 米:1.(mi)   [米該亞]    [Micah]   [共 7 章]   [思高聖經]
  
 米:1.1      [題名]  猶大王約堂、阿哈次和希則克雅年間，上主的話傳給摩勒舍特人米該亞；以下如果他關於撒馬黎雅和耶路撒冷所見的聖視：
 米:1.2      [上主降來施行審判]  眾民族，你們請聽! 大地和充乎其間的萬物，你們側耳傾聽! 吾主上主要作証反抗你們，吾主已離開了祂的聖殿。
 米:1.3      看，上主已離開自己的居所下降，踏著大地高處前行。
 米:1.4      在祂腳下，諸山銷鎔，諸谷分裂，有如蠟在火前，有如冰瀉斜坡。
 米:1.5      這一切都是因為雅各伯的邪惡，猶大家的罪過。雅各伯的邪惡是什麼﹖不就是撒馬黎雅﹖猶大的罪過是什麼﹖不就是耶路撒冷﹖
 米:1.6      [撒瑪黎雅必遭毀滅]  我必要使撒瑪黎雅變為田野中的廢墟，化為栽植葡萄的園地；我要把她的石頭投入山谷，暴露她的基礎。
 米:1.7      她的一切雕像必被打碎；她的一切淫資必被火燒盡；她的一切偶像，我必使之變為廢物，因為偶像是聚合娼妓淫資做成的，將再轉為娼妓的淫資。
 米:1.8      [先知哀傷猶大的國運]  為此，我要哀號悲鳴，我要赤足裸體而行；哀號若豺狼，悲鳴如駝鳥；
 米:1.9      因為撒馬黎雅的創傷無法醫治，且已廷及猶大，逼近我的門口，直達耶路撒冷。
 米:1.10     你們在加達不要歡樂，在隨苛要慟哭，在貝特敖斐勒，要輾轉於灰塵之中。
 米:1.11     沙非爾的居民! 人已向你吹起了號角；匝南的居民，不要走出自己的城! 在貝特厄責耳有了哭訴，因為人從你們手中奪去了立足之地。
 米:1.12     災禍已由上主降於耶路撒冷門前，瑪洛特的居民還怎能希望幸福﹖
 米:1.13     拉基士的居民，你們要以快馬駕車! 你們是熙雍子女犯罪的開端，因為在你們中間找出以色列罪惡的根源。
 米:1.14     摩勒舍特加特! 人要給你送來臨別的贈品；阿革齊布家為以色列君王，是一條變幻無常的溪流。
 米:1.15     瑪勒沙的居民，征服者還要來你們這裏；的確，以色列的光榮阿杜蘭將要消逝!
 米:1.16     熙雍女子! 妳應為了妳所愛的子女剃頭削髮，並要徹底使妳的頭光禿，有如一隻兀鷹，因為你們已由妳面前被擄去充軍。
  
 米:2.1      [權貴欺壓窮人]  禍哉，那些在床上籌劃不義，圖謀行惡的人! 因為你們手中有能力，一到天亮，就去實行。
 米:2.2      他們想要田地，便去霸佔；朼想要房屋，便去奪取：以暴力對付業主和他的家族，物主和他的產業。
 米:2.3      為此上主這樣說：「看，我正在為這一家籌劃災禍，致令你們不能縮回你們的頭頸，也不能挺身前行，因為那是一個災禍的時刻。」
 米:2.4      在那一日，人要作詩諷刺你們，唱這悲慘的哀哥說：「我們完全被搶掠了，我人民的基業已被人瓜分了，再無人歸還；我們的土地已分配給搶掠我們的人! 」
 米:2.5      因此，你們在上主的集會中，再沒有拉繩測量和抽籤的人。
 米:2.6      [攻擊假先知]  他們講說：「你們不要說預言。」「人不該預言這樣的事，恥辱決不會來到我們身上!
 米:2.7      雅各伯的家豈是可詛咒的﹖上主的氣量豈能變為狹小﹖難道這是他的作風﹖他的話豈不是有益於以色列子民﹖」
 米:2.8      「但是你們正像敵人一樣，起來攻擊我的人民，因為你們向沒有短衣的人索取長袍，向平安走路的人索取戰利品。
 米:2.9      你們驅逐我人民的婦女離開她們的快樂家庭，從她們的嬰兒身上，永遠奪去我的光榮。
 米:2.10     你們起來走吧! 因為這不是你們安息之所。為了不懂，這地必要遭受不可挽救的毀滅。」
 米:2.11     假若有人隨從虛妄而撒謊說：「我要對你預言清酒和醇酒。」這人必可作這民族的先知。
 米:2.12     [以民終必復興]  我必要聚集雅各伯全民眾，我必要集合以色列的遺民，使他們合併在一處，有如羊欄裏的綿羊，有如牧場上的羊群，不再怕任何人。
 米:2.13     開路者走在他們前面開道；他走在前面，眾人隨他穿門而過；他們的君王走在他們們前面，上主親作他們的響導。
  
