Micah 7

The faithful have vanished

1Woe is me!
I am like someone after the summer fruit has been gathered,
after the vineyard has been gleaned:
no cluster to eat,
none of the first-ripe figs I crave. 2The faithful have vanished from the land;
no upright person remains among humanity.
All lie in wait for blood;
each hunts his brother with a net. 3Their hands are skilled at evil.
The ruler demands, the judge takes payment,
and the great man declares his own desire;
together they weave it into a scheme. 4The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day your watchmen announced, your reckoning, has come.
Now comes their confusion. 5Do not trust a neighbor
or put confidence in a friend.
Guard the doors of your mouth
even from the woman who lies in your embrace. 6A son treats his father with contempt;
a daughter rises against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
A person’s enemies are the members of his own household.

Waiting for God

7But I will watch for the LORD;
I will wait for the God who saves me.
My God will hear me. 8Do not rejoice over me, my enemy.
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9I will bear the LORD’s indignation
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my case and secures justice for me.
He will bring me into the light;
I will see his righteousness. 10My enemy will see, and shame will cover her,
she who said to me, ‘Where is the LORD your God?’
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled like mud in the streets. 11A day for rebuilding your walls!
On that day the boundary will be pushed far out. 12On that day people will come to you
from Assyria and Egypt’s cities,
from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and mountain to mountain. 13Yet the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the fruit of their deeds.

Shepherd your people

14Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that is your inheritance,
living alone in woodland amid fruitful land.
Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead as in ancient days. 15“As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show him wonders.” 16Nations will see and be ashamed despite all their might.
They will put a hand over their mouths;
their ears will become deaf. 17They will lick dust like a snake;
like creatures crawling on the ground,
they will come trembling from their strongholds.
They will turn in dread to the LORD our God
and be afraid of you.

Who is a God like you?

18Who is a God like you,
forgiving guilt and passing over rebellion
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not hold on to anger forever,
because he delights in faithful love. 19He will again have compassion on us;
he will trample our guilt underfoot.
You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and faithful love to Abraham,
as you swore to our ancestors in days long ago.