Micah 7
1 I am very miserable/frustrated! I am like [SIM] someone who is hungry, [who searches for fruit to pick] after all the fruit had been picked and who finds no grapes or figs to eat.
My woe [is] to me, for I have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul.
2 [All] the godly people have disappeared from this land; there is not one of them left. [The people who are left] are all murderers [MTY]; [it is as though] everyone is eager to kill his fellow countryman.
Perished hath the kind out of the land, And upright among men — there are none, All of them for blood lie in wait, Each his brother they hunt [with] a net.
3 They [all] use both hands to do what is evil. [Government] officials and judges [all] ask for bribes. Important people tell others what they want, and they plot/scheme together [about how to get it done].
On the evil [are] both hands to do [it] well, The prince is asking — also the judge — for recompence, And the great — he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.
4 [Even] the best people are [as worthless] [SIM] as briers; the people [who are considered by others to be] [IRO] the most honest are worse than clumps of thornbushes. But, [Yahweh] will soon judge them; now is the time that he will punish people, a time when they will be [very] confused [because of being defeated].
Their best one [is] as a brier, The upright one — than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen — Thy visitation — hath come. Now is their perplexity.
5 [So], do not trust anyone! Do not trust [even] a friend; [even] be careful what you say to your wife whom you love!
Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth.
6 Boys will despise their fathers, and girls will defy their mothers. Women will defy their mothers-in-law. Your enemies will be those who live in your own houses.
For a son is dishonouring a father, A daughter hath stood against her mother, A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, The enemies of each [are] the men of his house.
7 As for me, I wait for Yahweh [to help me]. I confidently expect that God, my Savior, will answer me [when I pray].
And I — in Jehovah I do watch, I do wait for the God of my salvation, Hear me doth my God.
8 You who are our enemies, do not gloat/rejoice about [what has happened to] us, [because even] if we have experienced disasters, [those disasters will end and] we will be restored. [Even] if [it is as though] we are sitting in the darkness, Yahweh will be our light.
Thou dost not rejoice over me, O mine enemy, When I have fallen, I have risen, When I sit in darkness Jehovah is a light to me.
9 We must be patient while Yahweh punishes us because we have sinned against him. But later, [it will be as though] he will go to court and defend us, and he will make sure that the judge makes a right decision about us. [It will be as though] he will bring us out into the light, and we will see it when he rescues us.
The indignation of Jehovah I do bear, For I have sinned against Him, Till that He doth plead my cause, And hath executed my judgment, He doth bring me forth to the light, I look on His righteousness.
10 Our enemies will [also] see that, and they will be disgraced because they [ridiculed us], saying “Why is [RHQ] Yahweh, that God of yours, [not helping you]?” But with our own eyes we will see them when they are defeated; we will see them trampled like [SIM] mud in the streets.
And see doth mine enemy, And cover her doth shame, Who saith unto me, 'Where [is] Jehovah thy God?' Mine eyes do look on her, Now she is for a treading-place, As mire of the out-places.
11 [You people of Israel, ] at that time your cities will be rebuilt, and your territory will become larger.
The day to build thy walls! That day — removed is the limit.
12 [People from many countries will come to honor you]: people from Assyria and from [near] the [Euphrates] River [in the east] and from Egypt [in the south], from distant seas, and from many mountains.
That day — even unto thee it doth come in, From Asshur and the cities of the fortress, And from the fortress even unto the river, And from sea to sea, and mount to mount.
13 But [the other countries on] the earth will become desolate because of the [evil] things that their people have done.
And the land hath been for a desolation, Because of its inhabitants, Because of the fruit of their doings.
14 Yahweh, protect your people like [MET] [a shepherd protects his sheep] by using his walking stick; lead your people [MET] whom you have chosen to belong to you. [Even though some of them] live by themselves in a forest, give them the fertile pastureland in the Bashan and Gilead [regions] that they possessed long ago.
Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone [in] a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.
15 [Yahweh says/replies], “[Yes], I will perform miracles for you like the miracles that I performed when I rescued your [ancestors] from [being slaves in] Egypt.”
According to the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt, I do shew it wonderful things.
16 [People from many] nations will see [what Yahweh does for you], and they will be ashamed because they do not have any power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears [because they will be very amazed because of what Yahweh does], [and they will not be able to say anything or hear anything].
See do nations, and they are ashamed of all their might, They lay a hand on the mouth, their ears are deaf.
17 [Being very humiliated, ] they will crawl on the ground [MTY] like [SIM] snakes. They will come out of their homes trembling, and stand revering Yahweh our God. They will be very afraid of him, and will tremble in front of him.
They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee.
18 [Yahweh], there is no [RHQ] God like you; you forgive the sins [DOU] that were committed by the people who have survived, the people who belong to you. You do not remain angry forever; you are very happy [to show us] that you faithfully love [us].
Who [is] a God like Thee? taking away iniquity, And passing by the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance, He hath not retained for ever His anger, Because He — He delighteth [in] kindness.
19 You will again act kindly/compassionately toward us. You will get rid of [the scroll on which you have written] the sins that we have committed [as though you were] trampling it under your feet or throwing it into the deep ocean.
He doth turn back, He pitieth us, He doth subdue our iniquities, And Thou castest into the depths of the sea all their sins.
20 You will show that you faithfully [do what you promised for us] and faithfully love us, just like you solemnly promised long ago to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob that you would do.
Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!
