Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 This is the word ofAdonaithat came to Mikhah the Morashti during the days of Yotam, Achaz and Y’chizkiyah, kings of Y’hudah, which he saw concerning Shomron and Yerushalayim:

2 Listen, peoples, all of you!

Pay attention, earth, and everything in it!

AdonaiElohimwill witness against you,

Adonai, from his holy temple.

3 For — look! —Adonaiis coming out of his place,

coming down to tread on the high places of the land.

4 Beneath him the mountains will melt,

the valleys split open like wax before fire,

like water poured down a steep slope.

5 All this is because of the crime of Ya‘akov

and the sins of the house of Isra’el.

What is the crime of Ya‘akov?

Isn’t it Shomron?

And what are the high places of Y’hudah?

Aren’t they Yerushalayim?

6 “So I will make Shomron a heap in the countryside,

a place for planting vineyards;

I will pour her stones down into the valley,

laying bare her foundations.

7 All her carved images will be smashed to pieces,

all she earned consumed by fire;

and I will reduce her idols to rubble.

She amassed them from a whore’s wages,

and as a whore’s wages they will be spent again.”

8 This is why I howl and wail,

why I go barefoot and stripped,

why I howl like the jackals

and mourn like the ostriches.

9 For her wound cannot be healed,

and now it is coming to Y’hudah as well;

it reaches even to the gate of my people,

to Yerushalayim itself.

10 Don’t tell about it in Gat,

don’t shed any tears.

At Beit-L‘afrah [house of dust]

roll yourself in the dust.

11 Inhabitants of Shafir, pass on your way

in nakedness and shame.

The inhabitants of Tza’anan

have not left yet.

The wailing of Beit-Ha’etzel

will remove from you their support.

12 The inhabitants of Marot

have no hope of anything good;

forAdonaihas sent down disaster

to the very gate of Yerushalayim.

13 Harness the chariots to the fastest horses,

inhabitants of Lakhish;

she was the beginning of sin

for the daughter of Tziyon;

for the crimes of Isra’el

are traceable to you.

14 Therefore you must bestow parting gifts

upon Moreshet-Gat.

The houses of Akhziv will disappoint

the kings of Isra’el.

15 Inhabitants of Mareshah,

I have yet to bring you

the one who will [invade and] possess you.

The glory of Isra’el will come to ‘Adulam.

16 Shave the hair from your head as you mourn

for the children who were your delight;

make yourselves as bald as vultures,

for they have gone from you into exile.

1 Woe to those who think up evil

and plan wickedness as they lie in bed.

When morning comes, they do it,

since they have it in their power.

2 They covet fields and seize them;

they take over houses as well,

doing violence to both owner and house,

to people and their inherited land.

3 Therefore this is whatAdonaisays:

“Against this family I am planning an evil

from which you will not withdraw your necks;

nor will you walk with your heads held high,

for it will be an evil time.”

4 On that day they will take up a dirge for you;

sadly lamenting, they will wail,

“We are completely ruined!

Our people’s land has changed hands.

Our fields are taken away from us;

instead of restoring them, he parcels them out.”

5 Therefore, you will have no one

in the assembly ofAdonai

to stretch out a measuring line and restore

the land assigned by lot.

6 “Don’t preach!” — thus they preach!

“They shouldn’t preach about these things.

Shame will not overtake us” —

7 is this what the house of Ya‘akov says?

Adonaihas not grown impatient,

and these things are not his doings.

“Rather, my words do only good

to anyone living uprightly.

8 But lately my people behave like an enemy,

stripping both cloaks and tunics

from travelers who thought they were secure,

so that they become like war refugees.

9 You throw my people’s women

out of the homes they love.

You deprive their children

of my glory forever.

10 Get up and go! You can’t stay here!

Because [the land] is now unclean,

it will destroy you

with a grievous destruction.”

11 If a man who walks in wind and falsehood

tells this lie: “I will preach to you

of [how good it is to drink] wine and strong liquor” —

this people will accept him as their preacher!

12 “I will assemble all of you, Ya‘akov;

I will gather the remnant of Isra’el,

I will put them together like sheep in a pen,

like a herd in its pasture —

it will hum with the sounds of people.”

13 The one breaking through went up before them;

they broke through, passed the gate and went out.

Their king passed on before them;

Adonaiwas leading them.

1 “I said, ‘Please listen, leaders of Ya‘akov,

rulers of the house of Isra’el:

Shouldn’t you know what justice is?

2 Yet you hate what is good and love what is bad.

You strip off their skin from them

and their flesh from their bones,

3 you eat the flesh of my people,

skin them alive, break their bones;

yes, they chop them in pieces,

like flesh in a caldron, like meat in a pot.’”

4 Then they will call toAdonai,

but he will not answer them;

when that time comes, he will hide his face from them,

because their deeds were so wicked.

5 Here is whatAdonaisays in regard to the prophets who cause my people to go astray, who cry, “Peace” as soon as they are given food to eat but prepare war against anyone who fails to put something in their mouths:

6 “Therefore you will have night, not vision,

darkness and not divination;

the sun will go down on the prophets,

over them the day will be black.”

7 The seers will be put to shame,

the diviners will be disgraced.

They will have to cover their mouths,

because there will be no answer from God.

8 On the other hand, I am full of power

by the Spirit ofAdonai,

full of justice and full of might,

to declare to Ya‘akov his crime,

to Isra’el his sin.

9 Hear this, please, leaders of the house of Ya‘akov,

rulers of the house of Isra’el,

you who abhor what is just

and pervert anything that is right,

10 who build up Tziyon with blood

and Yerushalayim with wickedness.

11 Her leaders sell verdicts for bribes,

hercohanimteach for a price,

her prophets divine for money —

yet they claim to rely onAdonai!

“Isn’tAdonaihere with us?” they say.

“No evil can come upon us.”

12 Therefore, because of you,

Tziyon will be plowed under like a field,

Yerushalayim will become heaps of ruins,

and the mountain of the house like a forested height.

1 But in theacharit-hayamimit will come about

that the mountain ofAdonai’s house

will be established as the most important mountain.

It will be regarded more highly than the other hills,

and peoples will stream there.

2 Many Gentiles will go and say,

“Come, let’s go up to the mountain ofAdonai,

to the house of the God of Ya‘akov!

He will teach us about his ways,

and we will walk in his paths.”

For out of Tziyon will go forthTorah,

the word ofAdonaifrom Yerushalayim.

3 He will judge between many peoples

and arbitrate for many nations far away.

Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades

and their spears into pruning-knives;

nations will not raise swords at each other,

and they will no longer learn war.

4 Instead, each person will sit under his vine

and fig tree, with no one to upset him,

for the mouth ofAdonai-Tzva’ot

has spoken.

5 For all the peoples will walk,

each in the name of its god;

but we will walk in the name ofAdonai

our God forever and ever.

6 “When that day comes,” saysAdonai,

“I will assemble the lame

and gather those who were dispersed,

along with those I afflicted.

7 I will make the lame a remnant

and those who were driven off a strong nation.”

Adonaiwill rule them on Mount Tziyon

from that time forth and forever.

8 You, tower of the flock,

hill of the daughter of Tziyon,

to you your former sovereignty will return,

the royal power of the daughter of Yerushalayim.

9 Why are you now crying out?

Don’t you have a king?

Has your counselor been destroyed,

that you are seized with pain like a woman in labor?

10 Be in pain! Work to give birth

like a woman in labor, daughter of Tziyon!

For now you will go out of the city

and live in the wilds till you reach Bavel.

There you will be rescued;

thereAdonaiwill redeem you

from the power of your enemies.

11 Now many nations have gathered against you;

they say, “Let her be defiled,

let’s gloat over Tziyon.”

12 But they don’t know the thoughts ofAdonai,

they don’t understand his plan;

for he has gathered them like sheaves

on the threshing-floor.

13 Get up! Start threshing, daughter of Tziyon!

“For I will make your horns like iron

and your hoofs like bronze.”

You will crush many peoples

and devote their plunder toAdonai,

their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

14 Now gather yourself in troops,

you who are accustomed to being in troops;

they have laid siege to us.

They are striking the judge of Isra’el

on the cheek with a stick.

1 But you, Beit-Lechem near Efrat,

so small among the clans of Y’hudah,

out of you will come forth to me

the future ruler of Isra’el,

whose origins are far in the past,

back in ancient times.

2 Therefore he will give up [Isra’el]

only until she who is in labor gives birth.

Then the rest of his kinsmen

will return to the people of Isra’el.

3 He will stand and feed his flock

in the strength ofAdonai,

in the majesty of the name

ofAdonaihis God;

and they will stay put, as he grows great

to the very ends of the earth;

4 and this will be peace.

If Ashur invades our land,

if he overruns our fortresses,

we will raise seven shepherds against him,

eight leaders of men.

5 They will shepherd the land of Ashur with the sword,

the land of Nimrod at its gates;

and he will rescue us from Ashur

when he invades our land,

when he overruns our borders.

6 Then the remnant of Ya‘akov,

surrounded by many peoples,

will be like dew fromAdonai,

like showers on the grass,

which doesn’t wait for a man

or expect anything from mortals.

7 The remnant of Ya‘akov among the nations,

surrounded by many peoples,

will be like a lion among forest animals,

like a young lion among flocks of sheep —

if it passes through, tramples and tears to pieces,

there is no one to rescue them.

8 Your hand will be raised over your enemies;

all your adversaries will be destroyed.

9 “When that day comes,” saysAdonai,

“I will cut off your horses from among you

and destroy your chariots.

10 I will cut off the cities of your land

and lay waste your strongholds.

11 I will cut off sorceries from your land;

you will no longer have soothsayers.

12 I will cut off your carved images

and standing-stones from among you;

no longer will you worship

what your own hands have made.

13 I will pull up your sacred poles from among you

and destroy your enemies.

14 I will wreak vengeance in anger and fury

on the nations, because they would not listen.”

1 So listen now to whatAdonaisays:

“Stand up and state your case to the mountains,

let the hills hear what you have to say.”

2 Listen, mountains, toAdonai’s case;

also you enduring rocks that support the earth!

Adonaihas a case against his people;

he wants to argue it out with Isra’el:

3 “My people, what have I done to you?

How have I wearied you? Answer me!

4 I brought you up from the land of Egypt.

I redeemed you from a life of slavery.

I sent Moshe, Aharon

and Miryam to lead you.

5 My people, just remember what Balak

the king of Mo’av had planned,

what Bil‘am the son of B‘or answered him,

[and what happened] between Sheetim and Gilgal —

so that you will understand

the saving deeds ofAdonai.”

6 “With what can I come beforeAdonai

to bow down before God on high?

Should I come before him with burnt offerings?

with calves in their first year?

7 WouldAdonaitake delight in thousands of rams

with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Could I give my firstborn to pay for my crimes,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8 Human being, you have already been told

what is good, whatAdonaidemands of you —

no more than to act justly, love grace

and walk in purity with your God.

9 The voice ofAdonai! He calls to the city —

and it is wisdom to fear your name —

“Listen to the rod and to him who commissioned it.

10 Are there still ill-gotten gains in the house of the wicked?

still the detestable shorteifah-measure?

11 Should I declare innocent wicked scales

and a bag of fraudulent weights?

12 The rich men there are full of violence,

the inhabitants tell lies,

with tongues of deceit in their mouths.

13 “Therefore, I am starting to strike you down,

to destroy you because of your sins.

14 You will eat but not be satisfied,

with hunger gnawing inside you.

You will conceive but not give birth;

if you do give birth, I will give him to the sword.

15 You will sow but will not reap,

you will press olives but not rub yourself with oil,

likewise you will press grapes but not drink the wine.

16 For you keep the regulations of ‘Omri

and all the practices of the house of Ach’av,

modeling yourselves on their advice.

Therefore I will make you an object of horror,

the inhabitants of this city a cause for contempt;

you will suffer the insults aimed at my people.”

1 Woe to me! for I have become

like the leavings of summer fruit,

like the gleanings when the vintage is finished —

there isn’t a cluster worth eating,

no early-ripened fig that appeals to me.

2 The godly have been destroyed from the land,

there is no one upright among humankind.

They all lie in wait for blood,

each hunts his brother with a net.

3 Their hands do evil well.

The prince makes his request,

the judge grants it for a price,

and the great man expresses his evil desires —

thus they weave it together.

4 The best of them is a briar,

the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.

The time of your watchmen — of your punishment — has come;

now they will be confused.

5 Don’t trust in your neighbor;

don’t put confidence in a close friend;

shut the gates of your mouth even from [your wife],

lying there with you in bed.

6 For a son insults his father,

a daughter rises against her mother,

daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —

a person’s enemies are the members of his own household.

7 But as for me, I will look toAdonai,

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.

8 Enemies of mine, don’t gloat over me!

Although I have fallen, I will rise;

though I live in the dark,Adonaiis my light.

9 I will endureAdonai’s rage,

because I sinned against him;

until he pleads my cause

and judges in my favor.

Then he will bring me out to the light,

and I will see his justice.

10 My enemies will see it too,

and shame will cover those

who said to me, “Where isAdonaiyour God?”

I will gloat over them,

as they are trampled underfoot

like mud in the streets.

11 That will be the day for rebuilding your walls,

a day for expanding your territory,

12 a day when [your] people will come [back] to you

from Ashur and from the cities of Egypt,

from Egypt and from as far as the Euphrates River,

and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.

13 The earth will be desolate for those living in it,

as a result of their deeds.

14 Shepherd your people with your staff,

the flock that belongs to you,

who live alone, like a forest

in the middle of a fertile pasture.

Let them feed in Bashan and Gil‘ad,

as they did in days of old.

15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,

I will show them wonders.”

16 The nations will see and be put to shame,

in spite of all their power.

They will cover their mouths with their hands,

and their ears will be deafened.

17 They will lick the dust like snakes;

they will emerge from their fortresses trembling

like reptiles that crawl about on the earth;

they will come with fear toAdonaiour God,

afraid because of you.

18 Who is a God like you,

pardoning the sin and overlooking the crimes

of the remnant of his heritage?

He does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in grace.

19 He will again have compassion on us,

he will subdue our iniquities.

You will throw all their sins

into the depths of the sea.

20 You will show truth to Ya‘akov

and grace to Avraham,

as you have sworn to our ancestors

since days of long ago.