Chapter 1

1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, you peoples, all of you,

listen, earth and all who live in it,

that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,

the Lord from his holy temple.

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;

he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.

4 The mountains melt beneath him

and the valleys split apart,

like wax before the fire,

like water rushing down a slope.

5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,

because of the sins of the people of Israel.

What is Jacob’s transgression?

Is it not Samaria?

What is Judah’s high place?

Is it not Jerusalem?

6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,

a place for planting vineyards.

I will pour her stones into the valley

and lay bare her foundations.

7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;

all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;

I will destroy all her images.

Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,

as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

8 Because of this I will weep and wail;

I will go about barefoot and naked.

I will howl like a jackal

and moan like an owl.

9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;

it has spread to Judah.

It has reached the very gate of my people,

even to Jerusalem itself.

10 Tell it not in Gath

weep not at all.

In Beth Ophrah

roll in the dust.

11 Pass by naked and in shame,

you who live in Shaphir.

Those who live in Zaanan

will not come out.

Beth Ezel is in mourning;

it no longer protects you.

12 Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain,

waiting for relief,

because disaster has come from the Lord,

even to the gate of Jerusalem.

13 You who live in Lachish,

harness fast horses to the chariot.

You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began,

for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

14 Therefore you will give parting gifts

to Moresheth Gath.

The town of Akzib will prove deceptive

to the kings of Israel.

15 I will bring a conqueror against you

who live in Mareshah.

The nobles of Israel

will flee to Adullam.

16 Shave your head in mourning

for the children in whom you delight;

make yourself as bald as the vulture,

for they will go from you into exile.

Chapter 2

Human Plans and God’s Plans

1 Woe to those who plan iniquity,

to those who plot evil on their beds!

At morning’s light they carry it out

because it is in their power to do it.

2 They covet fields and seize them,

and houses, and take them.

They defraud people of their homes,

they rob them of their inheritance.

3 Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster against this people,

from which you cannot save yourselves.

You will no longer walk proudly,

for it will be a time of calamity.

4 In that day people will ridicule you;

they will taunt you with this mournful song:

‘We are utterly ruined;

my people’s possession is divided up.

He takes it from me!

He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ”

5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord

to divide the land by lot.

False Prophets

6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.

“Do not prophesy about these things;

disgrace will not overtake us.”

7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,

“Does the Lord become impatient?

Does he do such things?”

“Do not my words do good

to the one whose ways are upright?

8 Lately my people have risen up

like an enemy.

You strip off the rich robe

from those who pass by without a care,

like men returning from battle.

9 You drive the women of my people

from their pleasant homes.

You take away my blessing

from their children forever.

10 Get up, go away!

For this is not your resting place,

because it is defiled,

it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says,

‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’

that would be just the prophet for this people!

Deliverance Promised

12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;

I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.

I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,

like a flock in its pasture;

the place will throng with people.

13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;

they will break through the gate and go out.

Their King will pass through before them,

the Lord at their head.”

Chapter 3

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

1 Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,

you rulers of Israel.

Should you not embrace justice,

2 you who hate good and love evil;

who tear the skin from my people

and the flesh from their bones;

3 who eat my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin

and break their bones in pieces;

who chop them up like meat for the pan,

like flesh for the pot?”

4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,

but he will not answer them.

At that time he will hide his face from them

because of the evil they have done.

5 This is what the Lord says:

“As for the prophets

who lead my people astray,

they proclaim ‘peace’

if they have something to eat,

but prepare to wage war against anyone

who refuses to feed them.

6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,

and darkness, without divination.

The sun will set for the prophets,

and the day will go dark for them.

7 The seers will be ashamed

and the diviners disgraced.

They will all cover their faces

because there is no answer from God.”

8 But as for me, I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the Lord,

and with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob his transgression,

to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,

you rulers of Israel,

who despise justice

and distort all that is right;

10 who build Zion with bloodshed,

and Jerusalem with wickedness.

11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,

her priests teach for a price,

and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,

“Is not the Lord among us?

No disaster will come upon us.”

12 Therefore because of you,

Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

Chapter 4

The Mountain of the Lord

1 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills,

and peoples will stream to it.

2 Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

3 He will judge between many peoples

and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

4 Everyone will sit under their own vine

and under their own fig tree,

and no one will make them afraid,

for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

5 All the nations may walk

in the name of their gods,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord

our God for ever and ever.

The Lord’s Plan

6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;

I will assemble the exiles

and those I have brought to grief.

7 I will make the lame my remnant,

those driven away a strong nation.

The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion

from that day and forever.

8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,

stronghold of Daughter Zion,

the former dominion will be restored to you;

kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

9 Why do you now cry aloud—

have you no king?

Has your ruler perished,

that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,

like a woman in labor,

for now you must leave the city

to camp in the open field.

You will go to Babylon;

there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will redeem you

out of the hand of your enemies.

11 But now many nations

are gathered against you.

They say, “Let her be defiled,

let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

12 But they do not know

the thoughts of the Lord;

they do not understand his plan,

that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,

for I will give you horns of iron;

I will give you hooves of bronze,

and you will break to pieces many nations.”

You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Chapter 6

1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.