 米:3.1      [官吏橫徵暴歛]  我曾經說過：「雅各伯的首領，以色列家的官吏，請你們傾聽! 認識正義，豈不是你們分內的事﹖」
 米:3.2      然而他們惡善好惡，從平民身上剝下他們的皮，從骨頭上剔下他們的肉。
 米:3.3      他們吞食我百姓的肉，剝去他們的皮，折斷他們的骨頭，將他們切成碎塊，如釜中的肉，如鼎中的肉。
 米:3.4      當他們呼求上主時，上主決不俯聽他們；反要掩面不理他們，因為他們行了窮凶極惡的事。
 米:3.5      [真假先知的區別]  論及迷我百姓的先知，上主這樣說：當他們的牙齒有咀嚼的東西時，他們便呼喊：「和平。」但凡不將食物送到他們口上的，他們便宣佈「戰爭。」
 米:3.6      因此，為你們只有黑夜而沒有神視，只有黑暗而沒有神諭；太陽必為先知而沒落，白畫必為他們而變為黑暗。
 米:3.7      先知必將抱愧，巫士必將蒙羞，他們都要掩住自己的鬍鬚，因為沒有天主的答覆。
 米:3.8      至於我，我因上主的神而充滿力量、正義和勇氣，向雅各伯指出她的邪惡，向以色列說明她的罪過。
 米:3.9      [聖城聖殿必遭毀滅]  雅各伯家的首領，以色列家的官吏，請你們傾聽這事! 你們憎惡正義，曲解一切正理；
 米:3.10     你們以血債建設耶路撒冷。
 米:3.11     她火首領為賄賂而審判，司祭為薪俸而設教，先知為銀錢而占卜，尚依賴上主說：「上主不是在我們中間嗎﹖災禍決不會臨在我們身上! 」
 米:3.12     因此，為了你的緣故，熙雍必被耕耘有如一塊地．耶路撒冷必成為一堆廢墟，聖殿山必成為叢林中的一個丘陵。
  
