Judgment on Israel and Judah

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 concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.

All this is for the transgression of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, Places for planting a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the valley, And I will uncover her foundations.

All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, And all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; All her idols I will lay desolate, For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot, And they shall return to the pay of a harlot.”

Mourning for Israel and Judah

Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals And a mourning like the ostriches,

Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir; The inhabitant of Zaanan does not go out. Beth Ezel mourns; Its place to stand is taken away from you.

O inhabitant of Lachish, Harness the chariot to the swift steeds (She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion), For the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

Therefore you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath; The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.

I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah; The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam.

Make yourself bald and cut off your hair, Because of your precious children; Enlarge your baldness like an eagle, For they shall go from you into captivity.

They 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 family I am devising 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 lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”

Lying Prophets

“Do not prattle,” you say to those who prophesy. So they shall not prophesy to you; 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?

“Arise and depart, For this is not your rest; Because it is defiled, it shall destroy, Yes, with utter destruction.

If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people.

Israel Restored

“I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.

Wicked Rulers and Prophets

And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?

You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones;

Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron.”

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths:

“Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them.

So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God.”