A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Micah the Morashite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, that he hath seen concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:

Melted have been the mountains under Him, And the valleys do rend themselves, As wax from the presence of fire, As waters cast down by a slope.

For the inhabitant of Maroth (Bitterness)
Writhes in pain [at its losses] and waits anxiously for good,
Because a catastrophe has come down from the Lord
To the gate of Jerusalem.

Bind the chariot to a swift beast, O inhabitant of Lachish, The beginning of sin is she to the daughter of Zion, For in thee have been found the transgressions of Israel.

Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.

In that day doth one take up for you a simile, And he hath wailed a wailing of woe, He hath said, We have been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He doth change, How doth He move toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportioneth.

Doth the house of Jacob say, 'Hath the Spirit of Jehovah been shortened? Are these His doings?' Do not My words benefit the people that is walking uprightly?

The women of my people you have been driving away from their dearly loved children; from their young ones you are taking my glory for ever.

Up! and go; for this is not your rest: because it has been made unclean, the destruction ordered will come on you.

If one is going with the wind, And with falsehood hath lied: 'I prophesy to thee of wine, and of strong drink,' He hath been the prophet of 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 fold.
It will be noisy with people.

Then they will be crying to the Lord for help, but he will not give them an answer: yes, he will keep his face veiled from them at that time, because their acts have been evil.

This is what the Lord has said about the prophets by whom my people have been turned from the right way; who, biting with their teeth, say, Peace; and if anyone puts nothing in their mouths they make ready for war against him.

Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.

And ashamed have been the seers, And confounded have been the diviners, And covered their lip have all of them, For their is no answer, O God.

And yet I have been full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, And of judgment, and of might, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.

And it hath come to pass, In the latter end of the days, The mount of the house of Jehovah Is established above the top of the mounts, And it hath been lifted up above the hills, And flowed unto it have peoples.

“In that day,” says the Lord,
“I shall assemble the lame,
And gather the outcasts [from foreign captivity],
Even those whom I have caused pain.

Now, why dost thou shout aloud? A king -- is there none in thee? Hath thy counsellor perished, That taken hold of thee hath pain as a travailing woman?

Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

And now, gathered against thee have been many nations, who are saying: 'Let her be defiled, and our eyes look on Zion.'

“Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops;
A state of siege has been placed against us.
They shall strike the ruler of Israel on the cheek with a rod (scepter).

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

And this one hath been peace, Asshur! when he doth come into our land, And when he doth tread in our palaces, We have raised against him seven shepherds, And eight anointed of man.

And the remnant of Jacob hath been in the midst of many peoples, As dew from Jehovah -- as showers on the herb, That waiteth not for man, nor stayeth for the sons of men.

Yea, the remnant of Jacob hath been among nations, In the midst of many peoples, As a lion among beasts of a forest, As a young lion among ranks of a flock, Which if it hath passed through, Hath both trodden down and hath torn, And there is no deliverer.

O my people, what have I done to you? how have I been a weariness to you? give answer against me.

Whose rich ones have been full of violence, And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

The statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house
have been observed;
you have followed their policies.
Therefore, I will make you a desolate place
and the city’s residents an object of contempt;
you will bear the scorn of My people.”

My woe is to me, for I have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul.

So shall she who had been mine enemy fear, and shame, shall cover her, who used to say unto me - Where is Yahweh thy God? Mine own eyes, shall look upon her, Now, shall she become one to he trodden down, like the mire of the lanes.

And the land hath been for a desolation, Because of its inhabitants, Because of the fruit of their doings.