\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Micah}

{\MTB The Book of

\par }{\MT Micah



\par }\ChapOne{1}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Yahweh’s\FTNT{†}{{\FR 1:1 }{\FT{“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.}}} word that came to Micah of Morasheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Hear, you peoples, all of you!

\par }{\QB Listen, O earth, and all that is therein.

\par }{\Q Let the Lord\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 1:2 }{\FT{The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”}}} Yahweh be witness against you,

\par }{\QB the Lord from his holy temple.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For behold,\FTNT{§}{{\FR 1:3 }{\FT{“Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.}}} Yahweh comes out of his place,

\par }{\QB and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}The mountains melt under him,

\par }{\QB and the valleys split apart like wax before the fire,

\par }{\QB like waters that are poured down a steep place.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}“All this is for the disobedience of Jacob,

\par }{\QB and for the sins of the house of Israel.

\par }{\Q What is the disobedience of Jacob?

\par }{\QB Isn’t it Samaria?

\par }{\Q And what are the high places of Judah?

\par }{\QB Aren’t they Jerusalem?


\par }{\Q \VS{6}Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field,

\par }{\QB like places for planting vineyards;

\par }{\Q and I will pour down its stones into the valley,

\par }{\QB and I will uncover its foundations.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}All her idols will be beaten to pieces,

\par }{\QB all her temple gifts will be burned with fire,

\par }{\QB and I will destroy all her images;

\par }{\Q for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them,

\par }{\QB and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return.”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}For this I will lament and wail.

\par }{\QB I will go stripped and naked.

\par }{\QB I will howl like the jackals

\par }{\QB and mourn like the ostriches.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For her wounds are incurable;

\par }{\QB for it has come even to Judah.

\par }{\Q It reaches to the gate of my people,

\par }{\QB even to Jerusalem.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Don’t tell it in Gath.

\par }{\QB Don’t weep at all.

\par }{\QB At Beth Ophrah\FTNT{†}{{\FR 1:10 }{\FT{Beth Ophrah means literally “House of Dust.”}}} I have rolled myself in the dust.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame.

\par }{\QB The inhabitant of Zaanan won’t come out.

\par }{\QB The wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you his protection.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good,

\par }{\QB because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish.

\par }{\QB She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion;

\par }{\QB for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Therefore you will give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath.

\par }{\QB The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}I will yet bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah.

\par }{\QB The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}Shave your heads,

\par }{\QB and cut off your hair for the children of your delight.

\par }{\Q Enlarge your baldness like the vulture,

\par }{\QB for they have gone into captivity from you!


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{2}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Woe to those who devise iniquity

\par }{\QB and work evil on their beds!

\par }{\Q When the morning is light, they practice it,

\par }{\QB because it is in the power of their hand.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}They covet fields and seize them,

\par }{\QB and houses, then take them away.

\par }{\Q They oppress a man and his house,

\par }{\QB even a man and his heritage.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Therefore Yahweh says:

\par }{\Q “Behold, I am planning against these people a disaster,

\par }{\QB from which you will not remove your necks,

\par }{\QB neither will you walk haughtily,

\par }{\QB for it is an evil time.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}In that day they will take up a parable against you,

\par }{\QB and lament with a doleful lamentation, saying,

\par }{\QB ‘We are utterly ruined!

\par }{\QB My people’s possession is divided up.

\par }{\QB Indeed he takes it from me and assigns our fields to traitors!’ ”


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Therefore you will have no one who divides the land by lot in Yahweh’s assembly.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}“Don’t prophesy!”—they prophesy—

\par }{\QB “Don’t prophesy about these things.

\par }{\QB Disgrace won’t overtake us.”


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Shall it be said, O house of Jacob,

\par }{\QB “Is Yahweh’s Spirit angry?

\par }{\QB Are these his doings?

\par }{\QB Don’t my words do good to him who walks blamelessly?”


\par }{\Q \VS{8}But lately my people have risen up as an enemy.

\par }{\QB You strip the robe and clothing from those who pass by without a care, returning from battle.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}You drive the women of my people out from their pleasant houses;

\par }{\QB from their young children you take away my blessing forever.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Arise, and depart!

