
{1}1{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the word of Yahweh which came to Micah of Moresheth 
during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 
These are his visions concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

{N}AGAINST SAMARIA AND JERUSALEM{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Hear all you peoples, let the earth listen and all who 
are in it. For Yahweh is witnessing against you from his holy 
temple.
[=]_{I}3_{/}Yahweh has come forth from his place, he comes down and 
treads upon the heights of the earth. {I}4_{/}Beneath him mountains 
collapse and valleys melt like wax before the fire, as torrents 
pouring down the hillside.
{R}_{I}5_{/}All this for the crime of Jacob, for the sin of the nation of 
Judah. What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the 
sin of the nation of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?
{R}_{I}6_{/}Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open 
country, a place for planting vineyards. I will scatter her stones 
down into the valley and lay her foundations bare.
{R}_{I}7_{/}All her carved images will be dashed to pieces and her filthy 
idols burnt by fire. I will make a waste heap of all her idols for 
they were made with harlot's wages, and to harlot's wages they 
will return.
[=]_{I}8_{/}For this reason I lament and wail, go barefoot and naked. 
I shall howl like a jackal and wail like an ostrich. {R}_{I}9_{/}For her 
wound cannot be healed; rather it has come to Judah. It has 
reached the capital of my people, Jerusalem.
{R}_{I}10_{/}Exult not in Gath; break down and weep in Acco. In Beth-
leaphra roll in the dust. {I}11_{/}Sound the bugle, O people of 
Shaphir and do not let the dwellers in Zaanan come forth. Mourn 
greatly, Beth Ezel: your treasures are taken away.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Surely they trembled, the people in Maroth, when calamity 
came down from Yahweh to the gates of Jerusalem.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Hitch the horses to the chariot, citizens of Lachish. In you 
the rebellions of Israel were found and because of you Zion began 
to sin. {R}_{I}14_{/}Therefore you must give a redress to Moresheth-Gath. 
The houses of Achzib have become deceitful to the kings of Israel.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Again I will bring the conqueror to you, people of Maresha, 
and the elite of Israel will leave forever. {I}16_{/}Shave your hair 
for your delightful children. Make yourself bald as an eagle for 
they have been deported far from you.

{N}AGAINST THE RICH{/}

{1}2{/}

{I}1_{/}Woe to those who plot wickedness and plan evil even on their 
beds! When morning comes they do it, as soon as it is within their 
reach.
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}If they covet fields, they seize them. Do they like 
houses? They take them. They seize the owner and his household, 
both the man and his property.
{I}3_{/}This is why Yahweh speaks, "I am plotting evil against this 
whole brood, from which your necks cannot escape. No more shall 
you walk with head held high for it will be an evil time."
{I}4_{/}On that day they will sing a taunting song against you and a 
bitter lamentation will be heard, "We have been stripped of our 
property in our homeland. Who will free us from the wicked who 
allots our fields." {I}5_{/}Truly, no one will be found in the 
assembly of Yahweh to keep a field for you.
{R}_{I}6_{/}What will you say to that? For there is no reply. Disgrace 
will not pass away; these words will strike the nation of Jacob.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}They answer, "Is the might of Yahweh weakened? Is this 
his way of working things out? Has he not good words for his 
people of Israel?"
[=]_{I}8_{/}But it is you who oppress my people and are his enemies. 
You strip off the garments of those who pass by confidently; 
[=]_{I}9_{/}you drive the women of my people from the home they love; 
you rob my blessing from their children forever. 
{I}10_{/}Get up! Away with you! There is no resting place for you 
here! Because of this uncleanness of yours, you will go roped up.
{R}_{I}11_{/}If a deceiver were to come and say, "I will preach to you of 
wine and strong drink," he would be the prophet for this people.

{N}A COMFORTING WORD{/}

{R}_{I}12_{/}I shall assemble you, nation of Jacob, and gather the 
remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a 
fold, like a flock in its pasture. [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}They have a leader in 
their midst. See: their king goes before them, Yahweh is heading 
them!

