Old/New Testament
1 (A) I am Micah from Moresheth.[a] And this is the message about Samaria and Jerusalem[b] that the Lord gave to me when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah[c] were the kings of Judah.
Judgment on Samaria
2 Listen, all of you!
Earth and everything on it,
pay close attention.
The Lord God accuses you
from his holy temple.[d]
3 And he will come down
to crush underfoot
every pagan altar.
4 Mountains will melt
beneath his feet
like wax beside a fire.
Valleys will vanish like water
rushing down a ravine.
5 This will happen because of
the terrible sins of Israel,
the descendants of Jacob.
Samaria has led Israel to sin,
and pagan altars at Jerusalem
have made Judah sin.
6 So the Lord will leave Samaria
in ruins—
merely an empty field
where vineyards are planted.
He will scatter its stones
and destroy its foundations.
7 Samaria's idols will be smashed,
and the wages
of temple prostitutes[e]
will be destroyed by fire.
Silver and gold from those idols
will then be used by foreigners
as payment for prostitutes.
Judah Is Doomed
8 Because of this tragedy,[f]
I go barefoot and naked.
My crying and weeping
sound like howling wolves
or ostriches.
9 The nation is fatally wounded.
Judah is doomed.
Jerusalem will fall.
10 Don't tell it in Gath!
Don't even cry.
Instead, roll in the dust
at Beth-Leaphrah.[g]
11 Depart naked and ashamed,
you people of Shaphir.[h]
The town of Bethezel[i] mourns
because no one from Zaanan[j]
went out to help.[k]
12 Everyone in Maroth[l]
hoped for the best,
but the Lord sent disaster
down on Jerusalem.
13 Get the war chariots ready,
you people of Lachish.[m]
You led Jerusalem into sin,
just as Israel did.[n]
14 Now you will have to give
a going-away gift[o]
to Moresheth.[p]
Israel's kings will discover
that they cannot trust
the town of Achzib.[q]
15 People of Mareshah,[r]
the Lord will send someone
to capture your town.
Then Israel's glorious king
will be forced to hide
in Adullam Cave.[s]
16 Judah, shave your head
as bald as a vulture
and start mourning.
Your precious children[t]
will be dragged off
to a foreign country.
Punishment for Those Who Abuse Their Power
2 Doomed! You're doomed!
At night you lie in bed,
making evil plans.
And when morning comes,
you do what you've planned
because you have the power.
2 You grab any field or house
that you want;
you cheat families
out of homes and land.
3 But here is what the Lord says:
“I am planning trouble for you.
Your necks will be caught
in a noose,
and you will be disgraced
in this time of disaster.”
4 When that happens,
this sorrowful song
will be sung about you:
“Ruined! Completely ruined!
The Lord has taken our land
and given it to traitors.”[u]
5 And so you will never again
own property
among the Lord's people.
6 “Enough of your preaching!”
That's what you tell me.
“We won't be disgraced,
so stop preaching!”
7 Descendants of Jacob,
is it right for you to claim
that the Lord did what he did
because he was angry?
Doesn't he always bless
those who do right?
8 My people, you have turned against
one another!
You have even stolen
clothes right off the backs
of innocent neighbors
who pass by in peace.[v]
9 You take over lovely homes
that belong to the women
of my nation.
Then you cheat their children
out of the inheritance
that comes from the Lord.[w]
10 Get out of here, you crooks!
You'll find no rest here.
You're not fit to belong
to the Lord's people,
and you will be destroyed.[x]
11 The only prophet you want
is a liar who will say,
“Drink and get drunk!”
A Promise of Hope
12 I, the Lord, promise
to bring together
the people of Israel
who have survived.
I will gather them,
just as a shepherd
brings sheep together,
and there will be many.
13 I will break down the gate
and lead them out—
then I will be their king.
Evil Rulers and Lying Prophets
3 Listen to me,
you rulers of Israel!
You know right from wrong,
2 but you prefer to do evil
instead of what is right.
You skin my people alive.
You strip off their flesh,
3 break their bones,
cook it all in a pot,
and gulp it down.
4 Someday you will beg the Lord
to help you,
but he will turn away
because of your sins.
5 You lying prophets promise
security for anyone
who gives you food,
but disaster for anyone
who refuses to feed you.
Here is what the Lord says
to you prophets:
6 “You will live in the dark,
far from the sight of the sun,
with no message from me.
7 You prophets and fortunetellers
will all be disgraced,
with no message from me.”
8 But the Lord has filled me
with power and his Spirit.
I have been given the courage
to speak about justice
and to tell you people of Israel
that you have sinned.
9 So listen to my message,
you rulers of Israel!
You hate justice
and twist the truth.
10 You make cruelty and murder
a way of life in Jerusalem.
11 You leaders accept bribes
for dishonest decisions.
You priests and prophets
teach and preach,
but only for money.
Then you say,
“The Lord is on our side.
No harm will come to us.”
12 (B) And so, because of you,
Jerusalem will be plowed under
and left in ruins.
Thorns will cover the mountain
where the temple now stands.
The Two Witnesses
11 (A) An angel gave me a measuring stick and said:
Measure around God's temple. Be sure to include the altar and everyone worshiping there. 2 (B) But don't measure the courtyard outside the temple building. Leave it out. It has been given to those people who don't know God, and they will trample all over the holy city for 42 months. 3 My two witnesses will wear sackcloth,[a] while I let them preach for 1,260 days.
4 (C) These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord who rules the earth. 5 Any enemy who tries to harm them will be destroyed by the fire that comes out of their mouths. 6 (D) They have the power to lock up the sky and to keep rain from falling while they are prophesying. And whenever they want to, they can turn water to blood and cause all kinds of terrible troubles on earth.
7 (E) After the two witnesses have finished preaching God's message, the beast that lives in the deep pit will come up and fight against them. It will win the battle and kill them. 8 (F) Their bodies will be left lying in the streets of the same great city where their Lord was nailed to a cross. And this city is spiritually like the city of Sodom or the country of Egypt.
9 For three and a half days the people of every nation, tribe, language, and race will stare at the bodies of these two witnesses and refuse to let them be buried. 10 Everyone on earth will celebrate and be happy. They will give gifts to each other, because of what happened to the two prophets who caused them so much trouble. 11 (G) But three and a half days later, God will breathe life into their bodies. They will stand up, and everyone who sees them will be terrified.
12 (H) The witnesses then heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, “Come up here.” And while their enemies were watching, they were taken up to heaven in a cloud. 13 (I) At that same moment there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were frightened and praised the God who rules in heaven.
14 The second horrible thing has now happened! And the third one will be here soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 (J) At the sound of the seventh trumpet, loud voices were heard in heaven. They said,
“Now the kingdom
of this world
belongs to our Lord
and to his Chosen One!
And he will rule
forever and ever!”
16 Then the 24 elders, who were seated on thrones in God's presence, knelt down and worshiped him. 17 They said,
“Lord God All-Powerful,
you are and you were,
and we thank you.
You used your great power
and started ruling.
18 (K) When the nations got angry,
you became angry too!
Now the time has come
for the dead
to be judged.
It is time for you to reward
your servants the prophets
and all your people
who honor your name,
no matter who they are.
It is time to destroy everyone
who has destroyed
the earth.”
19 (L) The door to God's temple in heaven was then opened, and the sacred chest[b] could be seen inside the temple. I saw lightning and heard roars of thunder. The earth trembled and huge hailstones fell to the ground.
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