 米:4.1      [熙雍將為神國的中心]  到末日，上主火聖殿山必要矗立在群山之上，超乎一切山岳，萬民都要向它湧來；
 米:4.2      將有許多民族前來說：「來，我們攀登上主的聖山，往雅各伯天主的殿裏去! 祂必指示我們祂的道路，教給我們循行祂的途徑，因為法律將出自熙雍，上主將出自熙雍，上主的話將出自耶路撒冷。」
 米:4.3      祂將統治萬民，遠處的強國宣佈定案；他們必要把自己的刀劍鑄成鋤頭，將自己的槍矛製成鐮刀；民族與民族不再持刀相向，人也不再學習武鬥；
 米:4.4      各人只坐在自家葡萄樹和無花果樹下，無人來驚擾，因為萬軍的上主親口說了。
 米:4.5      雖然萬民各奉自己神祗之名而生活，但是我們卻永遠奉上主我們天主之名而生活。
 米:4.6      [遺民再回熙雍]  到那一日──上主的斷語──我要聚集跛行的人，集合被驅散和我所磨難的人；
 米:4.7      我必使跛行的人成為遺民，使離散的人成為強大的民族。從今以後，我，上主要在熙雍山上作他們的君王，以至永遠。
 米:4.8      [耶路撒冷復興前的艱難]  你這羊群的守望台，熙雍女子的高崗，昔日的王權必再歸於你，耶路撒冷女子的王國必再臨。
 米:4.9      現在你為什麼高呼﹖難道你們中間沒有了君王，或者妳的參議已喪亡，令妳痛苦，像臨產的婦女﹖
 米:4.10     熙雍女子，妳應輾轉呻吟，像個臨產的婦女，因為現在妳應出城，住在田野，並且要到巴比倫去，在那裏你將獲救；在那裏，上主你的的天主，要從仇敵中把妳贖回。
 米:4.11     [最後勝利終屬耶路撒冷]  現在許多異族集合起來攻擊你說：「願她赤身裸體，願我們親眼見到熙雍滅亡! 」
 米:4.12     但是他們不知道上主的心意，不明白祂的策略，原來是上主集合了他們，如把禾梱收在禾場上一樣。
 米:4.13     熙雍女子，起來打場吧! 因為我要使妳們的角變成鐵角，使妳的蹄變成銅蹄，使妳踏碎許多民族；妳將他們的戰利品奉獻給上主，將他們的財寶奉獻給全地的主宰。
 米:4.14     [耶路撒冷正陷於困難]  被圍攻的女子，現在你要抓傷己身，他們已圍困住我們，用棍杖搫打以色列民長的面頰。
  
 米:5.1      [默西亞君王出於白冷]  厄弗辣大白冷! 你在猶大群邑中雖是最小的，但是將由你從我生出一位統治以色列的人，他的來歷源自亙古，遠自永遠的時代。
 米:5.2      因此，上主必將遺棄他們，直到孕婦生產之時，那時他弟兄中的遺民必將歸來，與以色列子民團聚。
 米:5.3      他必卓然屹立，以上主的能力及上主他們的天主之名的權威，牧放自己的羊群。他們將獲得安居，因為他必大有權勢，直達地極。
 米:5.4      他本人將是和平! 當亞述人侵入我們地域，蹂躪我們領土時，必有七個牧者，八個人民首領奮起對抗。
 米:5.5      他們必用刀統治亞述，用劍管轄默洛得地。當亞述侵入我們地域，蹂躪我們的境域時，他必救援我們。
 米:5.6      [上主是遺民的保障]  那時，雅各伯的遺民，在許多民族中，必如由上主而來的朝露，必如落在青草上的甘霖，不再期待於人，也不寄望於人子。
 米:5.7      那時，雅各伯的遺民，在異民中，在許多民族中，必如獅子在森林百獸中，必如幼童在羊群中，所經之處，必加以蹂躪摧殘，無人能夠搶救。
 米:5.8      你的手臂將高舉在你敵人之上，你的一切仇敵必要滅絕。
 米:5.9      [上主消弭戰爭和偶像]  到那一日──上主的斷語──我必由你中間毀滅你的戰馬，破壞你的車輛，
 米:5.10     毀壞你境內的城市，傾覆你的一切堡壘，
 米:5.11     滅絕你手中的巫術，使你不再有人占卜；
 米:5.12     我必由你們中間消滅你的彫像和石柱，使你不再膜拜你手製的作品；
 米:5.13     我必由你們中間根除你的神柱，毀壞你的神像；
 米:5.14     對那不順服的異民，我必在憤怒激憤之下施以報復。
  