{N}LEADERS AND PROPHETS OPPRESS THE PEOPLE{/}

{1}3{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Then I said, "You rulers of the house of Israel, is it 
not your duty to know what is right? {I}2_{/}Yet you hate good and 
love evil, you tear the skin from my people and the flesh from 
their bones.
[=]_{I}3_{/}Those who eat my people's flesh and break their bones to 
pieces, who chop them up like meat for the pan and share them like 
flesh for the pot, [=]_{I}4_{/}when they cry, Yahweh will not answer. 
He will hide his face from them because of their evil deeds."
{R}_{I}5_{/}This is what Yahweh says of the prophets who lead my people 
astray:
You cry: "Peace" when you have something to eat, but to anyone 
with nothing for your mouths, it is "War" that you declare. 
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}So night will come to you without vision, and darkness 
without divination. Then sun will set for the prophets and the day 
will be dark for them.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Then the seers will be disgraced and the diviners put to 
shame. They will all cover their faces because no answer will come 
from God. {R}_{I}8_{/}But as for me, I am filled with might, with the 
spirit of Yahweh, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob 
his transgressions, to Israel his sins.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Hear this, leaders of the nation of Jacob, rulers of the 
house of Israel, you who despise justice and pervert what is 
right, [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}you who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with 
crime. [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests 
prophesy for money, and yet they rely on Yahweh and say, "Is 
Yahweh not in our midst? No evil, then, will come upon us." 
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Therefore, because of you, Zion will become a field, 
Jerusalem will be a heap of ruins and the temple mount a forest 
with sacred stones.

{1}4{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}In the last days, the mountain of Yahweh's house shall be 
set over the highest mountains and will tower over the hills. 
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}All the nations will stream to it, saying, "Come, let us 
go to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, so 
he may teach us his ways and we may walk in his paths. For the 
Teaching comes from Zion and from Jerusalem the word of Yahweh."
{R}_{I}3_{/}He will rule over the nations and settle disputes for many 
peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their 
spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not raise sword against 
nation; neither will they train for war any more. {I}4_{/}But each one 
will sit in peace and freedom under a fig tree or a vine of his 
own, for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}While peoples walk, each in the name of his god, we shall 
walk in the name of Yahweh, our God, forever and ever.
{I}6_{/}Yahweh declares, "On that day I will assemble the lame and 
gather the banished, those whom I have afflicted. {I}7_{/}I will make 
the lame a remnant and those driven out a mighty nation. Yahweh 
will reign over them on Zion from now and forever.
{R}_{I}8_{/}As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O city of Zion, city 
of the king, your former dominion will be restored, the kingdom of 
the daughter of Jerusalem.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Now, why do you wail? Would it be that you have no king and 
your counselor has perished? Why are you in anguish like a woman 
in labor? [=]_{I}10_{/}Writhe and howl, O daughter of Zion, like a 
woman in labor, for now you must leave the city and camp in the 
open country. To Babylon you must go; there you shall be rescued 
and Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
{R}_{I}11_{/}But now many nations are massed against you; they say, "Let 
Jerusalem be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion." {I}12_{/}But they 
do not know Yahweh's thoughts, nor do they understand his purpose: 
that he has gathered them like sheaves on the threshing floor.
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Arise and thresh, O Zion, for I will give you horns of 
iron and hooves of bronze, and you shall crush many peoples. You 
shall devote their plundered wealth to Yahweh, their treasures to 
the Lord of the whole earth.
{R}_{I}14_{/}Strengthen the walls of your fortress, for they have laid 
siege against us. With a rod they want to strike the cheek of 
Israel's ruler. 

{N}BUT YOU, BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH{/}

{1}5{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are 
hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the 
one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, 
from the ancient times.
{R}_{I}2_{/}Yahweh, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she 
who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of his 
deported brothers will return to the people of Israel.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}He will stand and shepherd his flock with the strength of 
Yahweh, in the glorious Name of Yahweh, his God. They will live 
safely while he wins renown to the ends of the earth. [=]_{I}4_{/}He 
shall be peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land
and sets foot on our territory,
we will raise against him
not one but seven shepherds,
eight warlords.
{R}_{I}5_{/}They will rule Assyria with the sword,
and Babylonia with the bared blade.
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they come into our land,
when they set foot within our borders.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Then the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples,
like dew dropping down from Yahweh,
like showers falling upon the grass.
For they do not put their hope in man
or expect anything from mortals.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}The remnant of Jacob will then be
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion in a flock of sheep,
trampling down as it goes,
mangling its prey, and no rescuer in sight.
{I}8_{/}May your hand be raised high over your foes,
and all your enemies perish.
[=]_{I}9_{/}"On that day - Yahweh speaks -
I will drive away your horses;
I will wreck your chariots,
[=]_{I}10_{/}I will demolish your cities
and tear down your strongholds.

{I}11_{/}I will do away with your witchcraft
and rid you of soothsayers.
{I}12_{/}I will abolish your carved images,
the sacred stones from your midst,
so that you no longer worship the work of your hands.
{I}13_{/}I will pull down your sacred poles

and destroy all your idols.
{I}14_{/}In raging fury I will take vengeance
upon the nations that have not obeyed me."

