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10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, robed in a cloud, with a [halo like a] rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his feet (legs) were like columns of fire.

He had a little book (scroll) open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

And he shouted with a loud voice like the roaring of a lion; and when he had shouted, the seven thunders gave voice and uttered their message in distinct words.

And when the seven thunders had spoken (sounded), I was going to write [it down], but I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up what the seven thunders have said! Do not write it down!

Then the [mighty] angel whom I had seen stationed on sea and land raised his right hand to heaven (the [a]sky),(A)

And swore in the name of (by) Him Who lives forever and ever, Who created the heavens ([b]sky) and all they contain, and the earth and all that it contains, and the sea and all that it contains. [He swore] that no more time should intervene and there should be no more waiting or delay,

But that when the days come when the trumpet call of the seventh angel is about to be sounded, then God’s mystery (His secret design, His hidden purpose), as He had announced the glad tidings to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled (accomplished, completed).(B)

Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke again to me, saying, Go and take the little book (scroll) which is open on the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.

So I went up to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. And he said to me, Take it and eat it. It will embitter your stomach, though in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.(C)

10 So I took the little book from the angel’s hand and ate and swallowed it; it was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but once I had swallowed it, my stomach was embittered.

11 Then they said to me, You are to make a fresh prophecy concerning many peoples and races and nations and languages and kings.(D)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 10:5 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.
  2. Revelation 10:6 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel(A) coming down from heaven.(B) He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow(C) above his head; his face was like the sun,(D) and his legs were like fiery pillars.(E) He was holding a little scroll,(F) which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,(G) and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.(H) When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders(I) spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write;(J) but I heard a voice from heaven(K) say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”(L)

Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land(M) raised his right hand to heaven.(N) And he swore(O) by him who lives for ever and ever,(P) who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it,(Q) and said, “There will be no more delay!(R) But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet,(S) the mystery(T) of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”(U)

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven(V) spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll(W) that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a](X) 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth,(Y) but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy(Z) again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”(AA)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 10:9 Ezek. 3:3

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw [through divine revelation] concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, all you people; listen closely, O earth and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be witness among you and against you, the Lord from His holy temple.(A)

For behold, the Lord comes forth out of His place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.(B)

And the mountains shall melt under Him and the valleys shall be cleft like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

All this is because of the transgression of Jacob and the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not [the idol worship of] Samaria? And what are the high places [of idolatry] in Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?

Therefore I [the Lord] will make Samaria a [a]heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards; and I will pour down into the ravine her stones and lay bare her foundations.(C)

And all her carved images shall be broken in pieces, and all her hires [all that man would gain from desertion of God] shall be burned with fire, and all her idols will be laid waste; for from the hire of [one] harlot she gathered them, and to the hire of [another] harlot they shall return.

Therefore I [Micah] will lament and wail; I will go stripped and [virtually] naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals and a lamentation like the ostriches.

For [Samaria’s] wounds are incurable and they come even to Judah; He [the Lord] has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.

10 In Gath [a city in Philistia] announce it not; in [b]Acco weep not at all, [betraying your grief to foreigners; but among your own people] in Beth-le-aphrah [house of dust] roll yourself in the dust.

11 Pass on your way [into exile], dwellers of Shaphir, in shameful nakedness. The dwellers of Zaanan dare not come forth; the wailing of Beth-ezel takes away from you the place on which it stands.

12 For the inhabitant of Maroth [bitterness] writhes in pain [at its losses] and waits anxiously for good, because evil comes down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.

13 Bind the chariot to the swift steed, O lady inhabitant of Lachish; you were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

14 Therefore you must give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath [Micah’s home town]; the houses of Achzib [place of deceit] shall be a deception to the kings of Israel.

15 Yet will I bring a conqueror upon you, O lady inhabitant of Mareshah, who shall possess you; the glory and nobility of Israel shall come to Adullam [to hide in the caves, as did David].(D)

16 Make yourself bald in mourning and cut off your hair for the children of your delight; enlarge your baldness as the eagle, for [your children] shall be carried from you into exile.

Woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they perform and practice it because it is in their power.

They covet fields and seize them, and houses and take them away; they oppress and crush a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.(E)

Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, against this family I am planning a disaster from which you cannot remove your necks, nor will you be able to walk erect; for it will be an evil time.

In that day shall they take up a [taunting] parable against you and wail with a doleful and bitter lamentation and say, We are utterly ruined and laid waste! [God] changes the portion of my people. How He removes it from me! He divides our fields [to the rebellious, our captors].

Therefore you shall have no one to cast a line by lot upon a plot [of ground] in the assembly of the Lord.(F)

Do not preach, say the prophesying false prophets; one should not babble and harp on such things; disgrace will not overtake us [the reviling has no end].

O house of Jacob, shall it be said, Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted, impatient, and shortened? Or are these [prophesied plagues] His doings? Do not My words do good to him who walks uprightly?

But lately (yesterday) My people have stood up as an enemy [and have made Me their antagonist]. Off from the garment you strip the cloak of those who pass by in secure confidence of safety and are averse to war.

The women of My people you cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children you take away My glory forever.

10 Arise and depart, for this is not the rest [which was promised to the righteous in Canaan], because of uncleanness that works destruction, even a sharp and grievous destruction.

11 If a man walking in a spirit [of vanity] and in falsehood should lie and say, I will prophesy to you of wine and strong drink, O Israel, he would even be the acceptable prophet of this people!(G)

12 I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them [Israel] together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the midst of their pasture. They [the fold and the pasture] shall swarm with men and hum with much noise.

13 The [c]Breaker [the Messiah] will go up before them. They will break through, pass in through the gate and go out through it, and their King will pass on before them, the Lord at their head.(H)

And I [Micah] said, Hear, I pray you, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?—

You who hate the good and love the evil, who pluck and steal the skin from off [My people] and their flesh from off their bones;

Yes, you who eat the flesh of my people and strip their skin from off them, who break their bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot, like meat in a big kettle.

Then will they cry to the Lord, but He will not answer them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.(I)

Thus says the Lord: Concerning the false prophets who make My people err, when they have anything good to bite with their teeth they cry, Peace; and whoever gives them nothing to chew, against him they declare a sanctified war.

Therefore it shall be night to you, so that you shall have no vision; yes, it shall be dark to you without divination. And the sun shall go down over the false prophets, and the day shall be black over them.

And the seers shall be put to shame and the diviners shall blush and be confounded; yes, they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.

But truly I [Micah] am full of power, of the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

Hear this, I pray you, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor and reject justice and pervert all equity,

10 Who build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 Its heads judge for reward and a bribe and its priests teach for hire and its prophets divine for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, Is not the Lord among us? No evil can come upon us.(J)

12 Therefore shall Zion on your account be [d]plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps [of ruins], and the mountain of the house [of the Lord] like a densely wooded height.(K)

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:6 Samaria was captured by the king of Assyria around 722 b.c. (II Kings 17:6), and was besieged and demolished by John Hyrcanus around 128 b.c. In his book Syria and Palestine, written in the nineteenth century, Van de Velde, after visiting Sebaste or Samaria, wrote: “Samaria, a heap of stones! Her foundations discovered, her streets plowed up and covered with corn fields and olive gardens! Samaria has been destroyed; her rubbish has been thrown down into the valley; her foundation stones lie scattered about on the slope of the hill.” Through the inspiration of the omniscient and omnipotent God, Micah was able to foretell all this more than 2,000 years before.
  2. Micah 1:10 The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) suggests this rendering: “in Acco weep not at all.” Acco was a coastal city about 25 miles south of Tyre.
  3. Micah 2:13 Over and over again the prophets unveiled the full dimensions of God’s judgment and salvation. God must punish His rebellious people but will afterward redeem them. Israel will be carried into captivity, yet a remnant will return. The Messiah, the One who breaks open the way, will lead them back home, and will restore the kingdom of David.
  4. Micah 3:12 In his book The Land and the Book, Dr. William Thomson wrote, “Mount Zion is now [in the eighteenth century], for the most part, a rough field. From the tomb of David I passed on through the fields of ripe grain. It is the only part of Jerusalem that is now or ever has been plowed.” When Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in a.d. 1542, the architect omitted Mount Zion, the City of David, from the area he enclosed, and strangely enough it was only partly built up again. How, except by divine inspiration, could Micah have foretold that this particular part of Jerusalem would be “plowed like a field”?

