Micah 7

¹Wo to me, for Y am maad as he that gaderith in heruest rasyns of grapis; there is no clustre for to ete; my soule desiride figis ripe bifore othere.

²The hooli perischide fro erthe, and riytful is not in men; alle aspien, ether setten tresoun, in blood, a man huntith his brother to deth.

³The yuel of her hondis thei seien good; the prince axith, and the domesman is in yeldyng; and a greet man spak the desir of his soule, and thei sturbliden togidere it.

⁴He that is best in hem, is as a paluyre; and he that is riytful, is as a thorn of hegge. The dai of thi biholdyng, thi visityng cometh, now schal be distriyng of hem.

⁵Nyle ye bileue to a frend, and nyle ye truste in a duyk; fro hir that slepith in thi bosum, kepe thou closyngis of thi mouth.

⁶For the sone doith wrong to the fadir, and the douyter schal rise ayens hir modir, and the wijf of the sone ayens the modir of hir hosebonde; the enemyes of a man ben the homeli, ether houshold meynee, of hym.

⁷Forsothe Y schal biholde to the Lord, Y schal abide God my sauyour; the Lord my God schal here me.

⁸Thou, myn enemye, be not glad on me, for Y felle doun, Y schal rise; whanne Y sitte in derknessis, the Lord is my liyt.

⁹Y schal bere wraththe of the Lord, for Y haue synned to hym, til he deme my cause, and make my doom; he schal lede out me in to liyt, Y schal se riytwisnesse of hym.

¹⁰And myn enemye schal biholde me, and sche schal be hilid with confusioun, which seith to me, Where is thi Lord God? Myn iyen schulen se hir, now sche schal be in to defoulyng, as clei of stretis.

¹¹Dai schal come, that thi wallis be bildid; in that dai lawe schal be maad afer.

¹²In that dai and Assur schal come til to thee, and `til to stronge citees, and fro stronge citees til to flood; and to see fro see, and to hil fro hil.

¹³And erthe schal be in to desolacioun for her dwelleris, and for fruyt of the thouytis of hem.

¹⁴Fede thou thi puple in thi yerde, the floc of thin eritage, that dwellen aloone in wielde wode; in the myddil of Carmel thei schulen be fed of Basan and of Galaad,

¹⁵bi elde daies, bi daies of thi goyng out of the lond of Egipt. Y schal schewe to hym wondurful thingis;

¹⁶hethene men schulen se, and thei schulen be confoundid on al her strengthe; thei schulen putte hondis on her mouth, the eris of hem schulen be deef;

¹⁷thei schulen licke dust as a serpent; as crepynge thingis of erthe thei schulen be disturblid of her housis; thei schulen not desire oure Lord God, and thei schulen drede thee.

¹⁸God, who is lijk thee, that doist awei wickidnesse, and berist ouer the synne of relifs of thin eritage? He shal no more sende in his stronge veniaunce, for he is willynge merci; he schal turne ayen,

¹⁹and haue merci on vs. He schal put doun oure wickidnessis, and schal caste fer in to depnesse of the see alle oure synnes.

²⁰Thou schalt yyue treuthe to Jacob, merci to Abraham, whiche thou sworist to oure fadris fro elde daies.

Micah 7

¹Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.

²The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

³That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.

⁴The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

⁵Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

⁶For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

⁷Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

⁸Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.

⁹I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

¹⁰Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

¹¹In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.

¹²In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.

¹³Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

¹⁴Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

¹⁵According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

¹⁶The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

¹⁷They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.

¹⁸Who 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.

¹⁹He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

²⁰Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.