1What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave.2The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each other with nets.3Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire – they all conspire together.4The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm. Now is the time of your confusion.5Do not trust a neighbour; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips.6For a son dishonours his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.7But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me.
Israel will rise
8Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.9Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.10Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, ‘Where is the Lord your God?’ My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets.11The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries.12In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.13The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of their deeds.
Prayer and praise
14Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasture-lands.[1] Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago.15‘As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders.’16Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf.17They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the Lord our God and will be afraid of you.18Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy.19You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.20You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.
Micah 7
English Standard Version
Wait for the God of Salvation
1Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. (Isa 17:6; Isa 24:13; Ho 9:10)2The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. (Ps 10:9; Ps 12:1; Ps 14:1; Ps 14:3; Isa 9:19; Isa 57:1; Ho 6:8)3Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. (Ps 82:1; Mic 3:11; Zep 3:7)4The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. (2Sa 23:6; Isa 22:5; Eze 2:6; Eze 33:2; Mic 3:6; Na 1:10)5Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms;[1] (Ps 141:3; Jer 9:4)6for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. (Eze 22:7; Mt 10:21; Mt 10:35; Mt 10:36; Lu 12:53)7But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (La 3:26)8Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. (Ps 37:24; Ps 112:4; Jer 50:11; La 4:21; Mic 7:10)9I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. (1Sa 24:15; Ps 37:6; Jer 10:19)10Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets. (2Sa 22:43; Ps 18:42; Joe 2:17; Mic 4:11; Mic 7:8)11A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended. (Ps 102:13)12In that day they[2] will come to you, from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the River,[3] from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. (Ge 31:21; Isa 11:11; Isa 11:16; Isa 19:23; Isa 27:13; Ho 11:11; Zec 9:10; Zec 10:10)13But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds. (Mic 6:13)14Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land;[4] let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. (Jos 19:26; Ps 23:4; Ps 28:9; Jer 50:19; Mic 5:4; Zec 10:10)15As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them[5] marvelous things. (Ps 78:12; Isa 11:16)16The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; (Jud 18:19; Isa 26:11; Isa 52:15)17they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall be in fear of you. (Ps 18:45; Ps 72:9; Isa 49:23; Mic 4:1)
God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion
18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Ex 15:11; Ex 34:7; Ps 103:9; Jer 50:20)19He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our[6] sins into the depths of the sea. (Ps 80:14; Isa 38:17; Ro 6:14)20You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. (Ps 105:9; Lu 1:72)