1 1 The word of Jehovah, which came to Micah, the Morasthite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah; which was revealed to him concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, all ye nations, Give ear, O earth, and all that is therein! The Lord, Jehovah, appeareth as a witness against you, The Lord from his holy palace. 3 Behold, Jehovah cometh forth from his dwelling-place; He cometh down, and advanceth upon the high places of the earth. 4 The mountains melt under him, And the valleys cleave asunder, Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place. 5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, And for the sin of the house of Israel. Where is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not at Samaria? And where are the high places of Judah? Are they not at Jerusalem? 6 Therefore will I make Samaria a heap of stones in the field, A place for the planting of a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the valley, And lay bare her foundations. 7 All her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, And all the hire of her harlotry shall be burned with fire, And all her idols will I destroy. For from the hire of a harlot did she gather her ornaments, And to the hire of a harlot shall they return. 8 Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will wail like the jackal, And mourn like the ostrich. 9 For her wound is mortal; It extendeth to Judah; It reacheth to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. 10 Tell it not in Gath! weep not in Acco! In Beth-Aprah roll yourselves in the dust! 11 Pass on, thou inhabitant of Saphir, naked and in shame! The inhabitant of Zaanan no more goeth out; The grief of Beth-Azel denieth you an abode. 12 The inhabitant of Maroth mourneth for his goods, For evil came down from Jehovah to the gates of Jerusalem. 13 Bind the chariot to the courser, O inhabitant of Lachish! Thou wast the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; In thee were found the transgressions of Israel. 14 Therefore shalt thou resign the possession of Moresheth of Gath; The houses of Achzib shall disappoint the kings of Israel. 15 A possessor will I bring to thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah; The glory of Israel shall flee to Adullam. 16 Make thyself bald, cut off thy locks, for the children of thy love; Enlarge thy baldness like the eagle; For they have gone from thee into captivity.
2 1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, And contrive evil upon their beds; When the morning is light, they practise it, Because it is in the power of their hand. 2 They covet fields, and take them by violence; Houses, and take them from their owners. They defraud a man of his house; Yea, a man of his inheritance. 3 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this race do I meditate evil. From which ye shall not remove your necks, nor lift up your heads; For it shall be a time of evil. 4 In that day shall this song be uttered concerning thee. And this sad lamentation be made: “We are utterly laid waste; He hath changed the portion of my people; How hath he torn it from me! He hath taken away and distributed our fields.” 5 Behold, thou shalt have no one henceforth Who shall draw out a line for a portion, In the congregation of Jehovah. 6 “Prophesy not,” [[say they,]] “O ye that prophesy!” If they prophesy not concerning these things, The shame will not depart. 7 O ye that are called the house of Jacob, Is the spirit of Jehovah impatient? Are these his doings? Are not my words kind to him that walketh uprightly? 8 But long since hath my people risen against me, as an enemy; Ye strip the mantle from the garment of those that pass by securely, as men returning from war. 9 The women of my people ye cast out from their pleasant abodes; Ye deprive their children forever of the glory which I gave them. 10 Arise and depart; This land is not your rest! On account of its pollution shall it be wasted, And given to utter destruction. 11 If a man follow wind, and invent falsehood, and say, “I will prophesy to thee of wine and strong drink!” He will be the prophet for this people. 12 Yet will I fully gather thee, O Jacob, I will surely assemble the residue of Israel! I will put them together like sheep in a fold; Like a flock in their fold shall they be in a tumult on account of the multitude of men. 13 He that forceth a way goeth before them; They force their way, and pass through the gate, And go forth by it; And their king goeth before them, Even Jehovah at the head of them.
