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Wait Upon Yahweh

Woe is me! For I have become
    like the gatherings of summer,
    like the gleanings of the grape harvest,
when there is no cluster of grapes to eat
    or early ripened fruit that my soul desires.
The faithful person has perished from the land,
    and there is none who is upright among humankind.
All of them lie in wait;
    each hunts his brother with a net.
Their hands are upon evil, to do it well;
    the official and the judge ask for the bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
    and they weave it together.
The best of them is like a brier;
    the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchman, your punishment, has come;
    now their confusion will come.
Do not put faith in a friend;
    put no trust in a close friend.
Guard the doorways of your mouth
    from the one who lies in your lap.
For a son treats a father with contempt;
    a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
    the enemies of a man are the men of his own house.
But as for me, I will look to Yahweh;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation.
    My God will hear me.
You should not rejoice over me, O my enemy!
    When I fall I will stand up;
when I sit in darkness
    Yahweh will be a light for me.
I will bear the rage of Yahweh,
    for I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
    and executes my justice.
He will bring me out to the light;
    I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see,
    and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is Yahweh your God?”
    My eyes will look upon her;
now she will become a trampling place,
    like mud in the streets.
11 A day for building your walls;
    on that day he will extend your boundary.
12 On that day he will come to you
    from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
    and from sea to sea
    and mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be a desolation
    because of its inhabitants,
    for the fruit of their deeds.
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
    the flock of your inheritance,
those dwelling alone in a forest
    in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
    as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out
    from the land of Egypt
    I will show him wondrous things.
16 The nations will see and be ashamed
    because of all their might.
They will lay the hand on the mouth;
    their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like the serpent,
    like the crawling things of the earth.
They will come trembling from their strongholds
    to Yahweh our God.
    Let them fear and be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God like you, forgiving sin
    and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    for he delights in loyal love.
19 He will again have compassion[a] on us;
    he will trample our iniquities.
And you will hurl all their sins
    in the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
    and loyal love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors[b]
    from the days of old.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 7:19 Literally “He will return, he will have compassion”
  2. Micah 7:20 Or “fathers”

Israel’s Misery

What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
    at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
    none of the early figs(A) that I crave.
The faithful have been swept from the land;(B)
    not one(C) upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait(D) to shed blood;(E)
    they hunt each other(F) with nets.(G)
Both hands are skilled in doing evil;(H)
    the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,(I)
    the powerful dictate what they desire—
    they all conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier,(J)
    the most upright worse than a thorn(K) hedge.
The day God visits you has come,
    the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
    Now is the time of your confusion.(L)
Do not trust a neighbor;
    put no confidence in a friend.(M)
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
    guard the words of your lips.
For a son dishonors his father,
    a daughter rises up against her mother,(N)
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
    a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.(O)

But as for me, I watch(P) in hope(Q) for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Savior;
    my God will hear(R) me.

Israel Will Rise

Do not gloat over me,(S) my enemy!
    Though I have fallen, I will rise.(T)
Though I sit in darkness,
    the Lord will be my light.(U)
Because I have sinned against him,
    I will bear the Lord’s wrath,(V)
until he pleads my case(W)
    and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;(X)
    I will see his righteousness.(Y)
10 Then my enemy will see it
    and will be covered with shame,(Z)
she who said to me,
    “Where is the Lord your God?”(AA)
My eyes will see her downfall;(AB)
    even now she will be trampled(AC) underfoot
    like mire in the streets.

11 The day for building your walls(AD) will come,
    the day for extending your boundaries.
12 In that day people will come to you
    from Assyria(AE) and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
    and from sea to sea
    and from mountain to mountain.(AF)
13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
    as the result of their deeds.(AG)

Prayer and Praise

14 Shepherd(AH) your people with your staff,(AI)
    the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
    in fertile pasturelands.[a](AJ)
Let them feed in Bashan(AK) and Gilead(AL)
    as in days long ago.(AM)

15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
    I will show them my wonders.(AN)

16 Nations will see and be ashamed,(AO)
    deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths(AP)
    and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust(AQ) like a snake,
    like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling(AR) out of their dens;
    they will turn in fear(AS) to the Lord our God
    and will be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God(AT) like you,
    who pardons sin(AU) and forgives(AV) the transgression
    of the remnant(AW) of his inheritance?(AX)
You do not stay angry(AY) forever
    but delight to show mercy.(AZ)
19 You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities(BA) into the depths of the sea.(BB)
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
    and show love to Abraham,(BC)
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors(BD)
    in days long ago.(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Micah 7:14 Or in the middle of Carmel