Micah 7

Wait for the God of Salvation

1 Woe is me! For I have become
u as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no v first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 w The godly has perished from the earth,
and x there is no one upright among mankind;
y they all lie in wait for blood,
and z each hunts the other with a net.
3 a Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
b the prince and c the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is d like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of e your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
f now their confusion is at hand.
5 g Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard h the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms; 1
6 for i the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
j a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
k I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

8 l Rejoice not over me, O m my enemy;
n when I fall, I shall rise;
o when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
9 p I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until q he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
r He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then s my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who t said to me,
"Where is the Lord your God?"
u My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
v like the mire of the streets.

11 w A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they 2 will come to you,
y from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to z the River,
a from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But b the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.

14 c Shepherd your people d with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
e in the midst of f a garden land; 3
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 g As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them 4 marvelous things.
16 h The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
i they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 j they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
k they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
l they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion

18 m Who is a God like you, n pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
n for the remnant of his inheritance?
o He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will p again have compassion on us;
q he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
r You will cast all our 5 sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 s You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
t as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 24:13
    For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
    Isaiah 17:6
    Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten - two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the Lord God of Israel.
  2. Cross References
    Hosea 9:10
    Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.
  3. Cross References
    Psalms 12:1
    Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
    Isaiah 57:1
    The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity.
  4. Cross References
    Psalms 14:1
    The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.
    Psalms 14:3
    They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 10:9
    He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
    Hosea 6:8 - 9
    Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 9:19
    Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another.
  7. Cross References
    Zephaniah 3:7
    I said, 'Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.' But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 82:1 - 2
    God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
  9. Cross References
    Micah 3:11
    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.
  10. Cross References
    2 Samuel 23:6 - 7
    But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand.
    Nahum 1:10
    For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
    Ezekiel 2:6
    And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
  11. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:2
    Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman.
  12. Cross References
    Micah 3:6 - 7
    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.
    Isaiah 22:5
    For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:4
    Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 141:3
    Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
  15. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:7
    Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.
    Matthew 10:21
    Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
    Matthew 10:35
    For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
    Luke 12:53
    They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
  16. Cross References
    Matthew 10:36
    And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
  17. Cross References
    Lamentations 3:26
    It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:11
    Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my heritage, though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture, and neigh like stallions.
    Lamentations 4:21
    Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
  19. Cross References
    Micah 7:10
    Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, "Where is the Lord your God?" My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets.
  20. Cross References
    Psalms 37:24
    Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.
  21. Cross References
    Psalms 112:4
    Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:19
    Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, "Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.
  23. Cross References
    1 Samuel 24:15
    May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.
  24. Cross References
    Psalms 37:6
    He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
  25. Cross References
    Micah 7:8
    Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.
  26. Cross References
    Joel 2:17
    Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, "Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'
  27. Cross References
    Micah 4:11
    Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, "Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.
  28. Cross References
    Psalms 18:42
    I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
    2 Samuel 22:43
    I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
  29. Cross References
    Psalms 102:13
    You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 11:11
    In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a...
    Isaiah 11:16
    And there will be a highway from Assyria for th...
    Isaiah 19:23 - 24
    In that day there will be a highway from Egypt ...
    Isaiah 27:13
    And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, ...
    Hosea 11:11
    They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt...
    Zechariah 10:10
    I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, ...
  31. Cross References
    Genesis 31:21
    He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
  32. Cross References
    Zechariah 9:10
    I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
  33. Cross References
    Micah 6:13
    Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.
  34. Cross References
    Psalms 28:9
    Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
    Micah 5:4
    And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 23:4
    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  36. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:19
    I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
    Zechariah 10:10
    I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them.
  37. Cross References
    Joshua 19:26
    Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-libnath.
  38. Cross References
    Psalms 78:12
    In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
    Isaiah 11:16
    And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
  39. Cross References
    Isaiah 26:11
    O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.
    Isaiah 52:15
    So shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
  40. Cross References
    Judges 18:19
    And they said to him, "Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?
  41. Cross References
    Psalms 72:9
    May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!
    Isaiah 49:23
    Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord ; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.
  42. Cross References
    Psalms 18:45
    Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
  43. Cross References
    Micah 4:1
    It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it.
  44. Cross References
    Exodus 15:11
    Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
  45. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:20
    In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
    Exodus 34:7
    Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.
  46. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:20
    In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
    Exodus 34:7
    Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.
  47. Cross References
    Psalms 103:9
    He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
  48. Cross References
    Psalms 80:14
    Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine.
  49. Cross References
    Romans 6:14
    For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
  50. Cross References
    Isaiah 38:17
    Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
  51. Cross References
    Luke 1:72 - 73
    To show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.
  52. Cross References
    Psalms 105:9 - 10
    The covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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