The word of Jehovah which was to Micah the Morasthite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, who saw upon Shomeron and Jerusalem.

Hear, ye peoples, all of you. Hearken, O earth, and all who are in it, and let lord LORD be witness against you, LORD from his holy temple.

Be uncovered and go away, you who are living in Shaphir: the one living in Zaanan has not come out of her town; Beth-ezel is taken away from its base, even from its resting-place.

Let the war-carriage be yoked to the quick-running horse, you who are living in Lachish: she was the first cause of sin to the daughter of Zion; for the wrongdoings of Israel were seen in you.

Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of Mareshah (Prominent Place).
The glory (nobility) of Israel will enter Adullam [seeking refuge].

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who devise wickedness
And plot evil on their beds!
When morning comes, they practice evil
Because it is in the power of their hands.

In that day this saying will be said about you, and this song of grief will be made: The heritage of my people is measured out, and there is no one to give it back; those who have made us prisoners have taken our fields from us, and complete destruction has come to us.

Therefore you will have no one who divides the land by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.

To those who speak out, they will declare, "Don't prophesy to anyone!' so their shame won't go away.

“Is it being said, O house of Jacob:
‘Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?
Or are these [prophesied judgments] His doings?’
Do not My words do good
To the one walking uprightly?

And yesterday My people for an enemy doth raise himself up, From the outer garment the honourable ornament ye strip off, From the confident passers by, Ye who are turning back from war.

But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! For this land is not secure! Sin will thoroughly destroy it!

If there be a man, who goeth after wind, and, falsehood, hath woven, saying - I will discourse to thee, concerning wine and strong drink, then shall he become a fountain of discourse unto this people.

I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob, I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the middle of a pasture; they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise.

The one who breaks out before them goes up; they break through and pass the gate, going out through it. Their king passes before them, Yahweh at their head.

Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

Thus said Jehovah concerning the prophets Who are causing My people to err, Who are biting with their teeth, And have cried 'Peace,' And he who doth not give unto their mouth, They have sanctified against him war.

Those who see visions will be put to shame, and the diviners will be disgraced every one of them they will cover their faces, because there will be no answer from God.'"

Hear this, I pray you, heads of the house of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Who are making judgment abominable, And all uprightness do pervert.

Who build Zion with blood [and extortion and murder]
And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

Each will sit under his own grapevine or under his own fig tree without any fear. The Lord who commands armies has decreed it.

In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I do gather the halting one, And the driven away one I bring together, And she whom I have afflicted.

“I shall make the lame a [godly] remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation;
And the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion
From this time on and forever.

And now, gathered against thee have been many nations, who are saying: 'Let her be defiled, and our eyes look on Zion.'

Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.

(And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall he come forth unto me who is to be Ruler in Israel: whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity.)

Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Your hand is lifted up against those who are against you, and all your haters will be cut off.

And I have done vengeance in anger and in fury, With the nations who have not hearkened!

The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

Will I tolerate those who maintain deceptive standards and who use deceitful weights in their business?

How sad for me!
For I am like one who—
when the summer fruit has been gathered
after the gleaning of the grape harvest—
finds no grape cluster to eat,
no early fig, which I crave.

The faithful [person] has perished from the land, and there is none who is upright among humankind. All of them lie in wait; each hunts his brother [with] a net.

Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth.

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God who will deliver me. My God will hear me.

Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall see my desire upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

Yet the earth [beyond the land of Israel] shall become desolate because of those who dwell in it,
Because of the fruit of their deeds.

Shepherd and rule Your people with Your scepter [of blessing],
The flock of Your inheritance and Your possession
Which dwells alone [separate and secure from attack] in the forest,
In the midst of a garden land.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
As in the days of old [the days of Moses and Elijah].

Who is a God like unto 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.