New King James Version (NKJV)

1 The word of theLordthat came toMicah of Moresheth in the days ofJotham, Ahaz,andHezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

The Coming Judgment on Israel

2 Hear, all you peoples!

Listen, O earth, and all that is in it!

Let the LordGodbe a witness against you,

# The Lord fromHis holy temple.

3 For behold, theLordis coming out of His place;

He will come down

And tread on the high places of the earth.

4 The mountains will melt under Him,

And the valleys will split

Like wax before the fire,

Like waters poured down a steep place.

5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob

And for the sins of the house of Israel.

Whatisthe transgression of Jacob?

Isitnot Samaria?

# And whatarethehigh places of Judah?

Aretheynot Jerusalem?

6 “Therefore I will make Samariaa heap of ruins in the field,

Places for planting a vineyard;

I will pour down her stones into the valley,

# And I willuncover her foundations.

7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,

# And all herpay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire;

All her idols I will lay desolate,

For she gathereditfrom the pay of a harlot,

# And they shall return to thepay of a harlot.”

Mourning for Israel and Judah

8 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,

9 For her woundsareincurable.

# Forit has come to Judah;

It has come to the gate of My people—

To Jerusalem.

10 Tellitnot in Gath,

Weep not at all;

In Beth Aphrah

Roll yourself in the dust.

11 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.

12 For the inhabitant of Maroth pined for good,

# Butdisaster came down from theLord

To the gate of Jerusalem.

13 O inhabitant ofLachish,

Harness the chariot to the swift steeds

(Shewasthe beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion),

# For the transgressions of Israel werefound in you.

14 Therefore you shallgive presents to Moresheth Gath;

# The houses ofAchzibshallbea lie to the kings of Israel.

15 I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant ofMareshah;

# The glory of Israel shall come toAdullam.

16 Make yourselfbald and cut off your hair,

# Because of yourprecious children;

Enlarge your baldness like an eagle,

# For they shall go from you intocaptivity.

Woe to Evildoers

1 Woe to those who devise iniquity,

And work out evil on their beds!

# Atmorning light they practice it,

Because it is in the power of their hand.

2 Theycovet fields and takethemby violence,

Also houses, and seizethem.

So they oppress a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

3 Therefore thus says theLord:

# “Behold, against thisfamily I am devisingdisaster,

From which you cannot remove your necks;

Nor shall you walk haughtily,

For thisisan evil time.

4 In that dayoneshall take up a proverb against you,

# Andlament with a bitter lamentation, saying:

‘We are utterly destroyed!

He has changed the heritage of my people;

How He has removeditfrom me!

To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”

5 Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot

In the assembly of theLord.

Lying Prophets

6 “Do not prattle,”yousaytothosewho prophesy.

So they shall not prophesy to you;

They shall not return insult for insult.

7 Youwhoarenamed the house of Jacob:

“Is the Spirit of theLordrestricted?

Arethese His doings?

Do not My words do good

To him who walks uprightly?

8 “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—

You pull off the robe with the garment

From those who trustyou,as they pass by,

Like men returned from war.

9 The women of My people you cast out

From their pleasant houses;

From their children

You have taken away My glory forever.

10 “Arise and depart,

# For thisisnotyourrest;

# Because it isdefiled, it shall destroy,

Yes, with utter destruction.

11 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 theprattler of this people.

Israel Restored

12 “Iwill surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;

# I will put them togetherlike sheep of the fold,

Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;

# They shall make a loud noise because ofsomanypeople.

13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;

They will break out,

Pass through the gate,

And go out by it;

# Their king will pass before them,

# With theLordat their head.”

Wicked Rulers and Prophets

1 And I said:

“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,

# And yourulers of the house of Israel:

# Isitnot for you to know justice?

2 You who hate good and love evil;

Who strip the skin from My people,

And the flesh from their bones;

3 Who alsoeat the flesh of My people,

Flay their skin from them,

Break their bones,

And chopthemin pieces

Likemeatfor the pot,

# Like flesh in the caldron.”

4 Thenthey will cry to theLord,

But He will not hear them;

He will even hide His face from them at that time,

Because they have been evil in their deeds.

5 Thus says theLordconcerning the prophets

Who make my people stray;

Who chant “Peace”

# While theychew with their teeth,

But who prepare war against him

# Who puts nothing into their mouths:

6 “Thereforeyou 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 forthem.

7 So the seers shall be ashamed,

And the diviners abashed;

Indeed they shall all cover their lips;

# Forthereisno answer from God.”

8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of theLord,

And of justice and might,

# To declare to Jacob his transgression

And to Israel his sin.

