LXX Micah

The Lord’s Message to Micah

1 And the Lord’s message came to Micah, Moresheth’s son, in the days of Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, about what he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Judgment on Samaria

2 Listen to these words, you peoples, and let the earth pay attention, and everyone in it, and the Lord will be among you as a witness, the Lord from his holy house. 3 For, look, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down, and will tread on the heights of the earth. 4 And the mountains will be shaken under him, and the valleys will melt like wax before the fire, and like water rushing down a slope.

5 All these things are because of the irreverence of Jacob, and because of the sin of the house of Israel. What is Jacob’s irreverence? Isn’t it Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Isn’t it Jerusalem? 6 And I will make Samaria an orchard guard’s hut in a field, and a vineyard planting, and I will pull her stones down into a chasm, and I will expose her foundations. 7 And they will cut all her carved images to pieces, and they will burn all her wages with fire, and I will utterly destroy all her idols, because she gathered from the wages of prostitution, and she brought things together from the wages of prostitution.

8 Therefore she will beat herself and mourn, she will go barefoot and naked. She will wail like dragons and mourn like the daughters of sirens.⁠a 9 For her wound has taken hold, for it has come even to Judah, and has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

The Towns and Their Losses

10 You in Gath, do not consider yourselves great, and you in Akim, do not rebuild a laughingstock out of a house. Scatter soil on your laughingstock. 11 The resident of Zaanan, living well in her cities, did not come out to mourn the house next to her. She will receive a painful blow from you. 12 Who has begun good things for her who lives in pain? For evils have come down from the Lord on the gates of Jerusalem,

13 a noise of chariots and horsemen. The resident of Lachish is the originator of sin for the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the irreverent acts of Israel. 14 Therefore you will give worthless houses sent away as far as the inheritance of Gath. It became empty for the kings of Israel, 15 until I bring the heirs to you, resident of Lachish. The inheritance will come to Adullam, the glory of the daughter of Israel.

16 Shave and cut your hair for your pampered children. Widen your widowhood like an eagle, for they were taken captive from you.

Those Who Plan Evil

1 They were planning troubles and doing evil on their beds, and they carried it out at daybreak, for they did not lift their hands to God.⁠a 2 And they coveted fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed households, and robbed a man and his house, even a man and his inheritance.

3 Therefore the Lord says this: Look, I am planning evils against this tribe, out of which you will not lift your necks, nor will you suddenly walk upright, for the time is evil. 4 On that day a parable will be taken up against you, and a dirge will be mourned in song, saying, “We have suffered misery upon misery. The portion of my people has been measured out with a rope, and there was no one to stop him from turning away. Our fields have been divided.” 5 Therefore you will have no one to throw a rope by lot in the assembly of the Lord.

Tears, Words, and Rejection

6 Do not weep with tears, and do not let them shed tears over these things, for he will not remove insults, 7 the one who says, “The house of Jacob angered the Lord’s Spirit.” If these are his practices, aren’t his words good with him, and haven’t they gone the right way?

8 And earlier, my people resisted in hostility. Contrary to his peace, they stripped off his skin to remove hope in the crushing of war. 9 Therefore the leaders of my people will be thrown out from their luxurious houses. They were driven out because of their evil practices. Come near to the everlasting mountains.

10 Get up and go, for this rest is not for you because of impurity. You were ruined with ruin. 11 You were pursued with no one pursuing. A spirit established a lie, it dripped on you as wine and intoxicating drink. And it will be that from the drop of this people,

Those Gathered Together

12 Jacob will certainly be gathered with everyone. I will certainly receive those left of Israel. I will establish their return together, Like sheep in trouble, as a flock in the midst of their pen, they will leap out from people. 13 They broke through the breach before them, and passed through the gate and went out through it. And their king went out before them, but the Lord will lead them.

Leaders and the People

1 And he will say: Listen to these things now, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel,⁠a isn’t it for you to know judgment? 2 who hate good things and seek evil things, who tear their skin off them, and their flesh off their bones, 3 just as they devoured the flesh of my people, and stripped their skin from their bones, and broke their bones, and cut them up like flesh for a cauldron and like meat for a pot,

4 thus they will cry to the Lord, but he will not listen to them, and he will turn away his face from them at that time, because they acted wickedly against them in their practices.

