Chapter 5

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

1 Marshal your troops now, city of troops,

for a siege is laid against us.

They will strike Israel’s ruler

on the cheek with a rod.

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.”

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned

until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,

and the rest of his brothers return

to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they will live securely, for then his greatness

will reach to the ends of the earth.

5 And he will be our peace

when the Assyrians invade our land

and march through our fortresses.

We will raise against them seven shepherds,

even eight commanders,

6 who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.

He will deliver us from the Assyrians

when they invade our land

and march across our borders.

7 The remnant of Jacob will be

in the midst of many peoples

like dew from the Lord,

like showers on the grass,

which do not wait for anyone

or depend on man.

8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples,

like a lion among the beasts of the forest,

like a young lion among flocks of sheep,

which mauls and mangles as it goes,

and no one can rescue.

9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,

and all your foes will be destroyed.

10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will destroy your horses from among you

and demolish your chariots.

11 I will destroy the cities of your land

and tear down all your strongholds.

12 I will destroy your witchcraft

and you will no longer cast spells.

13 I will destroy your idols

and your sacred stones from among you;

you will no longer bow down

to the work of your hands.

14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles

when I demolish your cities.

15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath

on the nations that have not obeyed me.”

Chapter 6

The Lord’s Case Against Israel

1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;

let the hills hear what you have to say.

2 “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;

listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he is lodging a charge against Israel.

3 “My people, what have I done to you?

How have I burdened you? Answer me.

4 I brought you up out of Egypt

and redeemed you from the land of slavery.

I sent Moses to lead you,

also Aaron and Miriam.

5 My people, remember

what Balak king of Moab plotted

and what Balaam son of Beor answered.

Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,

that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

6 With what shall I come before the Lord

and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—

and to fear your name is wisdom—

“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,

and the short ephah, which is accursed?

11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,

with a bag of false weights?

12 Your rich people are violent;

your inhabitants are liars

and their tongues speak deceitfully.

13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,

to ruin you because of your sins.

14 You will eat but not be satisfied;

your stomach will still be empty.

You will store up but save nothing,

because what you save I will give to the sword.

15 You will plant but not harvest;

you will press olives but not use the oil,

you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.

16 You have observed the statutes of Omri

and all the practices of Ahab’s house;

you have followed their traditions.

Therefore I will give you over to ruin

and your people to derision;

you will bear the scorn of the nations.

Micah 7

Israel’s Misery

1 What misery is mine!

I am like one who gathers summer fruit

at the gleaning of the vineyard;

there is no cluster of grapes to eat,

none of the early figs that I crave.

2 The faithful have been swept from the land;

not one upright person remains.

Everyone lies in wait to shed blood;

they hunt each other with nets.

3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;

the ruler demands gifts,

the judge accepts bribes,

the powerful dictate what they desire—

they all conspire together.

4 The best of them is like a brier,

the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.

The day God visits you has come,

the day your watchmen sound the alarm.

Now is the time of your confusion.

5 Do not trust a neighbor;

put no confidence in a friend.

Even with the woman who lies in your embrace

guard the words of your lips.

6 For a son dishonors his father,

a daughter rises up against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,

I wait for God my Savior;

my God will hear me.

Israel Will Rise

8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy!

Though I have fallen, I will rise.

Though I sit in darkness,

the Lord will be my light.

9 Because I have sinned against him,

I will bear the Lord’s wrath,

until he pleads my case

and upholds my cause.

He will bring me out into the light;

I will see his righteousness.

10 Then my enemy will see it

and will be covered with shame,

she who said to me,

“Where is the Lord your God?”

My eyes will see her downfall;

even now she will be trampled underfoot

like mire in the streets.

11 The day for building your walls will come,

the day for extending your boundaries.

12 In that day people will come to you

from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,

even from Egypt to the Euphrates

and from sea to sea

and from mountain to mountain.

13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,

as the result of their deeds.

Prayer and Praise

14 Shepherd your people with your staff,

the flock of your inheritance,

which lives by itself in a forest,

in fertile pasturelands.

Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead

as in days long ago.

15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,

I will show them my wonders.”

16 Nations will see and be ashamed,

deprived of all their power.

They will put their hands over their mouths

and their ears will become deaf.

17 They will lick dust like a snake,

like creatures that crawl on the ground.

They will come trembling out of their dens;

they will turn in fear to the Lord our God

and will be afraid of you.

18 Who is a God like you,

who pardons sin and forgives the transgression

of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever

but delight to show mercy.

19 You will again have compassion on us;

you will tread our sins underfoot

and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

20 You will be faithful to Jacob,

and show love to Abraham,

as you pledged on oath to our ancestors

in days long ago.

Chapter 7

Melchizedek the Priest

1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! 5 Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. 6 This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. 9 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Jesus Like Melchizedek

11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. 13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek.”

18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind:

‘You are a priest forever.’

22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.