MICAH
|
¤1 °1 This is
the word of Yahweh which came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of
Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. These are his visions concerning
Samaria and Jerusalem. § Against Samaria and Jerusalem°2 Hear all you peoples, let the earth listen and all
who are in it. For Yahweh is witnessing against you from his holy temple. °3 Yahweh has come forth from his place, he comes down
and treads upon the heights of the earth. °4 Beneath
him mountains collapse and valleys melt like wax before the fire, as torrents
pouring down the hillside. °5 All this for the crime of Jacob, for the sin of the
nation of Judah. What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the
sin of the nation of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? °6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the
open country, a place for planting vineyards. I will scatter her stones down
into the valley and lay her foundations bare. °7 All her carved images will be dashed to pieces and
her filthy idols burnt by fire. I will make a waste heap of all her idols for
they were made with harlot’s wages, and to harlot’s wages they will return. °8 For this reason I lament and wail, go barefoot and
naked. I shall howl like a jackal and wail like an ostrich. °9 For her wound cannot be healed; rather it has come
to Judah. It has reached the capital of my people, Jerusalem. °10 Exult not in Gath; break down and weep in Acco. In
Beth-Leaphra roll in the dust. °11
Sound the bugle, O
people of Shaphir and do not let the dwellers in Zaanan come forth. Mourn
greatly, Beth Ezel: your treasures are taken away. °12 Surely they trembled, the people in Maroth, when
calamity came down from Yahweh to the gates of Jerusalem. °13 Hitch the horses to the chariot, citizens of
Lachish. In you the rebellions of Israel were found and because of you Zion
began to sin. °14 Therefore you must give a redress to
Moresheth-Gath. The houses of Achzib have become deceitful to the kings of
Israel. °15 Again I will bring the conqueror to you, people of
Maresha, and the elite of Israel will leave forever. °16 Shave your hair for your delightful children. Make
yourself bald as an eagle for they have been deported far from you. § Against the rich¤2 °1 Woe to those who plot wickedness and plan evil even on their beds! When morning comes they do it, as soon as it is within their reach. °2 If they covet fields, they seize them. Do they like houses? They take them. They seize the owner and his household, both the man and his property. °3 This is why Yahweh speaks, “I am plotting evil against this whole brood, from which your necks cannot escape. No more shall you walk with head held high for it will be an evil time.” °4 On that day they will sing a taunting song against you and a bitter lamentation will be heard, “We have been stripped of our property in our homeland. Who will free us from the wicked who allots our fields.” °5 Truly, no one will be found in the assembly of Yahweh to keep a field for you. °6 What will you say to that? For there is no reply. Disgrace will not pass away; these words will strike the nation of Jacob. °7 They answer, “Is the might of Yahweh weakened? Is this his way of working things out? Has he not good words for his people of Israel?” °8 But it is you who oppress my people and are his enemies. You strip off the garments of those who pass by confidently; °9 you drive the women of my people from the home they love; you rob my blessing from their children forever. °10 Get up! Away with you! There is no resting place for you here! Because of this uncleanness of yours, you will go roped up. °11 If a deceiver were to come and say, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be the prophet for this people. § A comforting word°12 I shall assemble you, nation of Jacob, and gather
the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like
a flock in its pasture. °13 They have a leader in their midst. See:
their king goes before them, Yahweh is heading them! § Leaders and prophets oppress the people¤3 °1 Then I said, “You rulers of the house of Israel, is it not your duty to know what is right? °2 Yet you hate good and love evil, you tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones. °3 Those who eat my people’s flesh and break their bones to pieces, who chop them up like meat for the pan and share them like flesh for the pot, °4 when they cry, Yahweh will not answer. He will hide his face from them because of their evil deeds.” °5 This is what Yahweh says of the prophets who lead my people astray: You cry: “Peace” when you have something to eat, but to anyone with nothing for your mouths, it is “War” that you declare. °6 So night will come to you without vision, and darkness without divination. Then sun will set for the prophets and the day will be dark for them. °7 Then the seers will be disgraced and the diviners put to shame. They will all cover their faces because no answer