Prophets and Their Words

5 The Lord says this against the prophets who lead my people astray, who bite with their teeth, and proclaim peace over him, and nothing was put in their mouth. They raised war against him. 6 Therefore you will have night without vision, and darkness without divination, and the sun will set over the prophets, and the day will grow dark over them. 7 And those who see dreams will be disgraced, and the diviners will be laughed at, and they will all speak against them, because there will be no one to listen to them.

8 Surely I will be full of strength through the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of power, to declare to Jacob his irreverent acts, and to Israel his sins.

Judgment on Zion

9 Listen to these things now, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and those left of the house of Israel, who detest judgment, and pervert everything right, 10 who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with injustice. 11 Her leaders judged for gifts, and her priests answered for wages, and her prophets practiced divination for silver, and they relied on the Lord, saying, “Isn’t the Lord among us? No evil will come upon us.” 12 Therefore because of you Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be like a garden watcher’s hut, and the mountain of the house like a wooded grove.

The Mountain of the Lord

1 And in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be visible, prepared on the tops of the mountains, and it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will hurry to it. 2 And many nations will go and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and they will show us his way, and we will walk in his paths.”⁠a For a law will go out from Zion, and the Lord’s message from Jerusalem. 3 And he will judge between many peoples, and will rebuke strong nations far away, and they will beat their swords into plows, and their spears into sickles, and no nation will raise a sword against another nation again, and they will no longer learn warfare. 4 And each person will rest under his vine, and each under his fig tree, and there will be no one to frighten them, for the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these words.

5 For all the peoples will walk, each in his own way, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and beyond.

Those Gathered to Zion

6 On that day, says the Lord, I will gather her who is crushed, and will welcome her who is driven out, and those whom I rejected. 7 And I will make her who was crushed a remnant, and her who was rejected a mighty nation. And the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion from now on, forever.

8 And you, dusty tower of the flock, daughter of Zion, to you the rule will come and enter, the first kingdom from Babylon to the daughter of Jerusalem.

Pain and Rescue

9 And now, why did you know evils? Wasn’t there a king for you? Or did your counsel perish, because pains like those of a woman in labor seized you?⁠b 10 Be in pain, and be brave, and draw near, daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you will go out of the city, and will camp in the plain, and will come as far as Babylon. From there the Lord your God will rescue you, and from there he will ransom you from the hand of your enemies.

11 And now many nations have gathered against you, saying, “We will be glad, and our eyes will look upon Zion.” 12 But they did not know the thought of the Lord, and did not understand his plan, for he has gathered them as sheaves on a threshing floor.

13 Get up, and thresh them, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horns iron, and I will make your hooves bronze, and you will melt nations with them, and will grind down many peoples, and will dedicate their multitude to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth.

The Daughter of Ephraim

14 Now the daughter of Ephraim will be completely fenced in. He laid siege against us. They will strike the tribes of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

The Ruler from Bethlehem

1 And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, are few in number to be counted among the thousands of Judah. One will come out of you for me, to be a ruler in Israel, and his departures date from the beginning, from ancient days. 2 Therefore he will hand them over until the time when the one in labor gives birth, and then the rest of their brothers will return to the sons of Israel. 3 And he will stand, see and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, and they will exist in the glory of the name of the Lord their God. For now he will be made great to the ends of the earth.

Assyria and Those Left of Jacob

4 And this will be peace when the Assyrian comes into your land, and when he treads on your country, and there will be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight stings of people. 5 And they will shepherd Assyria with a sword, and the land of Nimrod with its trench, and he will rescue from Assyria, when he comes upon your land, and when he treads on your borders.

6 And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations among many peoples, like dew falling from the Lord, and like lambs on the grass, so that no one may gather or resist among human beings. 7 And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations among many peoples, like a lion in the forest among livestock, and like a lion cub among the flocks of sheep, just as when he goes through, and selects, and snatches away, and there is no one to rescue. 8 Your hand will be raised against those who oppress you, and all your enemies will be destroyed.

The Removal of Weapons and Images

9 And on that day, says the Lord, I will utterly destroy your horses from among you, and destroy your chariots, 10 and I will utterly destroy the cities of your land, and demolish all your strongholds, 11 and I will remove your magical potions from your hands, and there will be no one making pronouncements among you. 12 And I will utterly destroy your carved images, and your standing stones from among you, and you will never again worship the works of your hands. 13 And I will cut off the groves from among you, and I will destroy your cities. 14 And I will take revenge on the nations in anger and fury, because they did not listen.