3 1 I also said: Hear, O ye heads of Jacob, And ye leaders of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to administer justice? 2 But ye hate what is good, and love what is evil; Ye tear from men their skin, Yea, their flesh from their bones; 3 Ye devour the flesh of my people, And strip them of their skin, And break their bones, And cut them in pieces, as for the pot, And as flesh for the caldron? 4 Then shall they cry to Jehovah, But he will not hear them; Yea, at that time will he hide his face from them, Because they have done iniquity. 5 Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets, who deceive my people, Who, while they bite with their teeth, proclaim peace, But who, if one fill not their mouths, prepare war against him: 6 Therefore shall night come upon you, so that ye shall have no vision, And darkness, so that ye shall not divine; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, And the day shall be dark to them. 7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded, So that all of them shall hide their faces, Because there is no answer from God. 8 But I am full of power, even of the spirit of Jehovah; Full of uprightness and courage, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin. 9 O hear this, ye heads of the house of Jacob, And ye leaders of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice, And pervert all equity, 10 Who build up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity! 11 Her heads judge for reward, And her priests teach for hire, And her prophets divine for money, And yet they lean upon Jehovah, saying, “Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? No evil can come upon us.” 12 Therefore because of you shall Zion be ploughed as a field, And Jerusalem become heaps of stones, And the mountain of the temple like the heights of a forest.
4 1 But it shall come to pass in the last days That the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established at the head of the mountains, And exalted above the hills; And the nations shall flow to it. 2 And many nations shall go, saying, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, To the house of the God of Jacob, That he may teach us his ways, And that we may walk in his paths!” For from Zion shall go forth a law, And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. 3 He shall be a judge of many nations, And an umpire of many kingdoms afar off. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, And their spears into pruning-hooks; Nation shall not lift up the sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. 4 But they shall sit every one under his vine, And under his fig-tree, And none shall make them afraid; The mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it. 5 Though all the nations walk every one in the name of its God, Yet will we walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and ever. 6 In that day, saith Jehovah, I will gather the halting, And the far scattered I will assemble, And those whom I have afflicted. 7 I will make the halting a remnant, And the far scattered a strong nation; And Jehovah shall reign over them in mount Zion, Henceforth, even forever. 8 And thou, O tower of the flock, O hill of the daughter of Zion, to thee it shall come, To thee shall come the former dominion, Even the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. 9 And now why dost thou cry aloud? Is there no king within thee? Have thy counsellors perished, That pangs have taken hold of thee, as of a woman in travail? 10 Yea, writhe, and be in anguish, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail! For now shalt thou go forth from the city, and dwell in the field; Thou shalt go even to Babylon; Yet there shalt thou be delivered. Jehovah will redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. 11 Now many nations gather themselves against thee, Who say, Let her be polluted, And let our eyes gaze upon Zion! 12 But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, And understand not his purposes; For he gathereth them as sheaves into the thrashing-floor. 13 Arise and thrash, O daughter of Zion! For I will make thy horns iron, And thy hoofs brass; Thou shalt beat in pieces many nations, And thou shalt devote their spoils to Jehovah, Their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.
5 1 Yet now gather yourselves in troops, O people of troops! They lay siege against us; With a rod they smite the cheek of the judge of Israel. 2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, Who art small to be among the thousands of Judah, Out of thee shall he come forth for me to be ruler in Israel, Whose origin is from the ancient age, from the days of old! 3 But He [[Jehovah]] shall deliver them up, Until she that bringeth forth hath brought forth; Then shall the residue of his brethren return to the children of Israel. 4 He shall stand and rule in the strength of Jehovah, In the majesty of Jehovah, his God; And they shall dwell in security, For he shall be great even to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, To trample upon our palaces, Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, And eight leaders of the people, 6 And they shall devour the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod within her gates. Thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, And treadeth in our borders. 7 The residue of Jacob shall be in the midst of many nations As the dew which cometh from Jehovah, As drops of rain upon the grass, Which tarrieth not for man, Nor waiteth for the sons of men. 8 The residue of Jacob shall be among the nations, In the midst of many kingdoms, As a lion among the beasts of the forest, As a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, when he assaulteth, treadeth down and teareth, and none can deliver. 9 Thy hand shall be lifted up over thine adversaries, And all thine enemies shall be destroyed! 10 It shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, That I will destroy thy horses from the midst of thee, And I will consume thy chariots; 11 I will destroy the fortified cities of thy land, And throw down all thy strongholds; 12 I will destroy sorceries from thy borders, And soothsayers shall not be with thee. 13 I will destroy thy graven images and thy statues from the midst of thee, And thou shalt no more bow down to the work of thine hands; 14 I will root out thy Astartes from the midst of thee, And I will destroy thy fortified cities; 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and in fury Upon the nations which have not hearkened to me.
