The Impending Doom of Samaria and Jerusalem

1 The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, that he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:

• 2 Hear, all you peoples; give heed, O earth and its fullness.
• And let the Lord Yahweh be against you as a witness,
  • the Lord from his holy temple .[fn]
  • 3 For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place, and he will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
  • 4 The mountains will melt under him and the valleys will burst open,
• like wax before the fire,
  • like water rushing down a slope.
  • 5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel.
• What is the rebellion of Jacob?
  • Is it not Samaria?
• And what are the high places of Judah?
  • Are they not Jerusalem?
  • 6 So I will make Samaria as a heap of rubble in the field, a place for planting a vineyard.
• And I will pour down her stones into the valley
  • and uncover her foundations.
  • 7 Then all her idols will be broken in pieces, and all her prostitution wages will be burned in the fire,
  • and all her idols I will make a desolation,
• For from the wage of a prostitute she gathered them,
  • and to the wage of a prostitute they will return.
  • 8 On account of this I will lament and wail. I will go about barefoot and naked.
• I will make a lamentation like the jackals,
  • and a mourning ceremony like the ostriches .[fn]
  • 9 For her wounds are incurable, because it has come to Judah.
  • It has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.
  • 10 Do not tell it in Gath; you must not weep at all.
• In Beth-le-Aphrah
  • roll yourself in dust.
  • 11 Pass on, you inhabitants of Shaphir, in naked shame.
• The inhabitants of Zaanan do not come forth;
  • the wailing of Beth-ha-Ezel will take its protection from you.
  • 12 For the inhabitants of Maroth writhed for good,
• because disaster has come down from Yahweh
  • to the gate of Jerusalem.
  • 13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses, O inhabitants of Lachish;
• it is the beginning of sin
  • for the daughter of Zion,
• for the transgressions of Israel
  • were found in you.
  • 14 Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth-Gath;
• the houses of Achzib will be a deception
  • to the kings of Israel.
  • 15 I will again bring the conqueror upon you, O inhabitants of Mareshah;
• the glory of Israel
  • will come to Adullam.
  • 16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair
  • for the children of your pleasure.
• Expand your baldness as the eagle,
  • for they will go into exile away from you.

Woe to the Oppressors of God’s People

• and evil deeds upon their beds!
• In the light of the morning they did it,
  • because they have power in their hands.
  • 2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and they take them away.
• They oppress a man and his house;
  • a man and his inheritance.
  
  

3 Therefore, thus says Yahweh: Look! I am planning disaster against this family from which you will not be able to remove your necks. You will not walk proudly, for it is a time of disaster.

• 4 In that day they will raise a proverb against you, and will wail a bitter wailing, saying,
• “We are utterly ruined;
  • he exchanges the portion of my people.
• How he removes it from me;
  • he apportions our field to an apostate.”
  • 5 Therefore you will have no one casting a line by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
  • 6 “Do not preach!” they are preaching. They should not preach to these;
  • disgrace will not overtake us.
  • 7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Is the patience[fn] of Yahweh shortened?
  • Are these his deeds?
• Are my words not pleasing
  • to him who walks upright?
  • 8 But recently[fn] my people have risen up as an enemy; from before the cloak you strip off the robe
• from those passing by in confidence,
  • returning from war.
  • 9 You have driven out the women of my people from the houses of their[fn] pleasure.
• From their[fn] children you have taken away
  • my glory forever.
  • 10 Arise and go, for this is no resting place,
• on account of uncleanness that destroys
  • with painful destruction.
  • 11 If a man walks about in a spirit of deception and lies, saying “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
  • then he would be a preacher for this people!
  • 12 I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely gather together the remainder of Israel.
• I will set them like sheep of Bozrah.
• Like a herd in the midst of their pasture
  • they will be in tumult from people.
  • 13 The one who breaks out before them goes up; they break through and pass the gate,
  • going out through it.
• Their king passes before them,
  • Yahweh at their head.