The Lord’s Case

1 Listen now to the Lord’s message. The Lord said: Get up, argue your case with the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, hills, the Lord’s case, and you ravines, foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a case against his people, and will argue with Israel.

3 My people, what have I done to you? Or how did I sadden you? Or how did I annoy you? Answer me. 4 For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and ransomed you from the house of slavery, and sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. 5 My people, remember now, what King Balak of Moab planned against you, and what Balaam, Beor’s son answered him, from the reeds to Gilgal, so that the righteousness of the Lord might be known.

What the Lord Requires

6 With what will I grasp the Lord? Will I take hold of my God Most High? Will I grasp him with whole burnt offerings, with year-old calves? 7 Will the Lord accept thousands of rams, or tens of thousands of swollen streams? Should I give my firstborns for irreverent acts, the fruit of my belly for the sin of my soul? 8 Human, have you been told what is good, or what the Lord requires of you, except to do justice, love mercy and be ready to walk with the Lord your God?

The City and Its Injustices

9 The Lord’s voice will be invoked for the city, and he will save those who fear his name.⁠a Listen, tribe, and who will adorn a city? 10 Is there fire, and a lawless person’s house hoarding lawless treasures, and injustice with arrogance? 11 Will a lawless person be justified by a pair of scales, or deceitful weights by a bag, 12 from which they filled their wealth with irreverence, and her inhabitants were telling lies, and their tongue was raised up in their mouth?

13 Therefore I will begin to strike you. I will destroy you because of your sins. 14 You will eat and will not be filled, and it will grow dark within you, and he will turn aside, and you will not escape, and all who escape will be handed over to the sword. 15 You will sow but will not harvest. You will press the olive but will not rub yourself with oil, and wine, but you will not drink it, and the requirements of my people will be destroyed. 16 And you kept the rulings of Zimri and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you walked in their plans, that I might hand you over to destruction, and her inhabitants to hissing, and you will receive the reproaches of peoples.

A Lament over the People

1 How terrible for me! For I have become like one gathering straw in harvest, and like one gathering leftover grapes at the grape harvest, when there is no cluster to eat the firstfruits. How terrible for me, my soul! 2 For the devout person has perished from the land, and there is no one among people who acts uprightly. They all go to court for bloodshed. Each person oppresses his neighbor harshly.

3 They prepare their hands for evil, the ruler asks, and the judge spoke peaceful words. It is what his soul desires, and I will take away 4 their good things like a moth eating and walking on a measuring rod on a day of keeping watch. Disaster, disaster! Your vengeance has come. Now their weeping will come.

5 Do not trust in friends, and do not put hope in leaders: beware of your bed partner, so that you do not tell her anything. 6 For the son dishonors his father, the daughter will rise up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. All the men in his house are a man’s enemies.

Waiting for the Lord

7 But I will look to the Lord. I will wait for God my Savior. My God will listen to me. 8 Do not be glad over me, my enemy, for I have fallen and I will rise, for though I sit in darkness, the Lord will give me light. 9 I will endure the anger of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he justifies my case. He will carry out my judgment, and will bring me out into the light, and I will see his righteousness. 10 And my enemy will see it, and will clothe herself with shame, the one who says to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her. Now she will be trampled like clay in the roads

11 on a day of plastering brick. That day will be your erasure, and will wipe away your requirements. 12 On that day also your cities will be leveled and divided among the Assyrians, and your strong cities will be divided from Tyre to the river of Syria, a day of water and commotion. 13 And the land will be destroyed with its inhabitants, because of the fruits of their actions.

Shepherd Your People

14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the sheep of your inheritance, camping by themselves in a thicket within Carmel. They will graze in the land of Bashan, and in the land of Gilead, as in ancient days. 15 And as in the days when you went out of Egypt you will see wonders. 16 The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouth, their ears will be deafened. 17 They will lick dust like snakes dragging earth, they will be thrown into confusion in their confinement. They will be amazed at the Lord our God, and will be afraid of you.

The God Who Desires Mercy

18 Who is a God like you, removing injustices, and passing over the irreverent acts of the remnant of his inheritance? And he did not retain his anger as a testimony, for he delights in mercy. 19 He will return and have compassion on us. He will sink our injustices, and all our sins will be thrown into the depths of the sea. 20 You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as you swore to our ancestors, in earlier days.