 米:6.1      [上主申斥以民負恩]願你們傾聽上主所說的話：「起來，在諸山面前進行訴訟，使丘陵能聽見你的聲音! 」
 米:6.2      諸山，請聽上主的申大地的基礎，側耳傾聽吧! 因為上主與祂的人民有所爭訟，與以色列有所爭辯：
 米:6.3      「我的人民! 我對你  麼﹖我在什麼事上叫你討厭﹖請你答覆我!
 米:6.4      難道如果我由埃及地你上來，從奴隸之家贖了你回來，在你面前委派了梅瑟、亞郎和米黎盎﹖
 米:6.5      我的人民，請你記憶布王巴拉圖圖謀過什麼事，貝敖爾的兒子巴郎答應了他什麼；再記憶從史廷到基耳加耳發生過什麼事，好使你明瞭上主的仁慈作為。」
 米:6.6      [人民請求指教]  「到上主那裏，叩拜至高者天主，應進獻什麼﹖應進獻全燔祭，還是應進獻一歲的牛犢﹖
 米:6.7      上主豈喜悅萬千的公或萬道河流的油﹖為了我的過犯，我應否獻上我的長子﹖為了我靈魂的罪惡，我應否獻上我親生的兒子﹖」
 米:6.8      人啊! 已通知了你，什麼是善，上主要求於你的是什麼：無非就是履行正義，愛好慈善，虛心與你的天主來往。
 米:6.9      [撒瑪黎雅難免受罰]，上主向城邑的呼聲：我必拯救敬畏我名的人。支派和城市的會眾，靜聽：
 米:6.10     我豈能忘掉惡人家中義之財，和那可詛咒的小「厄法﹖」
 米:6.11     我豈能把用欺騙的天囊中有假法碼的人視為清廉﹖
 米:6.12     城中的富人充滿了強其中的居民好說謊話，滿口欺詐；
 米:6.13     因此，我才開始打擊為了你的罪惡使你荒涼。
 米:6.14     你要吃，卻吃不飽，常感到空虛；你縱然能把寶藏搬走，卻不能保全；既使你能保全，我也必要付之刀劍。
 米:6.15     你要播種，卻得不到；你要榨橄欖油，卻得不到油抹身；你要榨葡萄酒，卻得不到酒喝。
 米:6.16     因為你遵守了敖默黎令，保存了阿哈布家的一切作風，遵循行了他們的主張；因此，我必要仗你荒涼，使你們你的居民成為笑柄；你必要承擔異民的侮辱。
  
 米:7.1      [先知哀傷人民的腐化]  我有禍了! 因為我變成了一個夏季搜摘果實，採集殘餘葡萄的人，卻沒有一粒葡萄可吃，也沒有我心思所想望的早熟的無花果。
 米:7.2      虔敬人從地上消逝了，人間竟沒有一個正直人；人人都潛伏著要流人血，各以羅網獵取自己的弟兄。
 米:7.3      他們的手善於作惡，官員貪求賄賂，法官勒索酬金，權貴只隨自己的心願發言，他們顛倒了一切。
 米:7.4      他們中最好的人也不過相似荊棘，最正直的人也不過相似有刺的籬笆。你的守望者所宣佈的懲罰之日已經到了；現在他們必要驚惶。
 米:7.5      你們不要信賴鄰里；不要倚靠朋友，連對躺在你懷中的妻子，也也要堅守口舌，
 米:7.6      因為兒子要侮辱自己的父親，女兒要反抗自己的母親，兒媳要違抗自己的婆母：人的仇敵就是自己的家人。
 米:7.7      [敵人的失敗]  至於我，我要仰望上主，寄望於拯救我的天主；天主必要俯聽我。
 米:7.8      我的仇敵! 你不要因我遭難而高興；我雖然跌倒，必再起來；我雖坐在黑暗中，但上主是我的光明。
 米:7.9      因為我得罪了上主，我必須承擔上主的義怒，直到祂審判我的案件，為我主持公道，祂必領進入光明，我必能目睹祂的正義。
 米:7.10     我的仇敵見了，必要蒙受羞辱，因為他曾對我說：「上主你的天主在哪裏﹖」我的眼必要看見他，有如街上的污泥被人踐踏。
 米:7.11     [歸國復興]  必有一天，要重建你的城垣；那一天，你的地界必要擴展；
 米:7.12     那一天，從亞述到埃及，從提洛到幼發拉的河，從這海到那海，從這山到那山的人民，都要向你歸來；
 米:7.13     但其餘的地域，必因其中居民行為的惡果，變為一片荒涼。
 米:7.14     [求主助佑]  上主，求你拿你的牧杖牧放你的人民──獨留在草莽中，在田園間，作你基業的羊群；讓他們在巴商和基肋阿得獲得豢養，一如昔日。
 米:7.15     上主讓我們一如在你出離埃及的時日內，見到奇蹟；
 米:7.16     讓異民見了，感到自己一籌莫展，棎自慚愧，用手掩口，雙耳變聾。
 米:7.17     他們將舔土如蛇，像上爬行的爬蟲，戰戰兢兢地從他們的洞穴裏爬出來，向你，上主我們的天主，表示尊敬敬畏。
 米:7.18     [求主饒恕]  哪裏有神相似你，赦免罪惡，寬宥他的基業──遺民的過錯，不堅時憤怒於永遠，反而喜愛仁慈﹖
 米:7.19     你必再憐憫我們，將我們的邪惡踏於足下，將我們的一切罪過投入海底。
 米:7.20     你必按照你昔日向我們祖先所發了的誓，對雅各伯表示忠信，對亞巴郎施行仁慈。 [米該亞完篇]
  
