Micah 7
7
The Total Corruption of the People
1Woe is me! For I have become like one who,
after the summer fruit has been gathered,
after the vintage has been gleaned,
finds no cluster to eat;
there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger.
2The faithful have disappeared from the land,
and there is no one left who is upright;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and they hunt each other with nets.
3Their hands are skilled to do evil;
the official and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the powerful dictate what they desire;
thus they pervert justice.#7.3 Cn: Heb they weave it
4The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of their#7.4 Heb your sentinels, of their#7.4 Heb your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
5Put no trust in a friend,
have no confidence in a loved one;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your embrace;
6for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
your enemies are members of your own household.
7But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Penitence and Trust in God
8Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
9I must bear the indignation of the Lord,
because I have sinned against him,
until he takes my side
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall see his vindication.
10Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her downfall;#7.10 Heb lacks downfall
now she will be trodden down
like the mire of the streets.
A Prophecy of Restoration
11A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12In that day they will come to you
from Assyria to#7.12 One Ms: MT Assyria and cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their doings.
14Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
show us#7.15 Cn: Heb I will show him marvelous things.
16The nations shall see and be ashamed
of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17they shall lick dust like a snake,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall stand in fear of you.
God's Compassion and Steadfast Love
18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over the transgression
of the remnant of your#7.18 Heb his possession?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in showing clemency.
19He will again have compassion upon us;
he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our#7.19 Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb their sins
into the depths of the sea.
20You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
from the days of old.
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Micah 7: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.