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.

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.

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?

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!

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.

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?

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

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.

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

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.

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