{N}O MY PEOPLE WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?{/}

{1}6{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Listen to what Yahweh said to me, "Stand up, let the 
mountains hear your claim, and the hills listen to your plea."
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Hear, O mountains, Yahweh's complaint! Foundations of the 
earth, pay attention! For Yahweh has a case against his people, 
and will argue it with Israel.
[=]_{I}3_{/}"O my people, what have I done to you? In what way have I 
been a burden to you? Answer me.
{R}_{I}4_{/}I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from the land of 
bondage; I sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead you. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}O my people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, plotted, and 
what Balaam, son of Beor, answered him. Remember your journey from 
Shittim to Gilgal, how you have come to know Yahweh's righteous 
paths."
{R}_{I}6_{/}"What shall I bring when I come to Yahweh and bow down before 
God the most high? Shall I come with burnt offerings, with 
sacrifices of yearling calves? [=]_{I}7_{/}Will Yahweh be pleased with 
thousands of rams, with an overabundance of oil libations? Should 
I offer my firstborn for my sins, the fruit of my body for my 
wrongdoing?"
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}"You have been told, O man, what is good and what Yahweh 
requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly 
with your God.
{I}9_{/}The voice of Yahweh calls to the city, in order to save those 
who fear his Name."
[=]_{I}10_{/}"Is there still within you unjust wealth and accursed 
short measure? [=]_{I}11_{/}Shall I approve your false scales and your 
bags of false weights?
{I}12_{/}O city whose rich are full of violence, whose citizens speak 
falsehood, men of deceitful tongue! {I}13_{/}See, I am striking you a 
grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins. {I}14_{/}You 
shall eat but not be satisfied and your insides will go on crying.
What you overtake, you will not carry off, and those who escape I 
will hand them over to the sword. [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}You shall sow but not 
reap. You shall tread your olives, but not anoint yourselves with 
the oil. You shall tread the grapes but not drink the wine.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}You keep the rules of Omri and follow the examples of 
Ahab's court. So I will give you up to devastation, so that your 
citizens become an object of derision. You shall bear the scorn of 
the peoples."

{1}7{/}

{I}1_{/}How I sorrow! For I am like the gatherer of summer fruit, like 
the gleaner of the vintage, when there are no grapes to eat, none 
of the early figs I crave.
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}The godly have vanished from the earth and not one 
upright man is to be found. All lie in ambush to shed blood, one 
hunts another with a net. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Their hands are skilled at 
doing evil. The official demands a bribe, the judge judges for a 
price and the mighty decides as he pleases.
{I}4_{/}Their kindness is like a brier, their justice worse than a 
thorn hedge. But the time of punishment has come, and now is the 
time of confusion.
{I}5_{/}Do not rely on a friend nor trust an intimate companion. Be 
guarded in speech with the woman who shares your bed. [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}For 
son treats father like a fool, daughter rebels against mother, 
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. The enemies of each one are 
those of his household.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}As for me, I will watch expectantly for Yahweh, waiting 
hopefully for the God who saves me. My God will hear me.

{N}POEM OF EXILE - JERUSALEM WILL RISE{/}

[=]_{I}8_{/}Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; though I have fallen, I 
will rise again. Though I now dwell in darkness, Yahweh is my 
light.
{I}9_{/}I will bear the wrath of Yahweh - for I have sinned against 
him - while he examines my cause and defends my rights. Then he 
will bring me out to the light and I shall probe his justice.
{R}_{I}10_{/}Then my enemy shall also see and shame will cover her. Did 
she not say, "Where is Yahweh, your God?" My eyes, then, shall 
rejoice: See how she is trampled like mud in the street!
{I}11_{/}The day is coming when your walls will be rebuilt and your 
boundaries extended. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}On that day they will come to you 
from Assyria to Egypt, from Tyre to the Euphrates, from sea to sea 
and from mountain to mountain, {I}13_{/}while the earth will remain 
desolate because of its citizens and their deeds.
[=]_{I}14_{/}Shepherd your people with your staff, shepherd the flock 
of your inheritance that dwells alone in the scrub, in the midst 
of a fertile land. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead {R}_{I}15_{/}as in 
the days of old, in the days when you went out of Egypt.
Show us your wonders. [=]_{I}16_{/}On seeing this the nations will be 
put to shame in the midst of all their might. People will lay 
their hands upon their mouths and they will not believe the news.
[=]_{I}17_{/}They shall lick the dust like snakes, like creatures that 
crawl upon the ground. They will come trembling out of their 
strongholds; they will be in fear of you.
{I}18_{/}Who is a god like you, who takes away guilt and pardons crime 
for the remnant of his inheritance?
Who is like you whose anger does not last? For you delight in 
merciful forgiveness.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Once again you will show us your loving kindness and trample 
on our wrongs, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea.
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as you 
have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.