\par }{\QB For this is not your resting place,

\par }{\QB because of uncleanness that destroys,

\par }{\QB even with a grievous destruction.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies, saying,

\par }{\QB “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink,”

\par }{\QB he would be the prophet of this people.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob.

\par }{\QB I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.

\par }{\Q I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah,

\par }{\QB as a flock in the middle of their pasture.

\par }{\QB They will swarm with people.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}He who breaks open the way goes up before them.

\par }{\QB They break through the gate, and go out.

\par }{\QB Their king passes on before them,

\par }{\QB with Yahweh at their head.




\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \VerseOne{1}I said,

\par }{\Q “Please listen, you heads of Jacob,

\par }{\QB and rulers of the house of Israel:

\par }{\QB Isn’t it for you to know justice?


\par }{\Q \VS{2}You who hate the good,

\par }{\QB and love the evil;

\par }{\QB who tear off their skin,

\par }{\QB and their flesh from off their bones;


\par }{\QB \VS{3}who also eat the flesh of my people,

\par }{\QB and peel their skin from off them,

\par }{\QB and break their bones,

\par }{\QB and chop them in pieces, as for the pot,

\par }{\QB and as meat within the cauldron.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Then they will cry to Yahweh,

\par }{\QB but he will not answer them.

\par }{\Q Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time,

\par }{\QB because they made their deeds evil.”


\par }{\PP \VS{5}Yahweh says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray—for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, “Peace!” and whoever doesn’t provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:


\par }{\Q \VS{6}“Therefore night is over you, with no vision,

\par }{\QB and it is dark to you, that you may not divine;

\par }{\QB and the sun will go down on the prophets,

\par }{\QB and the day will be black over them.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}The seers shall be disappointed,

\par }{\QB and the diviners confounded.

\par }{\Q Yes, they shall all cover their lips,

\par }{\QB for there is no answer from God.”\FTNT{†}{{\FR 3:7 }{\FT{The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).}}}


\par }{\Q \VS{8}But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit,

\par }{\QB and of judgment, and of might,

\par }{\QB to declare to Jacob his disobedience,

\par }{\QB and to Israel his sin.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Please listen to this, you heads of the house of Jacob,

\par }{\QB and rulers of the house of Israel,

\par }{\QB who abhor justice,

\par }{\QB and pervert all equity,


\par }{\QB \VS{10}who build up Zion with blood,

\par }{\QB and Jerusalem with iniquity.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Her leaders judge for bribes,

\par }{\QB and her priests teach for a price,

\par }{\QB and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money;

\par }{\Q yet they lean on Yahweh, and say,

\par }{\QB “Isn’t Yahweh among us?

\par }{\QB No disaster will come on us.”


\par }{\Q \VS{12}Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field,

\par }{\QB and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,

\par }{\QB and the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{4}{\Q \VerseOne{1}But in the latter days,

\par }{\QB it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains,

\par }{\QB and it will be exalted above the hills;

\par }{\QB and peoples will stream to it.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Many nations will go and say,

\par }{\QB “Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh,

\par }{\QB and to the house of the God of Jacob;

\par }{\QB and he will teach us of his ways,

\par }{\QB and we will walk in his paths.”

\par }{\Q For the law will go out of Zion,

\par }{\QB and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;


\par }{\Q \VS{3}and he will judge between many peoples,

\par }{\QB and will decide concerning strong nations afar off.

\par }{\QB They will beat their swords into plowshares,

\par }{\QB and their spears into pruning hooks.

\par }{\Q Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

\par }{\QB neither will they learn war any more.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}But every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree.

\par }{\QB No one will make them afraid,

\par }{\QB for the mouth of Yahweh of Armies has spoken.

\VS{5}Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods,

\par }{\QB but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}“In that day,” says Yahweh,

\par }{\QB “I will assemble that which is lame,

\par }{\QB and I will gather that which is driven away,

\par }{\QB and that which I have afflicted;


\par }{\QB \VS{7}and I will make that which was lame a remnant,

\par }{\QB and that which was cast far off a strong nation:

\par }{\QB and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.”


\par }{\Q \VS{8}You, tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion,

\par }{\QB to you it will come.