will come from God. °8 But as for me, I am filled with might, with the spirit of Yahweh, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgressions, to Israel his sins. °9 Hear this, leaders of the nation of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel, you who despise justice and pervert what is right, °10 you who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with crime. °11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests prophesy for money, and yet they rely on Yahweh and say, “Is Yahweh not in our midst? No evil, then, will come upon us.” °12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will become a field, Jerusalem will be a heap of ruins and the temple mount a forest with sacred stones. ¤4 °1 In the
last days, the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be set over the highest
mountains and will tower over the hills. °2 All the
nations will stream to it, saying, “Come, let us go to the mountain of
Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, so he may teach us his ways and we
may walk in his paths. For the Teaching comes from Zion and from Jerusalem
the word of Yahweh.” °3 He will rule over the nations and settle disputes
for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not raise sword against nation;
neither will they train for war any more. °4 But
each one will sit in peace and freedom under a fig tree or a vine of his own,
for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken. °5 While peoples walk, each in the name of his god, we
shall walk in the name of Yahweh, our God, forever and ever. °6 Yahweh declares, “On that day I will assemble the
lame and gather the banished, those whom I have afflicted. °7 I will make the lame a remnant and those driven out
a mighty nation. Yahweh will reign over them on Zion from now and forever. °8 As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O city of
Zion, city of the king, your former dominion will be restored, the kingdom of
the daughter of Jerusalem. °9 Now, why do you wail? Would it be that you have no
king and your counselor has perished? Why are you in anguish like a woman in
labor? °10 Writhe and howl, O daughter of Zion, like
a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city and camp in the open
country. To Babylon you must go; there you shall be rescued and Yahweh will
redeem you from the hand of your enemies. °11 But now many nations are massed against you; they
say, “Let Jerusalem be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion.” °12 But they do not know Yahweh’s thoughts, nor do they
understand his purpose: that he has gathered them like sheaves on the
threshing floor. °13 Arise and thresh, O Zion, for I will give you horns
of iron and hooves of bronze, and you shall crush many peoples. You shall
devote their plundered wealth to Yahweh, their treasures to the Lord of the
whole earth. °14 Strengthen the walls of your fortress, for they have
laid siege against us. With a rod they want to strike the cheek of Israel’s
ruler. § But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah¤5 °1 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, from the ancient times. °2 Yahweh, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of his deported brothers will return to the people of Israel. °3 He will stand and shepherd his flock with the strength of Yahweh, in the glorious Name of Yahweh, his God. They will live safely while he wins renown to the ends of the earth. °4 He shall be peace. When
the Assyrian invades our land and
sets foot on our territory, we
will raise against him not
one but seven shepherds, eight
warlords. °5 They will rule Assyria with the sword, and
Babylonia with the bared blade. He
will deliver us from the Assyrians when
they come into our land, when
they set foot within our borders. °6 Then the remnant of Jacob will be in
the midst of many peoples, like
dew dropping down from Yahweh, like
showers falling upon the grass. For
they do not put their hope in man or
expect anything from mortals. °7 The remnant of Jacob will then be in
the midst of many peoples, like
a lion among the beasts of the forest, like
a young lion in a flock of sheep, trampling
down as it goes, mangling
its prey, and no rescuer in sight. °8 May your hand be raised high over your
foes, and
all your enemies perish. °9 “On that day – Yahweh speaks – I
will drive away your horses; I
will wreck your chariots, °10 I will demolish your cities and
tear down your strongholds. °11 I will do away with your witchcraft and
rid you of soothsayers. °12 I will abolish your carved images, the
sacred stones from your midst, so
that you no longer worship the work of your hands. °13 I will pull down your sacred poles and
destroy all your idols. °14 In raging fury I will take vengeance upon