Israel’s Leaders Denounced

• “Listen, O heads of Jacob
  • and leaders of the house of Israel!
  • Is it not for you to know justice?
  • 2 Those of you who are haters of good and lovers of evil,
• who tear their skin from them
  • and their flesh from their bones,
  • 3 and who eat the flesh of my people, and strip their skin from them,
• and break their bones,
  • and chop them like meat in the pot,
  • and like flesh in the midst of a cooking pot.”
  • 4 Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them.
• He will hide his face from them at that time,
  • when they have made their deeds evil.
  • 5 Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who are leading my people astray,
• who are biting with their teeth
  • and proclaim, “Peace,”
• but whoever puts nothing into their mouths
  • they declare war against.
  • 6 Therefore it will be as night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination.
• And the sun will set on the prophets,
  • and the day will grow dark over them.
  • 7 Then the seers will be disgraced, and those practicing divination will be put to shame.
• All of them will cover their lips,
  • for there is no reply from God.
  • 8 But I, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of Yahweh,
• and with justice and might,
  • to declare to Jacob his rebellion,
  • and to Israel his sin.
  • 9 Hear this, O rulers of the house of Jacob and leaders of the house of Israel,
• those detesting justice
  • and perverting all that is right,
  • 10 he who builds Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wickedness.
  • 11 Its rulers judge for a bribe; its priests teach for a price;
  • its prophets practice divination for money.
• But they lean on Yahweh, saying,
  • “ Is not Yahweh in our midst?
  • Disaster will not come upon us.”
  • 12 Therefore on account of you Zion will be plowed as a field,
• and Jerusalem will be a heap of rubble,
  • and the temple mount[fn] as a high place in a forest.

The Mountain of Yahweh

• the mountain of Yahweh
  • will be established as the highest of the mountains,
• and it will be lifted up above the hills,
  • and people will stream to it.
• 2 And many nations will come and say, “Come! Let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
  • and to the temple[fn] of the God of Jacob,
• that he may teach us his ways,
  • and that we may walk in his paths,”
• for the law will go out from Zion,
  • and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
  • 3 And he will judge between many peoples and will arbitrate for strong nations far away;
• and they will beat their swords into plowshares
  • and their spears into pruning hooks;
• nation will not lift up a sword against a nation,
  • and they will no longer learn war.
  • 4 But they will sit, each under his vine and under his fig tree,
• and no one will make them afraid,
  • for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken.
  • 5 For all the nations walk, each in the name of its god,
• but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God,
  • forever and ever.
  
  

Yahweh Will Deliver Zion

• 6 “In that day,” declares Yahweh,[fn] “I will assemble the one who limps,
• and I will gather the one who has been scattered,
  • and those whom I have mistreated.
  • 7 And I will make the one who limps a remnant, and the one driven far away a strong nation,
• and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion
  • from now to forever.
  • 8 And you, O Migdal-Eder,[fn] hill of the daughter of Zion,
• to you it will come,
  • and the former dominion will come,
  • the reign of the daughter of Jerusalem.
  • 9 So then, why do you shout a loud shout? Is there no king in you?
• Has your counselor perished
  • that pangs like a woman in labor have seized you?
  • 10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor.
• For now you will go forth from the city,
  • and you will camp in the field;
  • you will go to Babylon.
• There you will be rescued;
  • there Yahweh will redeem you
  • from the hand of your enemies.
  • 11 And now, many nations are gathered against you who are saying, ‘Let her be defiled,
  • and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.’
  • 12 But they do not know the thoughts of Yahweh, and they do not understand his plan,
• that he has gathered them as sheaves
  • to his threshing floor.
  • 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for your horn I will make as iron
  • and your hooves as bronze.
• And you will break many peoples in pieces,
  • and their gain you will devote to destruction to Yahweh,
  • and their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.”

A Ruler from Bethlehem

• a siege he puts against us.
• They strike the ruler of Israel
  • with a rod on the cheek.
  • 2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah,
• from you one will go out for me,
  • to be ruler in Israel;
• and his origins are from of old,
  • from ancient days.
  • 3 Therefore he will give them up until the time of she who is with child has given birth.
• And the rest of his brothers will return
  • to the children of Israel.
  • 4 And he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of Yahweh,
  • in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God.
• And they will live,
  • for now he will be great unto the ends of the earth.
• 5 And this one will be peace. As for the Assyrian,[fn] when he comes into our land
  • and when he treads on our fortresses,
• then we will raise up against him seven shepherds
  • and eight leaders of men.
  • 6 And they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances.
• And he will rescue us from the Assyrian[fn]
  • when he comes into our land,
  • and when they tread upon our border.
  
  

A Remnant Delivered

• 7 And the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many nations,
• like dew from Yahweh,
  • like showers upon the grass
• which does not wait for a man,
  • nor delays for the children of humankind.
  • 8 And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples,
• like a lion among the wild animals of the forest,
  • like a young lion among the herds of sheep
• which, when it passes through and treads down
  • and tears in pieces, there is none who can deliver.
  • 9 Your hand will be lifted high over your enemies, and all your foes will be cut off.
  • 10 “And it will happen that in that day,” declares[fn] Yahweh, “then I will cut off your horses from among you,
  • and I will destroy your chariots.
  • 11 And I will cut off the cities of your land, and I will demolish all your fortifications.
  • 12 And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you will not have soothsayers.
  • 13 And I will cut off your idols and your stone pillars from among you,
• and you will no longer bow down
  • to the work of your hands.
  • 14 And I will uproot your Asherahs from among you, and I will destroy your cities.
• And in anger and in wrath I will execute vengeance
  • on the nations who did not obey.”

