Micah 2
1 Woe to those that devise wickedness, and resolve on evil upon their couches! by the first light of the morning they execute it, if they have it in the power of their hand.
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plan on their beds to do evil. In the morning light they do it because they have power.
2 And they covet fields, and rob them; and houses, and take them away: so they defraud the master and his house, and the man and his heritage.
They desire fields and seize them; they desire houses and take them. They oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will devise against this family an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; nor shall ye go erect; for it is an evil time.
Therefore Yahweh says this, “Look, I am about to bring disaster against this clan, from which you will not remove your necks. You will not walk arrogantly, for it will be an evil time.
4 On that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a mournful lamentation, and say, “We are utterly wasted: the portion of my people hath he exchanged; how hath he removed it from me! instead of restoring [them to us] he divideth our fields.”
In that day men will sing a song about you, and lament with a wailing lamentation. They will sing, 'We Israelites are completely ruined; Yahweh changes the territory of my people. How can he remove it from me? He portions out our fields to traitors!'”
5 Therefore shalt thou have none that shall draw the [measuring] cord in [his] lot in the congregation of the Lord.
Therefore, you rich people will have no descendants to divide up the territory by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
6 “Preach not;” [but] they shall preach: they shall not preach [indeed] to these, that reproach may not overtake them.
“Do not prophesy,” they say. “They must not prophesy these things; reproaches must not come.”
7 Shall it be said [in] the house of Jacob, Is the spirit of the Lord straightened? are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
Should it really be said, house of Jacob, “Is the Spirit of Yahweh angry? Are these really his deeds?” Do not my words do good to anyone who walks uprightly?
8 But long since is my people risen up as an enemy: from the garment do you pull off the ornament; of those that pass by securely [ye make] men returned from war.
Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip the robe, the garment, from those who pass by unsuspectingly, as soldiers return from war to what they think is safety.
9 The wives of my people do you drive out of their delightful houses; from their children do ye take away my ornament for ever.
You drive the women belonging to my people from their pleasant houses; you take my blessing from their young children forever.
10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because it is polluted, it shall destroy [you], even with a grievous destruction.
Get up and leave, for this is not a place where you can stay, because of its uncleanness; it is destroyed with complete destruction.
11 If a man that goeth after wind and lieth with falsehood [should say], “I will preach unto thee of wine and of strong drink:” he would be a preacher for this people.
If someone comes to you in a spirit of falsehood and lies and says, “I will prophesy to you about wine and strong drink,” he would be considered to be a prophet for this people.
12 I will [once] surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather up the remnant of Israel; I will place them together as flocks in the fold, as droves in the midst of their pen: they shall be crowded with men.
I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob. I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the midst of their pasture. There will be a loud noise because of the multitude of people.
13 The wall-breaker cometh up before them; they break in and pass through the gate, and go out by it: and their king passeth on before them, and the Lord at their head.
Someone who breaks open their way for them will go ahead of them. They break through the gate and go out; their king will pass on before them. Yahweh will be at their head.