the nations that have not obeyed me.” § O my people what have I done to you?¤6 °1 Listen to what Yahweh said to me, “Stand up, let the mountains hear your claim, and the hills listen to your plea.” °2 Hear, O mountains, Yahweh’s complaint! Foundations of the earth, pay attention! For Yahweh has a case against his people, and will argue it with Israel. °3 “O my people, what have I done to you? In what way have I been a
burden to you? Answer me. °4 I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from the land of bondage; I sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead you. °5 O my people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, plotted, and what Balaam, son of Beor, answered him. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, how you have come to know Yahweh’s righteous paths.” °6 “What shall I bring when I come to Yahweh and bow down before God the most high? Shall I come with burnt offerings, with sacrifices of yearling calves? °7 Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with an overabundance of oil libations? Should I offer my firstborn for my sins, the fruit of my body for my wrongdoing?” °8 “You have been told, O man, what is good and what Yahweh requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. °9 The voice of Yahweh calls to the city, in order to
save those who fear his Name.” °10 “Is there still within you unjust wealth and
accursed short measure? °11 Shall I approve your false scales and
your bags of false weights? °12 O city whose rich are full of violence, whose
citizens speak falsehood, people of deceitful tongue! °13 See, I am striking you a grievous blow, making you
desolate because of your sins. °14
You shall eat but not
be satisfied and your insides will go on crying. What
you overtake, you will not carry off, and those who escape I will hand them
over to the sword. °15 You shall sow but not reap. You shall
tread your olives, but not anoint yourselves with the oil. You shall tread
the grapes but not drink the wine. °16 You keep the rules of Omri and follow the examples
of Ahab’s court. So I will give you up to devastation, so that your citizens
become an object of derision. You shall bear the scorn of the peoples.” ¤7 °1 How I sorrow! For I am like the gatherer of summer
fruit, like the gleaner of the vintage, when there are no grapes to eat, none
of the early figs I crave. °2 The godly have vanished from the earth and not one
upright man is to be found. All lie in ambush to shed blood, one hunts
another with a net. °3 Their hands are skilled at doing evil.
The official demands a bribe, the judge judges for a price and the mighty
decides as he pleases. °4 Their kindness is like a brier, their justice worse
than a thorn hedge. But the time of punishment has come, and now is the time
of confusion. °5 Do not rely on a friend nor trust an intimate
companion. Be guarded in speech with the woman who shares your bed. °6 For son treats father like a fool, daughter rebels
against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. The enemies of each
one are those of his household. °7 As for me, I will watch expectantly for Yahweh,
waiting hopefully for the God who saves me. My God will hear me. § Poem of exile – Jerusalem will rise°8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; though I have
fallen, I will rise again. Though I now dwell in darkness, Yahweh is my
light. °9 I will bear the wrath of Yahweh – for I have sinned
against him – while he examines my cause and defends my rights. Then he will
bring me out to the light and I shall probe his justice. °10 Then my enemy shall also see and shame will cover
her. Did she not say, “Where is Yahweh, your God?” My eyes, then, shall
rejoice: See how she is trampled like mud in the street! °11 The day is coming when your walls will be rebuilt
and your boundaries extended. °12 On that day they will come to you from
Assyria to Egypt, from Tyre to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and from
mountain to mountain, °13 while the earth will remain desolate
because of its citizens and their deeds. °14 Shepherd your people with your staff, shepherd the
flock of your inheritance that dwells alone in the scrub, in the midst of a
fertile land. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead °15 as in
the days of old, in the days when you went out of Egypt. Show
us your wonders. °16 On seeing this the nations will be put to
shame in the midst of all their might. People will lay their hands upon their
mouths and they will not believe the news. °17 They shall lick the dust like snakes, like creatures
that crawl upon the ground. They will come trembling out of their
strongholds; they will be in fear of you. °18 Who is a god like you, who takes away guilt and
pardons crime for the remnant of his inheritance? Who
is like you whose anger does not last? For you delight in merciful
forgiveness. °19 Once again you will show us your loving kindness and
trample on our wrongs, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea. °20 Show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as you
have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old. The End. |