 mi:1.       [Micah]   7 chapters   [米該亞]  [英文版]
  
 mi:1.1      The word of the LORD which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah: that is, the vision he received concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
 mi:1.2      Hear, O peoples, all of you, give heed, O earth, and all that fills you! Let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple!
 mi:1.3      For see, the LORD comes forth from his place, he descends and treads upon the heights of the earth.
 mi:1.4      The mountains melt under him and the valleys split open, Like wax before the fire, like water poured down a slope.
 mi:1.5      For the crime of Jacob all this comes to pass, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?
 mi:1.6      I will make Samaria a stone heap in the field, a place to plant for vineyards; I will throw down into the valley her stones, and lay bare her foundations.
 mi:1.7      All her idols shall be broken to pieces, all her wages shall be burned in the fire, and all her statues I will destroy. As the wages of a harlot they were gathered, and to the wages of a harlot shall they return.
 mi:1.8      For this reason I lament and wail, I go barefoot and naked; I utter lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.
 mi:1.9      There is no remedy for the blow she has been struck; rather, it has come even to Judah, It reaches to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
 mi:1.10     Publish it not in Gath, weep not at all; In Beth-leaphrah roll in the dust.
 mi:1.11     Pass by, you who dwell in Shaphir! The inhabitants of Zaanan come not forth from their city. The lamentation of Beth-ezel finds in you its grounds.
 mi:1.12     How can the inhabitants of Maroth hope for good? For evil has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.
 mi:1.13     Harness steeds to the chariots, O inhabitants of Lachish; Lachish, the beginning of sin for daughter Zion, Because there were in you the crimes of Israel.
 mi:1.14     Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; Beth-achzib is a deception to the kings of Israel.
 mi:1.15     Yet must I bring to you the conqueror, O inhabitants of Mareshah; Even to Adullam shall go the glory of Israel.
 mi:1.16     Make yourself bald, pluck out your hair, for the children whom you cherish; Let your baldness be as the eagle's, because they are exiled from you.
  
 mi:2.1      Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches; In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power.
 mi:2.2      They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance.
 mi:2.3      Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am planning against this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your necks; Nor shall you walk with head high, for it will be a time of evil.
 mi:2.4      On that day a satire shall be sung over you, and there shall be a plaintive chant: "Our ruin is complete, our fields are portioned out among our captors, The fields of my people are measured out, and no one can get them back!"
 mi:2.5      Thus you shall have no one to mark out boundaries by lot in the assembly of the LORD.
 mi:2.6      "Preach not," they preach, "let them not preach of these things!" The shame will not withdraw.
 mi:2.7      How can it be said, O house of Jacob, "Is the LORD short of patience, or are such his deeds?" Do not my words promise good to him who walks uprightly?
 mi:2.8      But of late my people has risen up as an enemy: you have stripped off the mantle covering the tunic Of those who go their way in confidence, as though it were spoils of war.
 mi:2.9      The women of my people you drive out from their pleasant houses; From their children you take away forever the honor I gave them.
 mi:2.10     "Up! Be off, this is no place to rest"; For any trifle you exact a crippling pledge.
 mi:2.11     If one, acting on impulse, should make the futile claim: "I pour you wine and strong drink as my prophecy," then he would be the prophet of this people.
 mi:2.12     I will gather you, O Jacob, each and every one, I will assemble all the remnant of Israel; I will group them like a flock in the fold, like a herd in the midst of its corral; they shall not be thrown into panic by men.
 mi:2.13     With a leader to break the path they shall burst open the gate and go out through it; Their king shall go through before them, and the LORD at their head.
  