6 1 Hear ye what Jehovah saith! Arise, contend thou before the mountains, And let the hills hear thy voice! 2 Hear, O ye mountains, the controversy of Jehovah! Hear, ye strong foundations of the earth! For Jehovah hath a controversy with his people; He contendeth with Israel. 3 “O my people, what have I done to thee, And wherein have I offended thee? Testify against me! 4 I brought thee up from the land of Egypt, And from the house of bondage I redeemed thee; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, to go before thee. 5 O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised. And what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him, What happened from Shittim to Gilgal, That ye may know the mercies of Jehovah.” 6 Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, And bow myself before the most high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, With calves of a year old? 7 Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for the sin of my soul, The fruit of my body for my transgression? 8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; What doth Jehovah require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, And to walk humbly before thy God? 9 The voice of Jehovah crieth to the city, And the man of wisdom will discern thee; Hear ye the rod, and who hath threatened it! 10 Are there not yet in the houses of the unrighteous the treasures of iniquity, And the scanty measure, which is abominable? 11 Shall I count her pure with the wicked balances, And with the bag of deceitful weights? 12 For her rich men are full of violence, And her inhabitants speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13 Therefore will I sorely smite thee, And make thee desolate on account of thy sins. 14 Thou shalt eat and not be satisfied, And hunger shall be within thee. Thou shalt remove, but shalt not save, And what thou savest will I give up to the sword. 15 Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; Thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil, And the grapes, but shalt not drink the wine. 16 For ye keep the statutes of Omri, And all the works of the house of Ahab, And walk in their devices; Therefore will I make thee a desolation, And thine inhabitants a derision; And ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
7 1 Woe is me! I live where the summer fruits are gathered, And the vintage is gleaned; There is no cluster to eat; I long for the first-ripe fig. 2 The good man is perished from the land, And there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every one hunteth his brother with a net. 3 Their hands are diligent for evil; The prince asketh a bribe, And the judge decideth for money! The great man giveth judgment according to his desire; They conspire to pervert justice. 4 The best of them is like a brier; The most upright of them is sharper than a thorn-hedge. The day of recompense, announced by thy watchmen, cometh; Then shall come their perplexity. 5 Trust ye not in a friend! Put no confidence in a guide! From her that lieth in thy bosom Keep the doors of thy mouth! 6 For the son dishonoreth his father, The daughter riseth up against her mother, And the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; The inmates of a man's house are his foes. 7 I will look to Jehovah; I will hope in the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! Though I have fallen, I shall arise; Though I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be my light. 9 I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, Because I have sinned against him, Until he maintain my cause, and execute judgment for me, Until he bring me to the light, And I behold his mercy. 10 She that is my enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her, That said to me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall gaze upon her; Soon shall she be trodden down, as the mire of the streets. 11 The day cometh when thy walls are to be built; In that day shall the decree be far removed. 12 In that day shall they come to thee From Assyria, and the cities of Egypt, And from Egypt to the river, From sea to sea, from mountain to mountain. 13 But first the land shall be desolate on account of its inhabitants, For the fruit of their doings. 14 Feed thy people with thy crook, The flock of thine inheritance, That dwell solitarily in the forest in the midst of Carmel! Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15 As in the day when thou camest from Egypt, So will I show thee wonders. 16 The nations shall see, and be ashamed of all their might: They shall lay their hands upon their mouths; Their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like the serpent; Like the creeping things of the earth, they shall come trembling from their strongholds; To Jehovah our God shall they come with awe, And shall fear on account of thee. 18 Who is a God like thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by transgression, In the remnant of his inheritance? He retaineth not his anger forever, For he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, He will blot out our iniquities; Yea, thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob, And mercy to Abraham, Which thou swarest to our fathers from the days of old.