The Book of the Prophet Micah 7

 The Book of the Prophet Micah 7

1 Woe is me! For I am like one who gathers summer fruit, like the gleanings of the vintage; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, no early figs that my soul longs for.

2 The righteous man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind. They all lie in wait for blood; each one hunts his brother with a net.

3 Their hands are skilled at doing evil; the prince inquires, the judge hastens to his reward, and the great man speaks of the corruption of his soul; they are all troublemakers.

4 The best of them is like a thorn bush; the most upright is worse than a brier; the day of your watchmen has come, your visitation has come; now will be their confusion.

5 Do not trust a friend, nor put your confidence in your guide; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom.

6 Why? The son despises the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.

9 I will bear the Lord’s anger, because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and upholds my right. He will bring me to light, and I will see his righteousness.

10 My enemy will see it; shame will cover her. My eyes will see her trampled down like mud in the streets.

11 On the day I rebuild your walls, on that day the statute will be far away.

12 In that day they will come to you from Assyria to the fortified cities, and from the strongholds to the river, and from the sea to the sea, and from mountain to mountain.

13 But this land will be laid waste because of the fruit of their deeds.

14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which dwells alone in the forest, in the midst of the fertile land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

15 I will show them wonders, as in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt.

16 The nations will see it and be ashamed of all their power; they will put their hand over their mouth, and their ears will be deaf.

17 They will lick the dust like serpents; like reptiles of the earth, trembling, they will come out of their hiding places; with dread they will come to the Lord our God, and they will be afraid of you.

18 Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, as you swore to our ancestors long ago.