 mi:3.1      And I said: Hear, you leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not your duty to know what is right,
 mi:3.2      you who hate what is good, and love evil? You who tear their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones!
 mi:3.3      They eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from them, and break their bones. They chop them in pieces like flesh in a kettle, and like meat in a caldron.
 mi:3.4      When they cry to the LORD, he shall not answer them; Rather shall he hide his face from them at that time, because of the evil they have done.
 mi:3.5      Thus says the LORD regarding the prophets who lead my people astray; Who, when their teeth have something to bite, announce peace, But when one fails to put something in their mouth, proclaim war against him.
 mi:3.6      Therefore you shall have night, not vision, darkness, not divination; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them.
 mi:3.7      Then shall the seers be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; They shall cover their lips, all of them, because there is no answer from God.
 mi:3.8      But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, with authority and with might; To declare to Jacob his crimes and to Israel his sins.
 mi:3.9      Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel! You who abhor what is just, and pervert all that is right;
 mi:3.10     Who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness!
 mi:3.11     Her leaders render judgment for a bribe, her priests give decisions for a salary, her prophets divine for money, While they rely on the LORD, saying, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil can come upon us!"
 mi:3.12     Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem reduced to rubble, And the mount of the temple to a forest ridge.
  
 mi:4.1      In days to come the mount of the LORD'S house Shall be established higher than the mountains; it shall rise high above the hills, And peoples shall stream to it:
 mi:4.2      Many nations shall come, and say, "Come, let us climb the mount of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, that we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
 mi:4.3      He shall judge between many peoples and impose terms on strong and distant nations; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
 mi:4.4      Every man shall sit under his own vine or under his own fig tree, undisturbed; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
 mi:4.5      For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD, our God, forever and ever.
 mi:4.6      On that day, says the LORD, I will gather the lame, And I will assemble the outcasts, and those whom I have afflicted.
 mi:4.7      I will make of the lame a remnant, and of those driven far off a strong nation; And the LORD shall be king over them on Mount Zion, from now on forever.
 mi:4.8      And you, O Magdal-eder, hillock of daughter Zion! Unto you shall it come: the former dominion shall be restored, the kingdom of daughter Jerusalem.
 mi:4.9      Now why do you cry out so? Are you without a king? Or has your counselor perished, That you are seized with pains like a woman in travail?
 mi:4.10     Writhe in pain, grow faint, O daughter Zion, like a woman in travail; For now shall you go forth from the city and dwell in the fields; To Babylon shall you go, there shall you be rescued. There shall the LORD redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
 mi:4.11     How many nations are gathered against you! They say, "Let her be profaned, let our eyes see Zion's downfall!"
 mi:4.12     But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, nor understand his counsel, When he has gathered them like sheaves on the threshing floor.
 mi:4.13     Arise and thresh, O daughter Zion; your horn I will make iron And your hoofs bronze, that you may crush many peoples; You shall devote their spoils to the LORD, and their riches to the Lord of the whole earth.
 mi:4.14     Now fence yourself in, Bat-gader! "They have laid siege against us!" With the rod they strike on the cheek the ruler of Israel.
  
