to shed blood;(E)
they hunt each other with a net.(F)
3 Both hands are good(G) at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;(H)
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier;(I)
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.(J)
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;(K)
at this time their panic is here.(L)
5 Do not rely on a friend;(M)
don’t trust in a close companion.
Seal your mouth
from the woman who lies in your arms.
6 Surely a son considers his father a fool,(N)
a daughter opposes her mother,
and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 But I will look to the Lord;(O)
I will wait for the God of my salvation.(P)
My God will hear me.(Q)
Zion’s Vindication
8 Do not rejoice over me,(R) my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will stand up;(S)
though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.(T)
9 Because I have sinned against Him,
I must endure the Lord’s rage
until He argues my case(U)
and establishes justice for me.(V)
He will bring me into the light;(W)
I will see His salvation.[a](X)
10 Then my enemy will see,
and she will be covered with shame,
the one who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”(Y)
My eyes will look at her in triumph;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.(Z)
11 A day will come for rebuilding your walls;(AA)
on that day your boundary will be extended.(AB)
12 On that day people will come to you(AC)
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates River
and from sea to sea
and mountain to mountain.
13 Then the earth will become a wasteland(AD)
because of its inhabitants
and as a result of their actions.(AE)
Micah’s Prayer Answered
14 Shepherd Your people(AF) with Your staff,(AG)
the flock that is Your possession.
They live alone(AH) in a woodland
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead(AI)
as in ancient times.(AJ)
15 I will perform miracles for them[b]
as in the days of your exodus
from the land of Egypt.(AK)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed
of[c] all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,(AL)
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake;(AM)
they will come trembling out of their hiding places(AN)
like reptiles slithering on the ground.(AO)
They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God;(AP)
they will stand in awe of You.
18 Who is a God like You,(AQ)
removing iniquity and passing over rebellion(AR)
for the remnant of His inheritance?(AS)
He does not hold on to His anger forever,(AT)
because He delights in faithful love.(AU)
19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.(AV)
You will cast all our[d] sins
into the depths of the sea.(AW)
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob(AX)
and faithful love to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers(AY)
from days long ago.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:9 Or righteousness
- Micah 7:15 = Israel
- Micah 7:16 Or ashamed in spite of
- Micah 7:19 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read their
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
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