HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1194
MIC A H 7
page 824
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
9 Fear the Lord if you are wise!
His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:
“The armies of destruction are coming;
the Lord is sending them.*
10 What shall I say about the homes of
the wicked
filled with treasures gained by cheating?
What about the disgusting practice
of measuring out grain with dishonest
measures?*
11 How can I tolerate your merchants
who use dishonest scales and weights?
12 The rich among you have become wealthy
through extortion and violence.
Your citizens are so used to lying
that their tongues can no longer tell
the truth.
2
3
4
5
6
— promises —
from God
The Lord will bring me
into the light, and I will see
his righteousness.
7
8
M I C A H 7:9
13
14
15
16
“Therefore, I will wound you!
I will bring you to ruin for all your sins.
You will eat but never have enough.
Your hunger pangs and emptiness will
remain.
And though you try to save your money,
it will come to nothing in the end.
You will save a little,
but I will give it to those who conquer you.
You will plant crops
but not harvest them.
You will press your olives
but not get enough oil to anoint
yourselves.
You will trample the grapes
but get no juice to make your wine.
You keep only the laws of evil King Omri;
you follow only the example of wicked
King Ahab!
Therefore, I will make an example of you,
bringing you to complete ruin.
You will be treated with contempt,
mocked by all who see you.”
Misery Turned to Hope
1 How miserable I am!
I feel like the fruit picker after the
harvest
who can find nothing to eat.
Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig
can be found to satisfy my hunger.
7
9
10
11
12
The godly people have all disappeared;
not one honest person is left on the earth.
They are all murderers,
setting traps even for their own brothers.
Both their hands are equally skilled at
doing evil!
Officials and judges alike demand bribes.
The people with influence get what they want,
and together they scheme to twist justice.
Even the best of them is like a brier;
the most honest is as dangerous as a
hedge of thorns.
But your judgment day is coming swiftly now.
Your time of punishment is here,
a time of confusion.
Don’t trust anyone—
not your best friend or even your wife!
For the son despises his father.
The daughter defies her mother.
The daughter-in-law defies her
mother-in-law.
Your enemies are right in your own
household!
As for me, I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.
Do not gloat over me, my enemies!
For though I fall, I will rise again.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
I will be patient as the Lord punishes me,
for I have sinned against him.
But after that, he will take up my case
and give me justice for all I have suffered
from my enemies.
The Lord will bring me into the light,
and I will see his righteousness.
Then my enemies will see that the Lord is
on my side.
They will be ashamed that they taunted
me, saying,
“So where is the Lord—
that God of yours?”
With my own eyes I will see their downfall;
they will be trampled like mud in the
streets.
In that day, Israel, your cities will be
rebuilt,
and your borders will be extended.
People from many lands will come and
honor you—
from Assyria all the way to the towns
of Egypt,
from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates
River,*
and from distant seas and mountains.
6:9 Hebrew “Listen to the rod. / Who appointed it?”
6:10 Hebrew of using the short ephah? The ephah was
a unit for measuring grain. 7:12 Hebrew the river.