Micah 2
1 Terrible things will happen to you who lie awake at night, planning to do wicked things. You get up at dawn, and you do those things, [as soon as] you are able to do them.
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 You want fields [that belong to other people], so you seize them; you also take their houses. You cheat people to get their homes, taking away the property that belongs to their families.
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, this is what Yahweh says: “I will cause you people to experience disasters, and you will not be able to escape [MTY] from them. You will no [longer] walk around proudly, because when those things happen, it will be a time of much trouble for you.
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 At that time, [your enemies] will make fun of you; they will ridicule you by singing this sad song about you: ‘We are completely ruined; Yahweh is taking our land/fields from us, and he will give it to those who will capture us.’”
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 So [when it is the time for the land to be given back to you] people who belong to Yahweh, there will be no one [MTY] who will be able to (cast lots/throw marked stones) to determine which land belongs to whom.
Therefore, you rich people will have no descendants to divide up the territory by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
6 The people [who heard me say that] replied to me, “Do not prophesy such things! Do not say that [Yahweh] is going to humiliate us [by causing us to experience disasters]!”
“Do not prophesy,” they say. “They must not prophesy these things; reproaches must not come.”
7 But you people [MTY] of Israel should not [RHQ] talk like that! The Spirit of Yahweh will certainly not [RHQ] be patient [with people who say such things]! People who continually do things that are righteous will certainly [RHQ] like/appreciate what I say.
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 Yahweh says], “[Recently] my people have been acting toward me like an enemy. When soldiers return from fighting [against their enemies], you [rich people refuse to return the coats of those poor soldiers who have borrowed money from you] [and given you their coats to guarantee that they will pay back the money that they borrowed from you]. [It is as though] you are waiting to forcefully take their coats off their backs!
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 You have forced women to leave their nice homes, and you have stolen from their children forever the (blessings/good things) that I wanted to give them.
You drive the women belonging to my people from their pleasant houses; you take my blessing from their young children forever.
10 [So] get up and leave [here]! This is not a place where you can rest [and be safe/protected], because you have (defiled it/caused it to be a place that I hate); it will be completely destroyed.
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 [You people want] a prophet who will lie to you, saying ‘I will preach [that you should drink] plenty of wine and [other] alcoholic drinks!’ That is the [kind of] prophet who [would please] you.”
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 “[But some day], you descendants of Jacob, you Israeli people who have survived, I will bring you back [from (exile/other countries)], I will gather you together like [SIM] [a shepherd gathers his] sheep from the pasture into a pen [DOU]; there will be many of you in your land/country.
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 Your leader will enable them to leave the countries where they have been exiled; he will lead them out of the gates [of their enemies’ cities], [back to your own country]. Your king will lead them; [it is I], Yahweh, who will be their king!”
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.
