Bible (Berean Standard)/Micah

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Judgment to Come

(Isaiah 7:17–25)

This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:


 * Hear, O peoples, all of you;
 * listen, O earth, and everyone in it!
 * May the Lord GOD bear witness against you,
 * the Lord from His holy temple.
 * For behold, the LORD comes forth
 * from His dwelling place;
 * He will come down and tread
 * on the high places of the earth.
 * The mountains will melt beneath Him,
 * and the valleys will split apart,
 * like wax before the fire,
 * like water rushing down a slope.


 * All this is for the transgression of Jacob
 * and the sins of the house of Israel.
 * What is the transgression of Jacob?
 * Is it not Samaria?
 * And what is the high place of Judah?
 * Is it not Jerusalem?


 * Therefore I will make Samaria
 * a heap of rubble in the open field,
 * a planting area for a vineyard.
 * I will pour her stones into the valley
 * and expose her foundations.
 * All her carved images will be smashed to pieces;
 * all her wages will be burned in the fire,
 * and I will destroy all her idols.
 * Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,
 * they will be used again on a prostitute.

Weeping and Mourning


 * Because of this I will lament and wail;
 * I will walk barefoot and naked.
 * I will howl like a jackal
 * and mourn like an ostrich.
 * For her wound is incurable;
 * it has reached even Judah;
 * it has approached the gate of my people,
 * as far as Jerusalem itself.


 * Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all.
 * Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
 * Depart in shameful nakedness,
 * O dwellers of Shaphir.
 * The dwellers of Zaanan
 * will not come out.
 * Beth-ezel is in mourning;
 * its support is taken from you.
 * For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good,
 * but calamity came down from the LORD,
 * even to the gate of Jerusalem.


 * Harness your chariot horses,
 * O dweller of Lachish.
 * You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion,
 * for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
 * Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath;
 * the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive
 * to the kings of Israel.
 * I will again bring a conqueror against you,
 * O dweller of Mareshah.
 * The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
 * Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair
 * in mourning for your precious children;
 * make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
 * for they will go from you into exile.

Woe to Oppressors


 * Woe to those who devise iniquity
 * and plot evil on their beds!
 * At morning’s light they accomplish it
 * because the power is in their hands.
 * They covet fields and seize them;
 * they take away houses.
 * They deprive a man of his home,
 * a fellow man of his inheritance.

Therefore this is what the LORD says:


 * “I am planning against this nation a disaster
 * from which you cannot free your necks.
 * Then you will not walk so proudly,
 * for it will be a time of calamity.
 * In that day they will take up a proverb against you
 * and taunt you with this bitter lamentation:
 * ‘We are utterly ruined!
 * He has changed the portion of my people.
 * How He has removed it from me!
 * He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”


 * Therefore, you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
 * to divide the land by lot.

Reproof of False Prophets

(Ezekiel 13:1–16)


 * “Do not preach,” they preach.
 * “Do not preach these things;
 * disgrace will not overtake us.”
 * Should it be said, O house of Jacob,
 * “Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient?
 * Are these the things He does?”


 * Do not My words bring good
 * to him who walks uprightly?
 * But of late My people have risen up
 * like an enemy:
 * You strip off the splendid robe
 * from unsuspecting passersby
 * like men returning from battle.
 * You drive the women of My people
 * from their pleasant homes.
 * You take away My blessing
 * from their children forever.


 * Arise and depart,
 * for this is not your place of rest,
 * because its defilement brings destruction—
 * a grievous destruction!
 * If a man of wind were to come
 * and say falsely,
 * “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
 * he would be just the preacher for this people!

The Remnant of Israel

(Micah 5:7–15)


 * I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;
 * I will collect the remnant of Israel.
 * I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
 * like a flock in the midst of its pasture—
 * a noisy throng.
 * One who breaks open the way
 * will go up before them;
 * they will break through the gate,
 * and go out by it.
 * Their King will pass through before them,
 * the LORD as their leader.

Rulers and Prophets Condemned

Then I said:


 * “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob,
 * you rulers of the house of Israel.
 * Should you not know justice?
 * You hate good and love evil.
 * You tear the skin from my people
 * and strip the flesh from their bones.
 * You eat the flesh of my people
 * after stripping off their skin
 * and breaking their bones.
 * You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot,
 * like meat in a cauldron.”


 * Then they will cry out to the LORD,
 * but He will not answer them.
 * At that time He will hide His face from them
 * because of the evil they have done.

This is what the LORD says:


 * “As for the prophets
 * who lead My people astray,
 * who proclaim peace
 * while they chew with their teeth,
 * but declare war against one
 * who puts nothing in their mouths:
 * Therefore night will come over you without visions,
 * and darkness without divination.
 * The sun will set on these prophets,
 * and the daylight will turn black over them.
 * Then the seers will be ashamed
 * and the diviners will be disgraced.
 * They will all cover their mouths
 * because there is no answer from God.”