Yahweh Brings a Charge against Israel

• “Arise! Plead your case with the mountains,
  • and let the hills hear your voice.”
  • 2 Hear, O mountains, the indictment of Yahweh, and you eternal foundations of the earth,
• for Yahweh has an indictment against his people,
  • and against Israel he contends.
  • 3 “O my people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you? Answer me!
  • 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and from the house of slavery I redeemed you.
  • And I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.
  • 5 O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
• and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
  • so that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh.”
  
  

What Does Yahweh Require?

• 6 With what shall I approach Yahweh, and bow down to God on high?
• Shall I approach him with burnt offerings,
  • with bull calves a year old?
  • 7 Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriads of rivers of oil?
• Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
  • the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
  • 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does Yahweh ask from you
• but to do justice, and to love kindness,
  • and to walk humbly with your God?
  
  

The Destruction of the Wicked

• 9 The voice of Yahweh calls to the city ( it is sound judgment to fear your name):
• “Hear, O staff![fn] Now who has appointed it?
• 10 Is there any longer a man in the house of the wicked treasures of wickedness,
• and the ephah of scarcity which is accursed?[fn]
• 11 Shall I regard as pure the one with scales of wickedness, and with a bag of deceitful weights?
• 12 Because her rich are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies,
• and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
• 13 And I also have made you sick by striking you down ,[fn] making you desolate because of your sins.
• 14 You yourself will eat but not be satisfied; your hunger will be in your midst,
• and you will put away, but you will not save,
  • and what you save I will hand over to the sword.
  • 15 You yourself will sow, but you will not reap; you will tread olives, but you will not anoint yourself with oil;
  • you will tread grapes, but you will not drink wine.
  • 16 For you have observed the regulations of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab.
• And you have walked in their counsels,
  • so that I am making you a desolation
• and your inhabitants an object of scorn.
  • So you will bear the scorn of my people.

Wait Upon Yahweh

• like the gatherings of summer,
• like the gleanings of the grape harvest,
• when there is no cluster of grapes to eat
  • or early ripened fruit that my soul desires.
  • 2 The faithful person has perished from the land, and there is none who is upright among humankind.
• All of them lie in wait;
  • each hunts his brother with a net.
  • 3 Their hands are upon evil, to do it well; the official and the judge ask for the bribe,
• and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
  • and they weave it together.
  • 4 The best of them is like a brier; the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
• The day of your watchman, your punishment, has come;
  • now their confusion will come.
  • 5 Do not put faith in a friend; put no trust in a close friend.
• Guard the doorways of your mouth
  • from the one who lies in your lap.
  • 6 For a son treats a father with contempt; a daughter rises up against her mother,
• a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
  • the enemies of a man are the men of his own house.
  • 7 But as for me, I will look to Yahweh; I will wait for the God of my salvation.
  • My God will hear me.
  • 8 You should not rejoice over me, O my enemy! When I fall I will stand up;
• when I sit in darkness
  • Yahweh will be a light for me.
  • 9 I will bear the rage of Yahweh, for I have sinned against him,
• until he pleads my cause
  • and executes my justice.
• He will bring me out to the light;
  • I will see his righteousness.
  • 10 Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me,
• “Where is Yahweh your God?”
  • My eyes will look upon her;
• now she will become a trampling place,
  • like mud in the streets.
  • 11 A day for building your walls; on that day he will extend your boundary.
  • 12 On that day he will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
• and from Egypt to the River,
  • and from sea to sea
  • and mountain to mountain.
  • 13 But the earth will be a desolation because of its inhabitants,
  • for the fruit of their deeds.
  • 14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance,
• those dwelling alone in a forest
  • in the midst of Carmel.
• Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
  • as in the days of old.
  • 15 As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt
  • I will show him wondrous things.
  • 16 The nations will see and be ashamed because of all their might.
• They will lay the hand on the mouth;
  • their ears will be deaf.
  • 17 They will lick the dust like the serpent, like the crawling things of the earth.
• They will come trembling from their strongholds
  • to Yahweh our God.
  • Let them fear and be afraid of you.
  • 18 Who is a God like you, forgiving sin and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance?
• He does not retain his anger forever,
  • for he delights in loyal love.
  • 19 He will again have compassion[fn] on us; he will trample our iniquities.
• And you will hurl all their sins
  • in the depths of the sea.
  • 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham,
• as you have sworn to our ancestors[fn]
  • from the days of old.