Micah 7
1 I'm totally miserable! I've become like someone trying to glean summer fruit after the grape harvest is over. I can't find any grapes to eat, and there are no early figs that I love.
Woe is me! I live where the summer fruits are gathered, And the vintage is gleaned; There is no cluster to eat; I long for the first-ripe fig.
2 All the good people in the country are gone, there's no one who does right left anywhere. Everyone is looking to murder others; they try to trap even their own brothers.
The good man is perished from the land, And there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every one hunteth his brother with a net.
3 They are experts at evil; both officials and judges ask for bribes; the powerful demand their evil desires; and they scheme together to get what they want.
Their hands are diligent for evil; The prince asketh a bribe, And the judge decideth for money! The great man giveth judgment according to his desire; They conspire to pervert justice.
4 Even the best of them is like a thorny bush, the most honest like a thorn hedge. Your day of judgment that was announced by the prophets, your time of punishment, has arrived. You'rethrown into complete confusion.
The best of them is like a brier; The most upright of them is sharper than a thorn-hedge. The day of recompense, announced by thy watchmen, cometh; Then shall come their perplexity.
5 Don't trust a neighbor, don't rely on a friend. Watch what you say even to the one who lies in your arms.
Trust ye not in a friend! Put no confidence in a guide! From her that lieth in thy bosom Keep the doors of thy mouth!
6 For a son treats his father with contempt; a daughter opposes her mother, and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law. Your enemies are members of your own family.
For the son dishonoreth his father, The daughter riseth up against her mother, And the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; The inmates of a man's house are his foes.
7 But as for me, I look to the Lord. I will wait for the God who saves me. My God will hear me.
I will look to Jehovah; I will hope in the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.
8 Don't gloat over me, my enemies! Even though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! Though I have fallen, I shall arise; Though I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be my light.
9 I will endure the Lord's anger because I have sinned against him. But after that he will argue my case and give me justice. He will bring me into the light and I will see his integrity.
I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, Because I have sinned against him, Until he maintain my cause, and execute judgment for me, Until he bring me to the light, And I behold his mercy.
10 Then my enemies will see it and cover their faces in shame for taunting me, asking, “Where is the Lord your God?” With my own eyes I will see what happens to them; they will be trodden down like mud in the streets.
She that is my enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her, That said to me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall gaze upon her; Soon shall she be trodden down, as the mire of the streets.
11 On that day it will be time to build your walls. On that day your boundaries will be extended.
The day cometh when thy walls are to be built; In that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 On that day people will come from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, from Egypt to the Euphrates River, from sea to sea, from mountain to mountain.
In that day shall they come to thee From Assyria, and the cities of Egypt, And from Egypt to the river, From sea to sea, from mountain to mountain.
13 But the rest of the earth will become desolate because of what those who live there have done.
But first the land shall be desolate on account of its inhabitants, For the fruit of their doings.
14 Protect your people with your shepherd's rod. Take care of your flock, your special people, who live alone in the wilderness and in cultivated land. Let them feed in Basham and Gilead as they did long ago.
Feed thy people with thy crook, The flock of thine inheritance, That dwell solitarily in the forest in the midst of Carmel! Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 Like the time when you left the land of Egypt, I will do miracles for you.
As in the day when thou camest from Egypt, So will I show thee wonders.
16 The nations will see, and they will be humiliated despite their strength. They will cover their mouths with their hands, and their ears shall become deaf.
The nations shall see, and be ashamed of all their might: They shall lay their hands upon their mouths; Their ears shall be deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like snakes; they will be like the creepy-crawlies of the earth. They will come trembling from their fortresses to meet the Lord our God, fearful and afraid before him.
They shall lick the dust like the serpent; Like the creeping things of the earth, they shall come trembling from their strongholds; To Jehovah our God shall they come with awe, And shall fear on account of thee.
18 Who is a God like you who forgives sin and passes over the rebellion of those who are left of his special people? You do not remain angry forever because you delight in showing faithful love.
Who is a God like thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by transgression, In the remnant of his inheritance? He retaineth not his anger forever, For he delighteth in mercy.
19 You will have compassion on us again. You will tread our sins under your feet, and you will throw our sins into the depths of the sea.
He will again have compassion on us, He will blot out our iniquities; Yea, thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give your trustworthy truth to the people of Jacob, your faithful love to the people of Abraham, as you promised our forefathers long ago.
Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob, And mercy to Abraham, Which thou swarest to our fathers from the days of old.