9 Now hear this,

You heads of the house of Jacob

And rulers of the house of Israel,

Who abhor justice

And pervert all equity,

10 Who build up Zion withbloodshed

And Jerusalem with iniquity:

11 Her heads judge for a bribe,

# Her priests teach for pay,

And her prophets divine for money.

# Yet they lean on theLord, and say,

“Is not theLordamong us?

No harm can come upon us.”

12 Therefore because of you

# Zion shall beplowedlikea field,

# Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,

# Andthe mountain of the temple

Like the bare hills of the forest.

The Lord’s Reign in Zion

1 Nowit shall come to pass in the latter days

Thatthe mountain of theLord’s house

Shall be established on the top of the mountains,

And shall be exalted above the hills;

And peoples shall flow to it.

2 Many nations shall come and say,

“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of theLord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

He will teach us His ways,

And we shall walk in His paths.”

For out of Zion the law shall go forth,

And the word of theLordfrom Jerusalem.

3 He shall judge between many peoples,

And rebuke strong nations afar off;

# They shall beat their swords intoplowshares,

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

# Neither shall they learn war anymore.

4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,

And no one shall makethemafraid;

For the mouth of theLordof hosts has spoken.

5 For all people walk each in the name of his god,

# Butwe will walk in the name of theLordour God

Forever and ever.

Zion’s Future Triumph

6 “In that day,” says theLord,

# “I will assemble the lame,

# I will gather the outcast

And those whom I have afflicted;

7 I will make the lamea remnant,

And the outcast a strong nation;

# So theLordwill reign over them in Mount Zion

From now on, even forever.

8 And you, O tower of the flock,

The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,

To you shall it come,

Even the former dominion shall come,

The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

9 Now why do you cry aloud?

# Isthereno king in your midst?

Has your counselor perished?

# Forpangs have seized you like a woman in labor.

10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,

O daughter of Zion,

Like a woman in birth pangs.

For now you shall go forth from the city,

You shall dwell in the field,

# And toBabylon you shall go.

There you shall be delivered;

# There theLordwillredeem you

From the hand of your enemies.

11 Now also many nations have gathered against you,

Who say, “Let her be defiled,

# And let our eyelook upon Zion.”

12 But they do not knowthe thoughts of theLord,

Nor do they understand His counsel;

# For He will gather themlike sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Ariseandthresh, O daughter of Zion;

For I will make your horn iron,

And I will make your hooves bronze;

# You shallbeat in pieces many peoples;

# I will consecrate their gain to theLord,

# And their substance tothe Lord of the whole earth.”

1 Now gather yourself in troops,

O daughter of troops;

He has laid siege against us;

# They willstrike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

The Coming Messiah

2 “But you,BethlehemEphrathah,

# Thoughyou are littleamong thethousands of Judah,

Yetout of you shall come forth to Me

# The One to beRuler in Israel,

# Whose goings fortharefrom of old,

From everlasting.”

3 Therefore He shall give them up,

# Until the timethatshe who is in labor has given birth;

# Thenthe remnant of His brethren

Shall return to the children of Israel.

4 And He shall stand andfeedHisflock

In the strength of theLord,

In the majesty of the name of theLordHis God;

And they shall abide,

# For now Heshall be great

To the ends of the earth;

5 And thisOneshall be peace.

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

When the Assyrian comes into our land,

And when he treads in our palaces,

Then we will raise against him

Seven shepherds and eight princely men.

6 They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria,

# And the land ofNimrod at its entrances;

# Thus He shalldeliverusfrom the Assyrian,

When he comes into our land

And when he treads within our borders.

7 Thenthe remnant of Jacob

Shall be in the midst of many peoples,

# Like dew from theLord,

Like showers on the grass,

That tarry for no man

Nor wait for the sons of men.

8 And the remnant of Jacob

Shall be among the Gentiles,

In the midst of many peoples,

# Like alion among the beasts of the forest,

Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,

Who, if he passes through,

Both treads down and tears in pieces,

And none can deliver.

9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries,

And all your enemies shall be cut off.

10 “And it shall be in that day,” says theLord,

# “That I willcut off yourhorses from your midst

# And destroy yourchariots.

11 I will cut off the cities of your land

And throw down all your strongholds.

12 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,

# And you shall have nosoothsayers.

13 Your carved images I will also cut off,

And yoursacredpillars from your midst;

# You shallno more worship the work of your hands;

14 I will pluck your wooden images from your midst;

Thus I will destroy your cities.

