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.

Woe to you who devise useless things and who work evil in your beds. In the morning light, they undertake it, because their hand is against 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 have desired fields and have taken them by violence, and they have stolen houses. And they have made false accusations against a man and his house, 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.

For this reason, thus says the Lord: Behold, I devise an evil against this family, from which you will not steal away your necks. And you will not walk in arrogance, because this is a most wicked time.

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, a parable will be taken up about you, and a song will be sung with sweetness, saying: “We have been devastated by depopulation.” The fate of my people has been altered. How can he withdraw from me, when he might be turned back, he who might tear apart our country?

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

Because of this, there will be for you no casting of the cord of fate in the assembly of the Lord.

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

Do not speak by saying, “It will not drop on these ones; shame will not embrace them.”

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?

The house of Jacob says, “Has the Spirit of the Lord been weakened, or are such things his thoughts?” Are not my words good for him who walks uprightly?

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.

But, to the contrary, my people have risen up in opposition. You have lifted the cover from the undergarment, and those who passed by harmlessly, you have converted into 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.

You have evicted the women among my people from their delicate houses. You have taken my praise forever from their little ones.

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

Rise and depart, for there is no relief for you here. Because of its uncleanness, it will be corrupted with a most wicked decay.

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!

I wish that I were not a man who has breath, and that I rather spoke a lie. I will drop it down to you in wine and in drunkenness. And it will be this people on whom it will rain down.

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.

I will gather together in a congregation all of you, Jacob. I will lead together as one, the remnant of Israel. I will set them together like a flock in the fold, like a sheep in the midst of the sheep pen. They will cause a tumult before the multitude of men.

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!”

For he will ascend, opening the way before them. They will separate, and they will cross the gate and enter through it. And their king will pass by, before their very eyes, and the Lord will be at their head.