\par }{\Q Yes, the former dominion will come,

\par }{\QB the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}Now why do you cry out aloud?

\par }{\QB Is there no king in you?

\par }{\QB Has your counselor perished,

\par }{\QB that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in travail?


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Be in pain, and labor to give birth, daughter of Zion,

\par }{\QB like a woman in travail;

\par }{\QB for now you will go out of the city,

\par }{\QB and will dwell in the field,

\par }{\QB and will come even to Babylon.

\par }{\Q There you will be rescued.

\par }{\QB There Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}Now many nations have assembled against you, that say,

\par }{\QB “Let her be defiled,

\par }{\QB and let our eye gloat over Zion.”


\par }{\Q \VS{12}But they don’t know the thoughts of Yahweh,

\par }{\QB neither do they understand his counsel;

\par }{\QB for he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion,

\par }{\QB for I will make your horn iron,

\par }{\QB and I will make your hoofs bronze.

\par }{\Q You will beat in pieces many peoples.

\par }{\Q I will devote their gain to Yahweh,

\par }{\QB and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{5}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Now you shall gather yourself in troops,

\par }{\QB daughter of troops.

\par }{\Q He has laid siege against us.

\par }{\QB They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

\par }{\QB being small among the clans of Judah,

\par }{\QB out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel;

\par }{\QB whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Therefore he will abandon them until the time that she who is in labor gives birth.

\par }{\QB Then the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh,

\par }{\QB in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God.

\par }{\QB They will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land

\par }{\QB and when he marches through our fortresses,

\par }{\QB then we will raise against him seven shepherds,

\par }{\QB and eight leaders of men.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,

\par }{\QB and the land of Nimrod in its gates.

\par }{\Q He will deliver us from the Assyrian,

\par }{\QB when he invades our land,

\par }{\QB and when he marches within our border.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}The remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples

\par }{\QB like dew from Yahweh,

\par }{\QB like showers on the grass,

\par }{\QB that don’t wait for man

\par }{\QB nor wait for the sons of men.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,

\par }{\QB among many peoples,

\par }{\QB like a lion among the animals of the forest,

\par }{\QB like a young lion among the flocks of sheep;

\par }{\QB who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces,

\par }{\QB and there is no one to deliver.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries,

\par }{\QB and let all of your enemies be cut off.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}“It will happen in that day”, says Yahweh,

\par }{\QB “that I will cut off your horses from among you

\par }{\QB and will destroy your chariots.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}I will cut off the cities of your land

\par }{\QB and will tear down all your strongholds.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}I will destroy witchcraft from your hand.

\par }{\QB You shall have no soothsayers.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}I will cut off your engraved images and your pillars from among you;

\par }{\QB and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}I will uproot your Asherah poles from among you;

\par }{\QB and I will destroy your cities.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}I will execute vengeance in anger

\par }{\QB and wrath on the nations that didn’t listen.”




\par }\Chap{6}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Listen now to what Yahweh says:

\par }{\Q “Arise, plead your case before the mountains,

\par }{\QB and let the hills hear what you have to say.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s indictment,

\par }{\QB and you enduring foundations of the earth;

\par }{\QB for Yahweh has a case against his people,

\par }{\QB and he will contend with Israel.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}My people, what have I done to you?

\par }{\QB How have I burdened you?

\par }{\QB Answer me!


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,

\par }{\QB and redeemed you out of the house of bondage.

\par }{\QB I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised,

\par }{\QB and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal,

\par }{\QB that you may know the righteous acts of Yahweh.”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}How shall I come before Yahweh,

\par }{\QB and bow myself before the exalted God?

\par }{\Q Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

\par }{\QB with calves a year old?


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams?

\par }{\QB With tens of thousands of rivers of oil?

\par }{\Q Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience?

\par }{\QB The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


\par }{\Q \VS{8}He has shown you, O man, what is good.

\par }{\QB What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,

\par }{\QB to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}Yahweh’s voice calls to the city—

\par }{\QB and wisdom fears your name—

\par }{\Q “Listen to the rod,

\par }{\QB and he who appointed it.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

\par }{\QB and a short ephah\FTNT{†}{{\FR 6:10 }{\FT{An ephah is a measure of volume (about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel), and a short ephah is made smaller than a full ephah for the purpose of cheating customers.}}} that is accursed?