15 And I willexecute vengeance in anger and fury

On the nations that have not heard.”

God Pleads with Israel

1 Hear now what theLordsays:

“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,

And let the hills hear your voice.

2 Hear, O you mountains,theLord’s complaint,

And you strong foundations of the earth;

# FortheLordhas a complaint against His people,

And He will contend with Israel.

3 “O My people, whathave I done to you?

# And how have Iwearied you?

Testify against Me.

4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I redeemed you from the house of bondage;

And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

5 O My people, remember now

# WhatBalak king of Moab counseled,

And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,

From Acacia Grove to Gilgal,

# That you may knowthe righteousness of theLord.”

6 With what shall I come before theLord,

Andbow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

With calves a year old?

7 Will theLordbe pleased with thousands of rams,

# Ten thousandrivers of oil?

# Shall I give my firstbornformy transgression,

The fruit of my bodyforthe sin of my soul?

8 He hasshown you, O man, whatisgood;

And what does theLordrequire of you

# Butto do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

Punishment of Israel’s Injustice

9 TheLord’s voice cries to the city—

Wisdom shall see Your name:

“Hear the rod!

Who has appointed it?

10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness

In the house of the wicked,

And the short measurethatisan abomination?

11 Shall I count purethosewiththe wicked scales,

And with the bag of deceitful weights?

12 For her rich men are full ofviolence,

Her inhabitants have spoken lies,

# Andtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 “Therefore I will alsomakeyousick by striking you,

By makingyoudesolate because of your sins.

14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied;

Hungershallbein your midst.

You may carrysomeaway, but shall not savethem;

And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword.

15 “You shallsow, but not reap;

You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;

Andmakesweet wine, but not drink wine.

16 For the statutes ofOmri arekept;

All the works of Ahab’s housearedone;

And you walk in their counsels,

That I may make you a desolation,

And your inhabitants a hissing.

# Therefore you shall bear thereproach of My people.”

Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

1 Woe is me!

For I am like those who gather summer fruits,

# Like those whoglean vintage grapes;

Thereisnocluster to eat

# Of the first-ripe fruitwhichmy soul desires.

2 Thefaithfulmanhas perished from the earth,

Andthereisno one upright among men.

They all lie in wait for blood;

# Every man hunts his brother with a net.

3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—

The prince asksforgifts,

# The judgeseeksabribe,

And the greatmanutters his evil desire;

So they scheme together.

4 The best of themislike a brier;

The most uprightissharperthan a thorn hedge;

The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;

Now shall be their perplexity.

5 Do not trust in a friend;

Do not put your confidence in a companion;

Guard the doors of your mouth

# From her who lies in yourbosom.

6 Forson dishonors father,

Daughter rises against her mother,

Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

A man’s enemiesarethe men of his own household.

7 Therefore I will look to theLord;

# I willwait for the God of my salvation;

My God will hear me.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;

# When I fall, I will arise;

When I sit in darkness,

TheLordwillbea light to me.

9 I will bear the indignation of theLord,

Because I have sinned against Him,

# Until He pleads mycase

And executes justice for me.

He will bring me forth to the light;

I will see His righteousness.

10 Thenshewhoismy enemy will see,

# Andshame will cover her who said to me,

# “Where is theLordyour God?”

My eyes will see her;

Now she will be trampled down

Like mud in the streets.

11 Inthe day when yourwalls are to be built,

Inthat day the decree shall go far and wide.

12 Inthat daythey shall come to you

From Assyria and the fortified cities,

From the fortress to the River,

From sea to sea,

And mountaintomountain.

13 Yet the land shall be desolate

Because of those who dwell in it,

# Andfor the fruit of their deeds.

God Will Forgive Israel

14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,

The flock of Your heritage,

# Who dwell solitarilyinawoodland,

In the midst of Carmel;

Let them feedinBashan and Gilead,

As in days of old.

15 “Asin the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,

# I will show themwonders.”

16 The nationsshall see and be ashamed of all their might;

# They shall puttheirhand overtheirmouth;

Their ears shall be deaf.

17 They shall lick thedust like a serpent;

# They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth.

# They shall be afraid of theLordour God,

And shall fear because of You.

18 Whoisa God like You,

# Pardoning iniquity

# And passing over the transgression ofthe remnant of His heritage?

# He does not retain His anger forever,

# Because He delightsinmercy.

19 He will again have compassion on us,

And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins

Into the depths of the sea.

20 You will give truth to Jacob

Andmercy to Abraham,

# Which You have sworn to our fathers

From days of old.