Judgment on the Nations

34 Come (A)near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
(B)Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.
For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the (C)slaughter.
Also their slain shall be thrown out;
(D)Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
(E)All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
(F)All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as (G)fruit falling from a fig tree.

“For (H)My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it (I)shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
The (J)sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made [a]overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For (K)the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust [b]saturated with fatness.”

For it is the day of the Lord’s (L)vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
(M)Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
(N)Its smoke shall ascend forever.
(O)From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 (P)But the [c]pelican and the [d]porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And (Q)He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And (R)thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
(S)It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the [e]jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also [f]the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.

16 “Search from (T)the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”

The Future Glory of Zion

35 The (U)wilderness and the [g]wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the (V)desert[h] shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
(W)It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the (X)glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.

(Y)Strengthen the [i]weak hands,
And make firm the [j]feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with (Z)vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and (AA)save you.”

Then the (AB)eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And (AC)the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the (AD)lame shall leap like a deer,
And the (AE)tongue of the dumb sing.
For (AF)waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In (AG)the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

A (AH)highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
(AI)The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
(AJ)No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the (AK)ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And (AL)sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:6 Lit. fat
  2. Isaiah 34:7 Lit. made fat
  3. Isaiah 34:11 Or owl
  4. Isaiah 34:11 Or hedgehog
  5. Isaiah 34:14 Lit. howling creatures
  6. Isaiah 34:14 Heb. lilith
  7. Isaiah 35:1 desert
  8. Isaiah 35:1 Heb. arabah
  9. Isaiah 35:3 Lit. sinking
  10. Isaiah 35:3 tottering or stumbling

Woe to Evildoers

Woe to those who devise iniquity,
And [a]work out evil on their beds!
At (A)morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
They (B)covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.

Therefore thus says the Lord:

“Behold, against this (C)family I am devising (D)disaster,
From which you cannot remove your necks;
Nor shall you walk haughtily,
For this is an evil time.
In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,
And (E)lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:
‘We are utterly destroyed!
He has changed the [b]heritage of my people;
How He has removed it from me!
To [c]a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”

Therefore you will have no [d]one to determine boundaries by lot
In the assembly of the Lord.

Lying Prophets

“Do not prattle,” you say to those who [e]prophesy.
So they shall not prophesy [f]to you;
[g]They shall not return insult for insult.
You who are named the house of Jacob:
“Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?
Are these His doings?
Do not My words do good
To him who walks uprightly?

“Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—
You pull off the robe with the garment
From those who trust you, as they pass by,
Like men returned from war.
The women of My people you cast out
From their pleasant houses;
From their children
You have taken away My glory forever.

10 “Arise and depart,
For this is not your (F)rest;
Because it is (G)defiled, it shall destroy,
Yes, with utter destruction.
11 If a man should walk in a false spirit
And speak a lie, saying,
‘I will [h]prophesy to you [i]of wine and drink,’
Even he would be the (H)prattler of this people.

Israel Restored

12 “I(I) will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together (J)like sheep of [j]the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
(K)They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out,
Pass through the gate,
And go out by it;
(L)Their king will pass before them,
(M)With the Lord at their head.”

Wicked Rulers and Prophets

And I said:

“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,
And you (N)rulers of the house of Israel:
(O)Is it not for you to know justice?
You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from [k]My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
Who also (P)eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
(Q)Like flesh in the caldron.”

Then (R)they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.

Thus says the Lord (S)concerning the prophets
Who make my people stray;
Who chant [l]“Peace”
[m]While they (T)chew with their teeth,
But who prepare war against him
(U)Who puts nothing into their mouths:
“Therefore(V) you shall have night without [n]vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for (W)them.
So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
(X)For there is no answer from God.”

But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
And of justice and might,
(Y)To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin.
Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And [o]pervert all equity,
10 (Z)Who build up Zion with (AA)bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
11 (AB)Her heads judge for a bribe,
(AC)Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for [p]money.
(AD)Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be (AE)plowed like a field,
(AF)Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And (AG)the mountain of the [q]temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.

The Lord’s Reign in Zion(AH)

Now (AI)it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into (AJ)plowshares,
And their spears into [r]pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
(AK)Neither shall they learn war anymore.

(AL)But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid;
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
For all people walk each in the name of his god,
But (AM)we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
Forever and ever.

Zion’s Future Triumph

“In that day,” says the Lord,
(AN)“I will assemble the lame,
(AO)I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
I will make the lame (AP)a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the Lord (AQ)will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

Now why do you cry aloud?
(AR)Is there no king in your midst?
Has your counselor perished?
For (AS)pangs have seized you like a woman in [s]labor.
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,
And to (AT)Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered;
There the (AU)Lord will (AV)redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.

11 (AW)Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, “Let her be defiled,
And let our eye (AX)look upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know (AY)the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them (AZ)like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Arise(BA) and (BB)thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall (BC)beat in pieces many peoples;
(BD)I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to (BE)the Lord of the whole earth.”

The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem

Now gather yourself in troops,
O daughter of troops;
He has laid siege against us;
They will (BF)strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

The Coming Messiah

“But you, (BG)Bethlehem (BH)Ephrathah,
Though you are little (BI)among the (BJ)thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be (BK)Ruler in Israel,
(BL)Whose goings forth are from of old,
From [t]everlasting.”

Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that (BM)she who is in labor has given birth;
Then (BN)the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
And He shall stand and (BO)feed[u] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He (BP)shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
And this One (BQ)shall be peace.

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
They shall [v]waste with the sword the land of Assyria,
And the land of (BR)Nimrod at its entrances;
Thus He shall (BS)deliver us from the Assyrian,
When he comes into our land
And when he treads within our borders.

Then (BT)the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
(BU)Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That [w]tarry for no man
Nor [x]wait for the sons of men.
And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a (BV)lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.
Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be [y]cut off.

10 “And it shall be in that day,” says the Lord,
“That I will (BW)cut[z] off your (BX)horses from your midst
And destroy your (BY)chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land
And throw down all your strongholds.
12 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no (BZ)soothsayers.
13 (CA)Your carved images I will also cut off,
And your sacred pillars from your midst;
You shall (CB)no more worship the work of your hands;
14 I will pluck your [aa]wooden images from your midst;
Thus I will destroy your cities.
15 And I will (CC)execute vengeance in anger and fury
On the nations that have not [ab]heard.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 2:1 Plan
  2. Micah 2:4 Lit. portion
  3. Micah 2:4 Lit. one turning back, an apostate
  4. Micah 2:5 Lit. one casting a surveyor’s line
  5. Micah 2:6 Or preach, lit. drip words
  6. Micah 2:6 Lit. to these
  7. Micah 2:6 Vg. He shall not take shame
  8. Micah 2:11 Or preach, lit. drip
  9. Micah 2:11 concerning
  10. Micah 2:12 Heb. Bozrah
  11. Micah 3:2 Lit. them
  12. Micah 3:5 All is well
  13. Micah 3:5 For those who feed them
  14. Micah 3:6 Prophetic revelation
  15. Micah 3:9 Lit. twist
  16. Micah 3:11 Lit. silver
  17. Micah 3:12 Lit. house
  18. Micah 4:3 pruning knives
  19. Micah 4:9 childbirth
  20. Micah 5:2 Lit. the days of eternity
  21. Micah 5:4 shepherd
  22. Micah 5:6 devastate
  23. Micah 5:7 wait
  24. Micah 5:7 delay
  25. Micah 5:9 destroyed
  26. Micah 5:10 destroy
  27. Micah 5:14 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
  28. Micah 5:15 obeyed

Bible Gateway Recommends