1 WOE 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.
2 The 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.
3 That 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.
4 The 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.
5 Trust 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.
6 For 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.
7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
8 Rejoice 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.
9 I 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.
10 Then 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.
11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 In 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.
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed 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.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They 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.
18 Who 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.
19 He 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.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

1Woe is mee, for I am as when they haue gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eate: my soule desired the first ripe fruit.

2The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none vpright among men: they all lie in waite for blood: they hunt euery man his brother with a net.

3 That they may doe euill with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the iudge asketh for a reward: and the great man, he vttereth his mischieuous desire: so they wrap it vp.

4The best of them is as a brier: the most vpright is sharper then a thorne hedge: the day of thy watchmen, and thy visitation commeth; now shall be their perplexitie.

5 Trust yee not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keepe the doores of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy bosome.

6For the sonne dishonoureth the father: the daughter riseth vp against her mother: the daughter in law against her mother in law; a mans enemies are the men of his owne house.

7Therefore I will looke vnto you the Lord: I will waite for the God of my saluation: my God will heare me.

8 Reioyce not against mee, O mine enemie: When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darknes, the Lord shall be a light vnto me.

9I will beare the indignation of the Lord, because I haue sinned against him, vntill he plead my cause, and execute iudgement for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousnesse.

10Then she that is mine enemie shall see it, and shame shall couer her which said vnto mee; Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she bee troden downe, as the myre of the streets.

11In the day that thy walles are to be built, in that day shall the decree bee farre remoued.

12In that day also he shal come euen to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortresse euen to the riuer, and from Sea to Sea, and from mountaine to mountaine;

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

14 Feede thy people with thy rod, the flocke of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feede in Bashan and Gilead, as in the dayes of old.

15According to the dayes of thy comming out of the land of Egypt will I shew vnto him meruailous things.

16 The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand vpon their mouth: their eares shall be deafe.

17They shall licke the dust like a serpent, they shall moue out of their holes like wormes of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall feare because of thee.

18Who is a God like vnto thee, that pardoneth iniquitie, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? hee retaineth not his anger for euer, because he delighteth in mercy.

19He wil turne againe, he will haue compassion vpon vs: he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sinnes into the depths of the Sea.

20Thou wilt performe the trueth to Iacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworne vnto our fathers from the dayes of old.

I == Isa 17:6 ; 24:13 ; 28:4 ; Hos 9:10

II == Ps 12:1 ; 14:1 , 3 ; Isa 57:1 ; Hab 1:15

 

 

III == Isa 1:23 ; Hos 4:18 ; Mic 3:11

 

IV == 2nd Sam 23:6-7 ; Isa 55:13 ; Ezek 2:4

 

 

V == Jer 9:4

 

VI == Ezek 22:7 ; Matt 10:21 , 25-16 ; Luke 12:53 ; 21:16 ; 2nd Tim 3:2-3

 

VII == Isa 8:17

 

VIII == Ps 27:1

 

 

IX == Ps 35:26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == Amos 9:11

 

XII == Isa 11:16 ; 19:23

 

 

 

XIII == Jer 21:14

XIV == Ps 28:9 ; Isa 37:24 ; Mic 5:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVII == Isa 49:23 ; Jer 33:9

 

 

XVIII == Ex 15:11 ; 34:6-7 ; Ps 103:9 ; Isa 57:16 ; Jer 3:5 ; 50:20 ; Mic 4:7 ; 5:3

 

 

 

XX == Ps 105:9-10 ; Luke 1:72-73

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Alas! I am as when the fruit is gathered, as when the vines have been gleaned; There is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.

2 The faithful are gone from the earth, among men the upright are no more! They all lie in wait to shed blood, each one ensnares the other.

3 Their hands succeed at evil; the prince makes demands, The judge is had for a price, The great man speaks as he pleases,

4 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright like a thorn hedge. The day announced by your watchmen! your punishment has come; now is the time of your confusion.

5 Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a companion; Against her who lies in your bosom guard the portals of your mouth.

6 For the son dishonors his father, the daughter rises up against her mother, The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies are those of his household.

7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD, I will put my trust in God my savior; my God will hear me!

8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD is my light.

9 The wrath of the LORD I will endure because I have sinned against him, Until he takes up my cause, and establishes my right. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see his justice.

10 When my enemy sees this, shame shall cover her: She who said to me, "Where is the LORD, thy God?" My eyes shall see her downfall; now shall she be trampled underfoot, like the mire in the streets.

11 It is the day for building your walls; on that day the boundary shall be taken away.

12 It is the day; and they shall come to you from Assyria and from Egypt, From Tyre even to the River, from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain;

13 And the land shall be a waste because of its citizens, as a result of their deeds.

14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, That dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old;

15 As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.

16 The nations shall behold and be put to shame, in spite of all their strength; They shall put their hands over their mouths; their ears shall become deaf.

17 They shall lick the dust like the serpent, like reptiles on the ground; They shall come quaking from their fastnesses, trembling in fear of you (the LORD, our God).

18 Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency,

19 And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;

20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.

v 1,2. Micah laments the wicked times in which he is living. Just as when there is no crop in the orchard, there was a lack of good men. It was every man for himself.

v 3,4. Energy was spent in doing evil. Rulers took gifts, judges took bribes, the powerful got what they wanted, and they all conspired together. The best were like thorns, so when God judged, they wouldn’t know what to do.

v 5,6. It was a day when you could trust no one. We see a glimpse of this today in countries with dictatorships where even children tell on their parents and get them in trouble with authorities. In our own country, some children have learned to claim child abuse and get their parents in trouble with child welfare agencies.

v 7. Even so, Micah would still make intercession for his people before the Lord.

v 8-10. Micah uses a personal pronoun for himself 15 times in these three verses. The situation was dark, but the Lord would bring light. Like Nehemiah, Isaiah, Daniel and Jeremiah, Micah identifies himself with the people in their sin.

v 11-13. In the Millennium walls will be built for houses and other purposes, not for defense. Those inhabiting Assyria and all over the world will come to Jerusalem to learn of the Lord and worship Him. But before that, in the Tribulation, there will be great desolation in the land, because Israel has sinned and rejected God.

v 14. Micah prays for God to care for His people like a shepherd, just as in the days when there was such good grazing east of the Jordan.

v 15. God replies that in the Millennium He will do wonders as in the Exodus.

v 16, 17. In that day other nations will be astonished at God’s provision for Israel, and they will humbly yield to the Lord.

v 18-20. Micah uses a play on his own name, “Who is like the Lord?” Then he makes six statements about God. 1, He pardons sin; 2, He does not stay angry forever with the remnant of His people; 3, He likes to show mercy; 4, He will again have compassion; 5, He will deal with their sins, removing them as if casting them into a deep sea; (On the Day of Atonement orthodox Jews go to a running stream and they symbolically empty their pockets of their sins and cast them into the water.) God blots out our sin, cp Isa. 44:22,3;  6, He is true to Jacob and shows mercy to Abraham as He promised. To Abraham, Gen. 12:2,3; 15:18-21 and to Jacob, Gen. 28:13,14.