Micah 7
New King James Version
Sorrow for Israel’s Sins
7 Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (A)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (B)my soul desires.
2 The (C)faithful[a] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
(D)Every man hunts his brother with a net.
3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a (E)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
4 The best of them is (F)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.
5 (G)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 your (H)bosom.
6 For (I)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (J)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort
8 (K)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(L)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
9 (M)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (N)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see,
And (O)shame will cover her who said to me,
(P)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.
11 In the day when your (Q)walls are to be built,
In that day [b]the decree shall go far and wide.
12 In that day (R)they[c] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [d]fortified cities,
From the [e]fortress to [f]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And (S)for the fruit of their deeds.
God Will Forgive Israel
14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell [g]solitarily in a (T)woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.
16 The nations (W)shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
(X)They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the (Y)dust like a serpent;
(Z)They shall crawl from their holes like [i]snakes of the earth.
(AA)They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.
18 (AB)Who is a God like You,
(AC)Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of (AD)the remnant of His heritage?
(AE)He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in (AF)mercy.[j]
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all [k]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 (AG)You will give truth to Jacob
And [l]mercy to Abraham,
(AH)Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.
Footnotes
- Micah 7:2 Or loyal
- Micah 7:11 Or the boundary shall be extended
- Micah 7:12 Lit. he, collective of the captives
- Micah 7:12 Heb. arey mazor, possibly cities of Egypt
- Micah 7:12 Heb. mazor, possibly Egypt
- Micah 7:12 The Euphrates
- Micah 7:14 Alone
- Micah 7:15 Lit. him, collective for the captives
- Micah 7:17 Lit. crawlers
- Micah 7:18 Or lovingkindness
- Micah 7:19 Lit. their
- Micah 7:20 Or lovingkindness
Micah 7
Amplified Bible
The Prophet Acknowledges Injustice
7 Woe is me (judgment is coming)! For I am
Like one who gathers the summer fruits, like one who gleans the vintage grapes.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
No first-ripe fig which my appetite craves.
2
The godly person [who is faithful and loyal to God] has perished from the earth,
And there is no upright person [one with good character and moral integrity] among men.
They all lie in wait to shed blood;
Each hunts the other with a net.
3
Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly;
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul.
So they twist the course of justice between them.
4
The best of them is [injurious] like a briar;
The most upright is [prickly] like a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen [that is, the time predicted by the prophets]
And your punishment comes;
Now shall be their confusion.
5
Do not trust in a neighbor [because of the moral corruption in the land];
Do not have confidence in a friend.
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your bosom.(A)
6
For the son dishonors the father and treats him contemptuously,
The daughter rises up [in hostility] against her mother,
The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
A man’s enemies are the men (members) of his own household.(B)
God Is the Source of Salvation and Light
7
But as for me, I will look expectantly for the Lord and with confidence in Him I will keep watch;
I will wait [with confident expectation] for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
8
Do not rejoice over me [amid my tragedies], O my enemy!
Though I fall, I will rise;
Though I sit in the darkness [of distress], the Lord is a light for me.
9
I will bear the indignation and wrath of the Lord
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my case and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light,
And I will behold His [amazing] righteousness and His remarkable deliverance.(C)
10
Then my enemy [all the pagan nations] shall see it,
And shame [for despising the Lord] will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look on her [with satisfaction at her judgment];
Now she (unbelievers) will be trampled down
Like mud of the streets.
11
It shall be a day for building your walls,
On that day the boundary [of Israel] shall be [greatly] extended.(D)
12
It shall be a day when [a]the Gentiles will come to you
From Assyria and from the cities of Egypt,
And from Egypt even to the river Euphrates,
From sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13
Yet the earth [beyond the land of Israel] shall become desolate because of those who dwell in it,
Because of the fruit of their deeds.
14
Shepherd and rule Your people with Your scepter [of blessing],
The flock of Your inheritance and Your possession
Which dwells alone [separate and secure from attack] in the forest,
In the midst of a garden land.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
As in the days of old [the days of Moses and Elijah].
15
“As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,
I shall show you marvelous and miraculous things.”
16
The [pagan] nations shall see [God’s omnipotence in delivering Israel] and be ashamed
Of all their might [which cannot be compared to His].
They shall put their hand on their mouth [in silent astonishment];
Their ears shall be deaf.
17
They shall lick the dust like a serpent;
Like crawling things of the earth
They shall come trembling out of their fortresses and hiding places.
They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our God
And they shall be afraid and stand in awe before You [O Lord].(E)
18
Who is a God like You, who forgives wickedness
And passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He [constantly] delights in mercy and lovingkindness.
19
He shall again have compassion on us;
He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power].
Yes, You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.(F)
20
You shall give truth to Jacob
And lovingkindness and mercy to Abraham,
As You have sworn to our forefathers
From the days of old.(G)
Footnotes
- Micah 7:12 Lit he.
Micah 7
New Living Translation
Misery Turned to Hope
7 How miserable I am!
I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest
who can find nothing to eat.
Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig
can be found to satisfy my hunger.
2 The godly people have all disappeared;
not one honest person is left on the earth.
They are all murderers,
setting traps even for their own brothers.
3 Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil!
Officials and judges alike demand bribes.
The people with influence get what they want,
and together they scheme to twist justice.
4 Even the best of them is like a brier;
the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns.
But your judgment day is coming swiftly now.
Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.
5 Don’t trust anyone—
not your best friend or even your wife!
6 For the son despises his father.
The daughter defies her mother.
The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law.
Your enemies are right in your own household!
7 As for me, I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemies!
For though I fall, I will rise again.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
9 I will be patient as the Lord punishes me,
for I have sinned against him.
But after that, he will take up my case
and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies.
The Lord will bring me into the light,
and I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemies will see that the Lord is on my side.
They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying,
“So where is the Lord—
that God of yours?”
With my own eyes I will see their downfall;
they will be trampled like mud in the streets.
11 In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt,
and your borders will be extended.
12 People from many lands will come and honor you—
from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt,
from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River,[a]
and from distant seas and mountains.
13 But the land[b] will become empty and desolate
because of the wickedness of those who live there.
The Lord’s Compassion on Israel
14 O Lord, protect your people with your shepherd’s staff;
lead your flock, your special possession.
Though they live alone in a thicket
on the heights of Mount Carmel,[c]
let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead
as they did long ago.
15 “Yes,” says the Lord,
“I will do mighty miracles for you,
like those I did when I rescued you
from slavery in Egypt.”
16 All the nations of the world will stand amazed
at what the Lord will do for you.
They will be embarrassed
at their feeble power.
They will cover their mouths in silent awe,
deaf to everything around them.
17 Like snakes crawling from their holes,
they will come out to meet the Lord our God.
They will fear him greatly,
trembling in terror at his presence.
18 Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
20 You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
