Micah 2:4-13 - Compare All Versions

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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.’ ” Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot. “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” 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? 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. You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever. Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy. 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! “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. 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.”

In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, “We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields.” Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the LORD. “Do not preach”—thus they preach— “one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.” Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the LORD grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly? But lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly with no thought of war. The women of my people you drive out from their delightful houses; from their young children you take away my splendor forever. Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction. If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be the preacher for this people! I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the LORD at their head.

In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you: “We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us.” Others will set your boundaries then, and the LORD’s people will have no say in how the land is divided. “Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the LORD’s Spirit have patience with such behavior? If you would do what is right, you would find my words comforting. Yet to this very hour my people rise against me like an enemy! You steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, making them as ragged as men returning from battle. You have evicted women from their pleasant homes and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them. Up! Begone! This is no longer your land and home, for you have filled it with sin and ruined it completely. Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you, “I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!” That’s just the kind of prophet you would like! “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds! Your leader will break out and lead you out of exile, out through the gates of the enemy cities, back to your own land. Your king will lead you; the LORD himself will guide you.”

In that day one will take up  a taunt against you and lament mournfully,   saying, “We are totally ruined!  He measures out the allotted land of my people. How he removes it from me! He allots our fields  to traitors.” Therefore, there will be no one in the assembly of the  LORD to divide the land by casting lots.  , “Quit your preaching,”  they   preach. “They should not preach these things;  shame will not overtake us.”  , House of Jacob, should it be asked, “Is the Spirit of the  LORD  impatient?  Are these the things he does? ” Don’t my words bring good  to the one who walks uprightly?  But recently my people have risen up like an enemy:  You strip off the splendid robe  from those who are passing through confidently,  like those returning from war. You force  the women of my people out of their comfortable homes, and you take my blessing  , from their children forever. Get up and leave, for this is not your place of rest  because defilement  brings destruction — a grievous destruction!  If a man comes and utters empty lies   — “I will preach to you about wine and beer”   — he would be just the preacher for this people!  I will indeed gather  all of you, Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel.  I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the middle of its pasture. It will be noisy with people.  One who breaks open the way will advance before them; they will break out, pass through the city gate, and leave by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD. Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. I 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 the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

In that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ” Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot In the assembly of the LORD. “Do not prattle,” you say to those who prophesy. So they shall not prophesy to you; They shall not return insult for insult. You who are named the house of Jacob: “Is the Spirit of the LORD restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To him who walks uprightly? “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy— You pull off the robe with the garment From those who trust you, as they pass by, Like men returned from war. The women of My people you cast out From their pleasant houses; From their children You have taken away My glory forever. “Arise and depart, For this is not your rest; Because it is defiled, it shall destroy, Yes, with utter destruction. If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people. “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people. The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the LORD at their head.”

Doom to those who plot evil, who go to bed dreaming up crimes! As soon as it’s morning, they’re off, full of energy, doing what they’ve planned. They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them. GOD has had enough. He says, “I have some plans of my own: Disaster because of this interbreeding evil! Your necks are on the line. You’re not walking away from this. It’s doomsday for you. Mocking ballads will be sung of you, and you yourselves will sing the blues: ‘Our lives are ruined, our homes and lands auctioned off. They take everything, leave us nothing! All is sold to the highest bidder.’” And there’ll be no one to stand up for you, no one to speak for you before GOD and his jury. * * * “Don’t preach,” say the preachers. “Don’t preach such stuff. Nothing bad will happen to us. Talk like this to the family of Jacob? Does GOD lose his temper? Is this the way he acts? Isn’t he on the side of good people? Doesn’t he help those who help themselves?” * * * “What do you mean, ‘good people’! You’re the enemy of my people! You rob unsuspecting people out for an evening stroll. You take their coats off their backs like soldiers who plunder the defenseless. You drive the women of my people out of their ample homes. You make victims of the children and leave them vulnerable to violence and vice. Get out of here, the lot of you. You can’t take it easy here! You’ve polluted this place, and now you’re polluted—ruined! If someone showed up with a good smile and glib tongue and told lies from morning to night— ‘I’ll preach sermons that will tell you how you can get anything you want from God: More money, the best wines . . . you name it’— you’d hire him on the spot as your preacher! * * * “I’m calling a meeting, Jacob. I want everyone back—all the survivors of Israel. I’ll get them together in one place— like sheep in a fold, like cattle in a corral— a milling throng of homebound people! Then I, GOD, will burst all confinements and lead them out into the open. They’ll follow their King. I will be out in front leading them.”