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth(A) during the reigns of Jotham,(B) Ahaz(C) and Hezekiah,(D) kings of Judah(E)—the vision(F) he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear,(G) you peoples, all of you,(H)
    listen, earth(I) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(J) against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.(K)

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
    he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
    and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
    because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
    Is it not Samaria?(R)
What is Judah’s high place?
    Is it not Jerusalem?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(S)
I will pour her stones(T) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(U)
All her idols(V) will be broken to pieces;(W)
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.(X)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(Y)
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(Z) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(AA) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague(AB) is incurable;(AC)
    it has spread to Judah.(AD)
It has reached the very gate(AE) of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
    weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
    roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked(AF) and in shame,
    you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
    will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
    it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
    waiting for relief,(AG)
because disaster(AH) has come from the Lord,
    even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(AI)
    harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(AJ) began,
    for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(AK)
    to Moresheth(AL) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](AM) will prove deceptive(AN)
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.[g](AO)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.(AP)
16 Shave(AQ) your head in mourning
    for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
    for they will go from you into exile.(AR)

Human Plans and God’s Plans

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
    to those who plot evil(AS) on their beds!(AT)
At morning’s light they carry it out
    because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields(AU) and seize them,(AV)
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud(AW) people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.(AX)

Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster(AY) against this people,
    from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(AZ)
    for it will be a time of calamity.
In that day people will ridicule you;
    they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;(BA)
    my people’s possession is divided up.(BB)
He takes it from me!
    He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
    to divide the land(BC) by lot.(BD)

False Prophets

“Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
    “Do not prophesy about these things;
    disgrace(BE) will not overtake us.(BF)
You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
    “Does the Lord become[h] impatient?
    Does he do such things?”

“Do not my words do good(BG)
    to the one whose ways are upright?(BH)
Lately my people have risen up
    like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
    from those who pass by without a care,
    like men returning from battle.
You drive the women of my people
    from their pleasant homes.(BI)
You take away my blessing
    from their children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
    For this is not your resting place,(BJ)
because it is defiled,(BK)
    it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver(BL) comes and says,
    ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’(BM)
    that would be just the prophet for this people!(BN)

Deliverance Promised

12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
    I will surely bring together the remnant(BO) of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture;
    the place will throng with people.(BP)
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before(BQ) them;
    they will break through the gate(BR) and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
    the Lord at their head.”

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders(BS) of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
    you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
    and the flesh from their bones;(BT)
who eat my people’s flesh,(BU)
    strip off their skin
    and break their bones in pieces;(BV)
who chop(BW) them up like meat for the pan,
    like flesh for the pot?(BX)

Then they will cry out to the Lord,
    but he will not answer them.(BY)
At that time he will hide his face(BZ) from them
    because of the evil they have done.(CA)

This is what the Lord says:

“As for the prophets
    who lead my people astray,(CB)
they proclaim ‘peace’(CC)
    if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
    who refuses to feed them.
Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
    and darkness, without divination.(CD)
The sun will set for the prophets,(CE)
    and the day will go dark for them.(CF)
The seers will be ashamed(CG)
    and the diviners disgraced.(CH)
They will all cover(CI) their faces(CJ)
    because there is no answer from God.(CK)
But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
    to Israel his sin.(CL)

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;(CM)
10 who build(CN) Zion with bloodshed,(CO)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.(CP)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(CQ)
    her priests teach for a price,(CR)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(CS)
Yet they look(CT) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(CU)
12 Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(CV)
    the temple(CW) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(CX)

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
  2. Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
  3. Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
  4. Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
  5. Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
  6. Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
  7. Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.
  8. Micah 2:7 Or Is the Spirit of the Lord