Micah 7

1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: [there is] no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit.

Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.

2 The good [man] hath perished from the earth: and [there is] none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.

3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh] for a reward; and the great [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.

Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

4 The best of them [is] as a brier: the most upright [is sharper] than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen [and] thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion.

5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.

6 For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies [are] the men of his own house.

For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

8 Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [will be] a light to me.

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.

9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he shall plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his righteousness.

Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.

10 Then [she that is] my enemy shall see [it], and shame shall cover her who said to me, Where is the LORD thy God? my eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame— she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.

11 [In] the day that thy walls are to be built, [in] that day shall the decree be far removed.

The day for rebuilding your walls will come— the day for extending your boundary.

12 [In] that day [also] he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and [from] the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and [from] mountain to mountain.

On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell in it, for the fruit of their doings.

Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds.

14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, who dwell solitarily [in] the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed [in] Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

15 According to the days of thy departure from the land of Egypt will I show to him marvelous [things].

As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show My wonders.

16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay [their] hand upon [their] mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.

17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.

They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.

18 Who [is] a God like to thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth [in] mercy.

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance— who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?

19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.

20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.