 * As for me, however, I am filled with power
 * by the Spirit of the LORD,
 * with justice and courage,
 * to declare to Jacob his transgression
 * and to Israel his sin.


 * Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob
 * and rulers of the house of Israel,
 * who despise justice
 * and pervert all that is right,
 * who build Zion with bloodshed
 * and Jerusalem with iniquity.
 * Her leaders judge for a bribe,
 * her priests teach for a price,
 * and her prophets practice divination for money.
 * Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying,
 * “Is not the LORD among us?
 * No disaster can come upon us.”
 * Therefore, because of you,
 * Zion will be plowed like a field,
 * Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
 * and the temple mount a wooded ridge.

The Mountain of the House of the LORD

(Isaiah 2:1–4)


 * In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD
 * will be established as the chief of the mountains;
 * it will be raised above the hills,
 * and the peoples will stream to it.


 * And many nations will come and say:


 * “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
 * to the house of the God of Jacob.
 * He will teach us His ways,
 * so that we may walk in His paths.”


 * For the law will go forth from Zion
 * and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
 * Then He will judge between many peoples
 * and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide.
 * Then they will beat their swords into plowshares
 * and their spears into pruning hooks.
 * Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation,
 * nor will they train anymore for war.
 * And each man will sit under his own vine
 * and under his own fig tree,
 * with no one to frighten him.
 * For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.
 * Though each of the peoples
 * may walk in the name of his god,
 * yet we will walk in the name of the LORD our God
 * forever and ever.

The Restoration of Zion

(Zechariah 8:1–23)


 * “On that day,” declares the LORD,
 * “I will gather the lame;
 * I will assemble the outcast,
 * even those whom I have afflicted.
 * And I will make the lame into a remnant,
 * and the outcast into a strong nation.
 * Then the LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion
 * from that day and forever.
 * And you, O watchtower of the flock,
 * O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion—
 * the former dominion will be restored to you;
 * sovereignty will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.”


 * Why do you now cry aloud?
 * Is there no king among you?
 * Has your counselor perished
 * so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
 * Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion,
 * like a woman in labor.
 * For now you will leave the city
 * and camp in the open fields.
 * You will go to Babylon;
 * there you will be rescued;
 * there the LORD will redeem you
 * from the hand of your enemies!


 * But now many nations
 * have assembled against you,
 * saying, “Let her be defiled,
 * and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
 * But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD
 * or understand His plan,
 * for He has gathered them
 * like sheaves to the threshing floor.
 * Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion,
 * for I will give you horns of iron
 * and hooves of bronze
 * to break to pieces many peoples.
 * Then you will devote their gain to the LORD,
 * their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

A Ruler from Bethlehem

(Matthew 2:1–12)


 * Now, O daughter of troops,
 * mobilize your troops;
 * for a siege is laid against us!
 * With a rod they will strike the cheek
 * of the judge of Israel.
 * But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
 * who are small among the clans of Judah,
 * out of you will come forth for Me
 * One to be ruler over Israel —
 * One whose origins are of old,
 * from the days of eternity.
 * Therefore Israel will be abandoned
 * until she who is in labor has given birth;
 * then the rest of His brothers will return
 * to the children of Israel.


 * He will stand and shepherd His flock
 * in the strength of the LORD,
 * in the majestic name of the LORD His God.
 * And they will dwell securely,
 * for then His greatness will extend
 * to the ends of the earth.
 * And He will be our peace
 * when Assyria invades our land
 * and tramples our citadels.
 * We will raise against it seven shepherds,
 * even eight leaders of men.
 * And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
 * and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn.
 * So He will deliver us
 * when Assyria invades our land
 * and marches into our borders.

The Remnant of Jacob

(Micah 2:12–13)


 * Then the remnant of Jacob will be
 * in the midst of many peoples
 * like dew from the LORD,
 * like showers on the grass,
 * which do not wait for man
 * or linger for mankind.
 * Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
 * in the midst of many peoples,
 * like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
 * like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
 * which tramples and tears as it passes through,
 * with no one to rescue them.
 * Your hand will be lifted over your foes,
 * and all your enemies will be cut off.


