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Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

Woe is me!
For I am like those gathering fruit
and those harvesting grapes,
when there is no grape cluster to eat
and no fresh figs that my stomach[a] craves.
Faithful men have disappeared[b] from the land;
there are no godly men left.[c]
They all wait in ambush to shed blood;[d]
they hunt their own brother with a net.
They are experts at doing evil;[e]
government officials and judges take bribes,[f]
prominent men announce what they wish,
and then they plan it out.[g]
The best of them is like a thorn;
their godly are like a thorn bush.[h]
Woe[i] to your watchmen;
your appointed punishment is on the way.[j]
The time of their confusion is now.[k]
Do not rely on a friend;
do not trust a companion!
Even with the one who lies in your arms,
do not share secrets![l]
For a son thinks his father is a fool,
a daughter challenges[m] her mother,
and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are his own family.[n]
But I will keep watching for the Lord;
I will wait for the God who delivers me.
My God will listen to me.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 7:1 tn Heb “appetite, soul.”
  2. Micah 7:2 tn Or “have perished.”
  3. Micah 7:2 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
  4. Micah 7:2 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
  5. Micah 7:3 tn Heb “their hands [reach] to evil to do [it] well,” or with slight emendation “their hands are skillful at doing evil.”
  6. Micah 7:3 tn Heb “the official asks—and the judge—for a bribe.”
  7. Micah 7:3 tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.
  8. Micah 7:4 tc The MT reads יָשָׁר מִמְּסוּכָה (yashar mimmesukhah) “a godly [person] from a thorn bush.” Theoretically the preposition מִן (min, “from”) could be comparative (“more than”), but it would need an attributive adjective for this meaning. Most likely this is a case of wrong word division, where the מ (mem) is not מִן (min, “from”), but is actually a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, similar to the first clause (“their best”). The line would read יְשָׁרָם מְסוּכָה (yesharam mesukhah) “their upright person is a thorn bush.”
  9. Micah 7:4 tc The text is uncertain at several points. Where the MT reads יוֹם (yom, “day [of]”), the LXX reads οὐαὶ (ouai, “woe”) implying הוֹי (hoi, “woe”). The watchmen may be actual sentries or symbolic of true of false prophets. If reading with the MT, the “day of your watchmen,” might be the day they are on the lookout for, or the day they have announced. Reading “woe” either warns the sentries on the lookout or rebukes false prophets.
  10. Micah 7:4 tn Or “has come.”
  11. Micah 7:4 tn Heb “Now will be their confusion.”
  12. Micah 7:5 tn Heb “guard the doors of your mouth.”
  13. Micah 7:6 tn Heb “rises up against.”
  14. Micah 7:6 tn Heb “his house.” Household may include servants as well as family.

The Evil That People Do

·Poor [Woe to] me! I am like a hungry man,
    and all the summer fruit has been picked—
there are no grapes left to eat,
    none of the early figs I ·love [crave].
All of the faithful people ·are gone [L have perished from the land/earth];
    there is not one ·good [upright] person left in this country.
Everyone ·is waiting to kill someone [L lies in wait for blood];
    everyone ·is trying to trap someone else [L hunts his brother with a net].
With both hands they are doing evil.
    Rulers ask for ·money [gifts],
    and judges’ decisions are bought for a ·price [bribe].
·Rich [Influential; Great] people ·tell what they want [make demands],
    and they get it.
Even the best of them is like a ·thornbush [brier];
    the most ·honest [upright] of them is worse than a ·prickly plant [thorn hedge].
The day ·that your watchmen warned you about [L of your watchmen; C the coming exile predicted by the prophets] has come.
    Now they will be confused [C without the guidance of the prophets].
Don’t ·believe [trust] your neighbor
    or ·trust [put confidence in] a friend.
·Don’t say anything [L Guard the doors of your mouth],
    even to ·your wife [L the one who lies on your bosom].
A son will not honor his father,
    a daughter will ·turn against [defy; rise up against] her mother,
and a daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law;
    a person’s enemies will be ·members of his own family [or the servants of his household; L the men/people of his house; Matt. 10:36].

The Lord’s Kindness

Israel says, “I will look to the Lord for help.
    I will wait for God ·to save me [my savior];
    my God will hear me.

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