 mi:5.1      But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.
 mi:5.2      (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.)
 mi:5.3      He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth;
 mi:5.4      he shall be peace. If Assyria invades our country and treads upon our land, We shall raise against it seven shepherds, eight men of royal rank;
 mi:5.5      And they shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; And we shall be delivered from Assyria, if it invades our land and treads upon our borders.
 mi:5.6      The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew coming from the LORD, like raindrops on the grass, Which wait for no man, nor tarry for the sons of men.
 mi:5.7      And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep; When it passes through, it tramples and tears, and there is none to deliver.
 mi:5.8      Your hand shall be lifted above your foes, and all your enemies shall be destroyed.
 mi:5.9      On that day, says the LORD, I will destroy the horses from your midst and ruin your chariots;
 mi:5.10     I will demolish the cities of your land and tear down all your fortresses.
 mi:5.11     I will abolish the means of divination from your use, and there shall no longer be soothsayers among you.
 mi:5.12     I will abolish your carved images and the sacred pillars from your midst; And you shall no longer adore the works of your hands.
 mi:5.13     I will tear out the sacred poles from your midst, and destroy your cities.
 mi:5.14     I will wreak vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not hearkened.
  
 mi:6.1      Hear, then, what the LORD says: Arise, present your plea before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice!
 mi:6.2      Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD, pay attention, O foundations of the earth! For the LORD has a plea against his people, and he enters into trial with Israel.
 mi:6.3      O my people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
 mi:6.4      For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery I released you; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
 mi:6.5      My people, remember what Moab's King Balak planned, and how Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him . . . from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the just deeds of the LORD.
 mi:6.6      With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with holocausts, with calves a year old?
 mi:6.7      Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
 mi:6.8      You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.
 mi:6.9      Hark! the LORD cries to the city. (It is wisdom to fear your name!) Hear, O tribe and city council,
 mi:6.10     Am I to bear any longer criminal hoarding and the meager ephah that is accursed?
 mi:6.11     Shall I acquit criminal balances, bags of false weights?
 mi:6.12     You whose rich men are full of violence, whose inhabitants speak falsehood with deceitful tongues in their heads!
 mi:6.13     Rather I will begin to strike you with devastation because of your sins.
 mi:6.14     You shall eat, without being satisfied, food that will leave you empty; What you acquire, you cannot save; what you do save, I will deliver up to the sword.
 mi:6.15     You shall sow, yet not reap, tread out the olive, yet pour no oil, and the grapes, yet drink no wine.
 mi:6.16     You have kept the decrees of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you have walked in their counsels; Therefore I will deliver you up to ruin, and your citizens to derision; and you shall bear the reproach of the nations.
  
 mi:7.1       Alas! I am as when the fruit is gathered, as when the vines have been gleaned; There is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.
 mi:7.2       The faithful are gone from the earth, among men the upright are no more! They all lie in wait to shed blood, each one ensnares the other.
 mi:7.3       Their hands succeed at evil; the prince makes demands, The judge is had for a price, The great man speaks as he pleases,
 mi:7.4       The best of them is like a brier, the most upright like a thorn hedge. The day announced by your watchmen! your punishment has come; now is the time of your confusion.
 mi:7.5       Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a companion; Against her who lies in your bosom guard the portals of your mouth.
 mi:7.6       For the son dishonors his father, the daughter rises up against her mother, The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies are those of his household.
 mi:7.7       But as for me, I will look to the LORD, I will put my trust in God my savior; my God will hear me!
 mi:7.8       Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD is my light.
 mi:7.9       The wrath of the LORD I will endure because I have sinned against him, Until he takes up my cause, and establishes my right. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see his justice.
 mi:7.10      When my enemy sees this, shame shall cover her: She who said to me, "Where is the LORD, thy God?" My eyes shall see her downfall; now shall she be trampled underfoot, like the mire in the streets.
 mi:7.11      It is the day for building your walls; on that day the boundary shall be taken away.
 mi:7.12      It is the day; and they shall come to you from Assyria and from Egypt, From Tyre even to the River, from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain;
 mi:7.13      And the land shall be a waste because of its citizens, as a result of their deeds.
 mi:7.14      Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, That dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old;
 mi:7.15      As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.
 mi:7.16      The nations shall behold and be put to shame, in spite of all their strength; They shall put their hands over their mouths; their ears shall become deaf.
 mi:7.17      They shall lick the dust like the serpent, like reptiles on the ground; They shall come quaking from their fastnesses, trembling in fear of you (the LORD, our God).
 mi:7.18      Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency,
 mi:7.19      And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
 mi:7.20      You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. [end of Micah]