 * “In that day,”
 * declares the LORD,
 * “I will remove your horses from among you
 * and wreck your chariots.
 * I will remove the cities of your land
 * and tear down all your strongholds.
 * I will cut the sorceries from your hand,
 * and you will have no fortune-tellers.
 * I will also cut off the carved images
 * and sacred pillars from among you,
 * so that you will no longer bow down
 * to the work of your own hands.
 * I will root out the Asherah poles from your midst
 * and demolish your cities.
 * I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
 * upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”

The Case against Israel

Hear now what the LORD says:


 * “Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
 * and let the hills hear your voice.
 * Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment,
 * you enduring foundations of the earth.
 * For the LORD has a case against His people,
 * and He will argue it against Israel:


 * ‘My people, what have I done to you?
 * Testify against Me how I have wearied you!
 * For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
 * and redeemed you from the house of slavery.
 * I sent Moses before you,
 * as well as Aaron and Miriam.
 * My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled
 * and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
 * Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
 * so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”


 * With what shall I come before the LORD
 * when I bow before the God on high?
 * Should I come to Him with burnt offerings,
 * with year-old calves?
 * Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
 * with ten thousand rivers of oil?
 * Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression,
 * the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


 * He has shown you, O man, what is good.
 * And what does the LORD require of you
 * but to act justly, to love mercy,
 * and to walk humbly with your God?

The Punishment of Israel


 * The voice of the LORD calls out to the city
 * (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name):
 * “Heed the rod
 * and the One who ordained it.
 * Can I forget any longer,
 * O house of the wicked,
 * the treasures of wickedness
 * and the short ephah, which is accursed?
 * Can I excuse dishonest scales
 * or bags of false weights?
 * For the wealthy of the city
 * are full of violence,
 * and its residents speak lies;
 * their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.


 * Therefore I am striking you severely,
 * to ruin you because of your sins.
 * You will eat but not be satisfied,
 * and your hunger will remain with you.
 * What you acquire, you will not preserve;
 * and what you save, I will give to the sword.
 * You will sow but not reap;
 * you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil;
 * you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
 * You have kept the statutes of Omri
 * and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
 * you have followed their counsel.
 * Therefore I will make you a desolation,
 * and your inhabitants an object of contempt;
 * you will bear the scorn of the nations. ”

Israel’s Great Misery

(Matthew 10:34–39; Luke 12:49–53)


 * Woe is me!


 * For I am like one gathering summer fruit
 * at the gleaning of the vineyard;
 * there is no cluster to eat,
 * no early fig that I crave.
 * The godly man has perished from the earth;
 * there is no one upright among men.
 * They all lie in wait for blood;
 * they hunt one another with a net.
 * Both hands are skilled at evil;
 * the prince and the judge demand a bribe.
 * When the powerful utters his evil desire,
 * they all conspire together.
 * The best of them is like a brier;
 * the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns.
 * The day for your watchmen has come,
 * the day of your visitation.
 * Now is the time of their confusion.
 * Do not rely on a friend;
 * do not trust in a companion.
 * Seal the doors of your mouth
 * from her who lies in your arms.
 * For a son dishonors his father,
 * a daughter rises against her mother,
 * and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
 * A man’s enemies are the members
 * of his own household.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort


 * But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
 * I will wait for the God of my salvation.
 * My God will hear me.


 * Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
 * Though I have fallen, I will arise;
 * though I sit in darkness,
 * the LORD will be my light.
 * Because I have sinned against Him,
 * I must endure the rage of the LORD,
 * until He argues my case
 * and executes justice for me.
 * He will bring me into the light;
 * I will see His righteousness.
 * Then my enemy will see
 * and will be covered with shame—
 * she who said to me,
 * “Where is the LORD your God?”
 * My eyes will see her;
 * at that time she will be trampled
 * like mud in the streets.


 * The day for rebuilding your walls will come—
 * the day for extending your boundary.
 * On that day they will come to you
 * from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
 * even from Egypt to the Euphrates,
 * from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
 * Then the earth will become desolate
 * because of its inhabitants,
 * as the fruit of their deeds.

God’s Compassion on Israel


 * Shepherd with Your staff Your people,
 * the flock of Your inheritance.
 * They live alone in a woodland,
 * surrounded by pastures.
 * Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,
 * as in the days of old.


 * As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
 * I will show My wonders.
 * Nations will see and be ashamed,
 * deprived of all their might.
 * They will put their hands over their mouths,
 * and their ears will become deaf.
 * They will lick the dust like a snake,
 * like reptiles slithering on the ground.
 * They will crawl from their holes
 * in the presence of the LORD our God;
 * they will tremble in fear of You.


 * Who is a God like You,
 * who pardons iniquity
 * and passes over the transgression
 * of the remnant of His inheritance—
 * who does not retain His anger forever,
 * because He delights in loving devotion?
 * He will again have compassion on us;
 * He will vanquish our iniquities.
 * You will cast out all our sins
 * into the depths of the sea.
 * You will show faithfulness to Jacob
 * and loving devotion to Abraham,
 * as You swore to our fathers
 * from the days of old.