Micah 2

1 Woe [to] those devising iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the morning light they do it, For their hand is—to God.

They meditated troubles, and wrought wickedness on their beds, and they put it in execution with the daylight; for they have not lifted up their hands to God.

2 And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.

And they desired fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed families, and spoiled a man and his house, even a man and his inheritance.

3 Therefore, thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am devising against this family calamity, From which you do not remove your necks, Nor walk loftily, for it [is] a time of evil.

Therefore thus says the Lord; Behold, I devise evils against this family, out of which you shall not lift up your necks, neither shall you walk upright speedily: for the time is evil.

4 In that day [one] takes up for you an allegory, And he has wailed a wailing of woe, He has said, We have been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He changes, How He moves toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportions.

In that day shall a parable be taken up against you, and a plaintive lamentation shall be uttered, saying, We are thoroughly miserable: the portion of my people has been measured out with a line, and there was none to hinder him so as to turn him back; your fields have been divided.

5 Therefore, you have no caster of a line by lot In the assembly of YHWH.

Therefore you shall have no one to cast a line for the lot.

6 You do not prophesy—they prophesy, They do not prophesy to these, It does not remove shame.

Weep not with tears in the assembly of the Lord, neither let [any] weep for these things; for he shall not remove the reproaches,

7 [Those] named the house of Jacob: Has the Spirit of YHWH been shortened? Are these His doings? Do My words not benefit the people that are walking uprightly?

who says, The house of Jacob has provoked the Spirit of the Lord; are not these his practices? Are not the Lord's words right with him? and have they not proceeded correctly?

8 And recently My people raise up as an enemy, You strip off the honorable ornament from the outer garment, From the confident passers by, You who are turning back from war.

Even beforetime my people withstood [him] as an enemy against his peace; they have stripped off his skin to remove hope [in] the conflict of war.

9 The women of My people you cast out from its delightful house, From its sucklings you take away My honor for all time.

The leaders of my people shall be cast forth from their luxurious houses; they are rejected because of their evil practices; draw you near to the everlasting mountains.

10 Rise and go, for this [is] not the rest, Because of uncleanness it corrupts, And corruption is powerful.

Arise you, and depart; for this is not your rest because of uncleanness: you have been utterly destroyed;

11 If one is going [with] the wind, And [with] falsehood has lied: I prophesy to you of wine, and of strong drink, He has been the prophet of this people!

you have fled, no one pursuing [you: your] spirit has framed falsehood, it has dropped on you for wine and strong drink. But it shall come to pass, [that] out of the dropping of this people,

12 I surely gather you, O Jacob, all of you, I surely bring together the remnant of Israel, Together I set it as the flock of Bozrah, As a drove in the midst of its pasture, It makes a noise because of man.

Jacob shall be completely gathered with all [his people: ] I will surely receive the remnant of Israel; I will cause them to return together, as sheep in trouble, as a flock in the midst of their fold: they shall rush forth from amongst men through the breach made before them:

13 The breaker has gone up before them, They have broken through, Indeed, they pass through the gate, Indeed, they go out through it, And their king passes on before them, And YHWH at their head!”

they have broken through, and passed the gate, and gone out by it: and their king has gone out before them, and the Lord shall lead them.