Destruction in Israel and Judah

The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and which he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, you peoples, all of you; Listen carefully, earth and all it contains, And may the Lord God be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple.

For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.

For the inhabitant of Maroth Waits for something good, Because a disaster has come down from the Lord To the gate of Jerusalem.

Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am planning against this family a catastrophe From which you cannot remove your necks; And you will not walk haughtily, For it will be an evil time.

Therefore you will have no one applying a measuring line For you by lot in the assembly of the Lord.

Is it being said, house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these His works?’ Do My words not do good For the one walking rightly?

The one who breaks through goes up before them; They break through, pass through the gate, and go out by it. So their king passes on before them, And the Lord at their head.”

Then they will cry out to the Lord, But He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time Because they have practiced evil deeds.

This is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray: When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry out, “Peace!” But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.

On the other hand, I am filled with power— With the Spirit of the Lord— And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, And to Israel his sin.

Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord not in our midst? Catastrophe will not come upon us.”

Peaceful Latter Days

And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say, “Come and let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord And to the house of the God of Jacob, So that He may teach us about His ways, And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Instead, each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, Because the mouth of the Lord of armies has spoken.

Though all the peoples walk, Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

“On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will assemble those who limp And gather the scattered, Those whom I have afflicted.

I will make those who limp a remnant, And those who have strayed a mighty nation, And the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion From now on and forever.

Writhe and scream, Daughter of Zion, Like a woman in childbirth; For now you will go out of the city, Live in the field, And go to Babylon. There you will be rescued, There the Lord will redeem you From the hand of your enemies.

But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, And they do not understand His plan; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, For I will make your horn iron, And I will make your hoofs bronze, So that you may pulverize many peoples, And dedicate to the Lord their unjust profit, And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.

Then the remnant of Jacob Will be among many peoples Like dew from the Lord, Like showers on vegetation That do not wait for man, Or delay for mankind.

“And it will be on that day,” declares the Lord, “That I will eliminate your horses from among you, And destroy your chariots.

God’s Indictment of His People

Hear now what the Lord is saying, “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice.