MICAH 1-3

« Jonah 4 | Micah 1-3 | Micah 4 »

  1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. The Coming Destruction2

Hear, you peoples, all of you;

pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,

and let the Lord God be a witness against you,

the Lord from his holy temple. 3

For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place,

and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4

And the mountains will melt under him,

and the valleys will split open,

like wax before the fire,

like waters poured down a steep place. 5

All this is for the transgression of Jacob

and for the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the transgression of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

And what is the high place of Judah?

Is it not Jerusalem? 6

Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country,

a place for planting vineyards,

and I will pour down her stones into the valley

and uncover her foundations. 7

All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,

all her wages shall be burned with fire,

and all her idols I will lay waste,

for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,

and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
8

For this I will lament and wail;

I will go stripped and naked;

I will make lamentation like the jackals,

and mourning like the ostriches. 9

For her wound is incurable,

and it has come to Judah;

it has reached to the gate of my people,

to Jerusalem.
10

Tell it not in Gath;

weep not at all;

in Beth-le-aphrah

roll yourselves in the dust. 11

Pass on your way,

inhabitants of Shaphir,

in nakedness and shame;

the inhabitants of Zaanan

do not come out;

the lamentation of Beth-ezel

shall take away from you its standing place. 12

For the inhabitants of Maroth

wait anxiously for good,

because disaster has come down from the Lord

to the gate of Jerusalem. 13

Harness the steeds to the chariots,

inhabitants of Lachish;

it was the beginning of sin

to the daughter of Zion,

for in you were found

the transgressions of Israel. 14

Therefore you shall give parting gifts

to Moresheth-gath;

the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing

to the kings of Israel. 15

I will again bring a conqueror to you,

inhabitants of Mareshah;

the glory of Israel

shall come to Adullam. 16

Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,

for the children of your delight;

make yourselves as bald as the eagle,

for they shall go from you into exile. Woe to the Oppressors2:1

Woe to those who devise wickedness

and work evil on their beds!

When the morning dawns, they perform it,

because it is in the power of their hand. 2

They covet fields and seize them,

and houses, and take them away;

they oppress a man and his house,

a man and his inheritance. 3

Therefore thus says the Lord:

behold, against this family I am devising disaster,

from which you cannot remove your necks,

and you shall not walk haughtily,

for it will be a time of disaster. 4

In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you

and moan bitterly,

and say, “We are utterly ruined;

he changes the portion of my people;

how he removes it from me!

To an apostate he allots our fields.” 5

Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot

in the assembly of the Lord.
6

“Do not preach”—thus they preach—

“one should not preach of such things;

disgrace will not overtake us.” 7

Should this be said, O house of Jacob?

Has the Lord grown impatient?

Are these his deeds?

Do not my words do good

to him who walks uprightly? 8

But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;

you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly

with no thought of war. 9

The women of my people you drive out

from their delightful houses;

from their young children you take away

my splendor forever. 10

Arise and go,

for this is no place to rest,

because of uncleanness that destroys

with a grievous destruction. 11

If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,

saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”

he would be the preacher for this people! 12

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;

I will gather the remnant of Israel;

I will set them together

like sheep in a fold,

like a flock in its pasture,

a noisy multitude of men. 13

He who opens the breach goes up before them;

they break through and pass the gate,

going out by it.

Their king passes on before them,

the Lord at their head. Rulers and Prophets Denounced3:1

And I said:

Hear, you heads of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel!

Is it not for you to know justice?— 2

you who hate the good and love the evil,

who tear the skin from off my people

and their flesh from off their bones, 3

who eat the flesh of my people,

and flay their skin from off them,

and break their bones in pieces

and chop them up like meat in a pot,

like flesh in a cauldron.
4

Then they will cry to the Lord,

but he will not answer them;

he will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have made their deeds evil.
5

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets

who lead my people astray,

who cry “Peace”

when they have something to eat,

but declare war against him

who puts nothing into their mouths. 6

Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without divination.

The sun shall go down on the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them; 7

the seers shall be disgraced,

and the diviners put to shame;

they shall all cover their lips,

for there is no answer from God. 8

But as for me, I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the Lord,

and with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob his transgression

and to Israel his sin.
9

Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel,

who detest justice

and make crooked all that is straight, 10

who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11

Its heads give judgment for a bribe;

its priests teach for a price;

its prophets practice divination for money;

yet they lean on the Lord and say,

“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?

No disaster shall come upon us.” 12

Therefore because of you

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

PROVERBS 14

« Proverbs 13 | Proverbs 14 | Proverbs 15 »

14:1

The wisest of women builds her house,

but folly with her own hands tears it down. 2

Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord,

but he who is devious in his ways despises him. 3

By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,

but the lips of the wise will preserve them. 4

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,

but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. 5

A faithful witness does not lie,

but a false witness breathes out lies. 6

A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,

but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. 7

Leave the presence of a fool,

for there you do not meet words of knowledge. 8

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

but the folly of fools is deceiving. 9

Fools mock at the guilt offering,

but the upright enjoy acceptance. 10

The heart knows its own bitterness,

and no stranger shares its joy. 11

The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death. 13

Even in laughter the heart may ache,

and the end of joy may be grief. 14

The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways,

and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways. 15

The simple believes everything,

but the prudent gives thought to his steps. 16

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,

but a fool is reckless and careless. 17

A man of quick temper acts foolishly,

and a man of evil devices is hated. 18

The simple inherit folly,

but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 19

The evil bow down before the good,

the wicked at the gates of the righteous. 20

The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,

but the rich has many friends. 21

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,

but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. 22

Do they not go astray who devise evil?

Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness. 23

In all toil there is profit,

but mere talk tends only to poverty. 24

The crown of the wise is their wealth,

but the folly of fools brings folly. 25

A truthful witness saves lives,

but one who breathes out lies is deceitful. 26

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,

and his children will have a refuge. 27

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death. 28

In a multitude of people is the glory of a king,

but without people a prince is ruined. 29

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,

but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. 30

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,

but envy makes the bones rot. 31

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,

but he who is generous to the needy honors him. 32

The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing,

but the righteous finds refuge in his death. 33

Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding,

but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools. 34

Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a reproach to any people. 35

A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor,

but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

PSALM 145

« Psalm 144 | Psalm 145 | Psalm 146 »

Great Is the Lord A Song of Praise. Of David.
145:1

I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever. 2

Every day I will bless you

and praise your name forever and ever. 3

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.
4

One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts. 5

On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness. 7

They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9

The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your saints shall bless you! 11

They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power, 12

to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.] 14

The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down. 15

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season. 16

You open your hand;

you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17

The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works. 18

The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth. 19

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them. 20

The Lord preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.
21

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.