“On that day they will take up against you a song of mocking And utter a song of mourning and say, ‘We are completely destroyed! He exchanges the share of my people; How He removes it from me! To the apostate He apportions our fields.’ “Therefore you will have no one applying a measuring line For you by lot in the assembly of the LORD. ¶‘Do not prophesy,’ so they prophesy. But if they do not prophesy about these things, Insults will not be turned back. “Is it being said, house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these His works?’ Do My words not do good For the one walking rightly? “Recently My people have arisen as an enemy— You strip the robe off the garment From unsuspecting passers-by, From those returned from war. “You evict the women of My people, Each one from her pleasant house. From her children you take My splendor forever. “Arise and go, For this is no place of rest Because of the uncleanness that brings on destruction, A painful destruction. “If someone walking after wind and falsehood Had lied and said, ‘I will prophesy to you about wine and liquor,’ He would become a prophet to this people. ¶“I will certainly assemble all of you, Jacob, I will certainly gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture They will be noisy with people. “The one who breaks through goes up before them; They break through, pass through the gate, and go out by it. So their king passes on before them, And the LORD at their head.”

“On that day they shall take up a [taunting, deriding] parable against you And wail with a doleful and bitter song of mourning and say, ‘We are completely destroyed! God exchanges the inheritance of my people; How He removes it from me! He divides our fields to the rebellious [our captors].’ “Therefore, you will have no one stretching a measuring line [dividing the common land] For you by lot in the assembly of the LORD. [Rev 21:27] ¶‘Do not speak out,’ so they speak out. But if they do not speak out concerning these things, Reproaches will not be turned back. “Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Or are these [prophesied judgments] His doings?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly? “But lately My people have stood up as an enemy [and have made Me their antagonist]. You strip the ornaments off the garment Of those unsuspecting passers-by, Like those returned from war. “You evict the women (widows) of My people, Each one from her pleasant house; From her [young, fatherless] children you take away My splendor and blessing forever [by putting them among the pagans, away from Me]. “Arise and depart [because the captivity is inevitable], For this [land] is not the place of rest Because of the defilement that brings destruction, A painful and terrible destruction. “If a man walking in a false spirit [spouting deception] Should lie and say, ‘I will prophesy to you [O Israel] of wine and liquor (greed, sensual pleasure),’ He would be the acceptable spokesman of this people. [Jer 5:31] ¶“I shall most certainly assemble all of you, O Jacob; I shall surely gather the remnant of Israel. I shall bring them together like sheep in the fold [multiplying the nation]; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture. The place will swarm with many people and hum loudly with noise. “The breaker [the Messiah, who opens the way] shall go up before them [liberating them]. They will break out, pass through the gate and go out; So their King goes on before them, The LORD at their head.” [Ex 23:20, 21; 33:14; Is 63:8, 9; Hos 3:5; Amos 9:11]

In that day people will sing this taunt song to you – they will mock you with this lament: ‘We are completely destroyed; they sell off the property of my people. How they remove it from me! They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ Therefore no one will assign you land in the LORD’s community. ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. ‘These prophets should not preach of such things; we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ Does the family of Jacob say, ‘The LORD’s patience can’t be exhausted – he would never do such things’? To be sure, my commands bring a reward for those who obey them, but you rise up as an enemy against my people. You steal a robe from a friend, from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. You wrongly evict widows among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children of their prized inheritance. But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! For this land is not secure! Sin will thoroughly destroy it! If a lying windbag should come and say, ‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ he would be just the right preacher for these people! I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob, I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the middle of a pasture; they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. The one who can break through barriers will lead them out they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. Their king will advance before them, The LORD himself will lead them.