Micah 2

¹Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

²And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

³Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time.

⁴In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly ruined: he changeth the portion of my people: how doth he remove it from me! to the rebellious he divideth our fields.

⁵Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the line by lot in the assembly of Jehovah.

⁶Prophesy ye not, thusthey prophesy. They shall not prophesy to these: reproaches shall not depart.

⁷Shall it be said, O house of Jacob, Is the Spirit of Jehovah straitened? are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

⁸But of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye strip the robe from off the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.

⁹The women of my people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take away my glory for ever.

¹⁰Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because of uncleanness that destroyeth, even with a grievous destruction.

¹¹If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

¹²I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

¹³The breaker is gone up before them: they have broken forth and passed on to the gate, and are gone out thereat; and their king is passed on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them.

Micah 2

¹Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.

²They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.

³Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

⁴In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”

⁵Therefore, you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.

⁶“Do not preach,” they preach. “Do not preach these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”

⁷Should it be said, O house of Jacob, “Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these the things He does?” Do not My words bring good to him who walks uprightly?

⁸But of late My people have risen up like an enemy: You strip off the splendid robe from unsuspecting passersby like men returning from battle.

⁹You drive the women of My people from their pleasant homes. You take away My blessing from their children forever.

¹⁰Arise and depart, for this is not your place of rest, because its defilement brings destruction— a grievous destruction!

¹¹If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!

¹²I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its pasture— a noisy throng.

¹³One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate, and go out by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.