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Shall I tolerate dishonest scales,

\par }{\QB and a bag of deceitful weights?


\par }{\Q \VS{12}Her rich men are full of violence,

\par }{\QB her inhabitants speak lies,

\par }{\QB and their tongue is deceitful in their speech.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Therefore I also have struck you with a grievous wound.

\par }{\QB I have made you desolate because of your sins.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}You shall eat, but not be satisfied.

\par }{\QB Your hunger will be within you.

\par }{\QB You will store up, but not save,

\par }{\QB and that which you save I will give up to the sword.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}You will sow, but won’t reap.

\par }{\QB You will tread the olives, but won’t anoint yourself with oil;

\par }{\QB and crush grapes, but won’t drink the wine.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}For the statutes of Omri are kept,

\par }{\QB and all the works of Ahab’s house.

\par }{\QB You walk in their counsels,

\par }{\QB that I may make you a ruin,

\par }{\QB and your inhabitants a hissing.

\par }{\QB You will bear the reproach of my people.”


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{7}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Misery is mine!

\par }{\QB Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vineyard.

\par }{\QB There is no cluster of grapes to eat.

\par }{\QB My soul desires to eat the early fig.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}The godly man has perished out of the earth,

\par }{\QB and there is no one upright among men.

\par }{\QB They all lie in wait for blood;

\par }{\QB every man hunts his brother with a net.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently.

\par }{\QB The ruler and judge ask for a bribe.

\par }{\Q The powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul.

\par }{\QB Thus they conspire together.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}The best of them is like a brier.

\par }{\QB The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge.

\par }{\Q The day of your watchmen,

\par }{\QB even your visitation, has come;

\par }{\QB now is the time of their confusion.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Don’t trust in a neighbor.

\par }{\QB Don’t put confidence in a friend.

\par }{\QB With the woman lying in your embrace,

\par }{\QB be careful of the words of your mouth!


\par }{\Q \VS{6}For the son dishonors the father,

\par }{\QB the daughter rises up against her mother,

\par }{\QB the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

\par }{\QB a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}But as for me, I will look to Yahweh.

\par }{\QB I will wait for the God of my salvation.

\par }{\QB My God will hear me.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy.

\par }{\QB When I fall, I will arise.

\par }{\QB When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}I will bear the indignation of Yahweh,

\par }{\QB because I have sinned against him,

\par }{\QB until he pleads my case and executes judgment for me.

\par }{\QB He will bring me out to the light.

\par }{\QB I will see his righteousness.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Then my enemy will see it,

\par }{\QB and shame will cover her who said to me,

\par }{\QB “Where is Yahweh your God?”

\par }{\Q My eyes will see her.

\par }{\QB Now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}A day to build your walls!

\par }{\QB In that day, he will extend your boundary.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,

\par }{\QB and from Egypt even to the River,

\par }{\QB and from sea to sea,

\par }{\QB and mountain to mountain.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Yet the land will be desolate because of those who dwell therein,

\par }{\QB for the fruit of their doings.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Shepherd your people with your staff,

\par }{\QB the flock of your heritage,

\par }{\QB who dwell by themselves in a forest.

\par }{\Q Let them feed in the middle of fertile pasture land,

\par }{\QB in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}“As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt,

\par }{\QB I will show them marvelous things.”


\par }{\Q \VS{16}The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might.

\par }{\QB They will lay their hand on their mouth.

\par }{\QB Their ears will be deaf.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}They will lick the dust like a serpent.

\par }{\QB Like crawling things of the earth, they will come trembling out of their dens.

\par }{\QB They will come with fear to Yahweh our God,

\par }{\QB and will be afraid because of you.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity,

\par }{\QB and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage?

\par }{\Q He doesn’t retain his anger forever,

\par }{\QB because he delights in loving kindness.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}He will again have compassion on us.

\par }{\QB He will tread our iniquities under foot.

\par }{\QB You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}You will give truth to Jacob,

\par }{\QB and mercy to Abraham,

\par }{\QB as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.


\par }