New International Version

English Standard Version

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 that I crave.

1

Wait for the God of Salvation

Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.

2

The faithful have been swept from the land;
not one upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait to shed blood;
they hunt each other with nets.

2

The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.

3

Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire —
they all conspire together.

3

Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
the prince and 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 like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day God visits you has come,
the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
Now is the time of your confusion.

4

The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.

5

Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend.
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips.

5

Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;a

6

For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

6

for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

7

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.

7

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

8

Israel Will Rise

Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.

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.

9

Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.

9

I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.

10

Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.

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.

11

The day for building your walls will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.

11

A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12

In that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.

12

In that day theyb will come to you,
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,c
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13

The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.

13

But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.

14

Prayer and Praise

Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasturelands.a
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago.

14

Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;d
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.

15

“As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.”

15

As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show theme marvelous things.

16

Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.

16

The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;

17

They will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to the Lord our God
and will be afraid of you.

17

they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.

18

Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

18

God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.

19

You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

19

He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all ourf sins
into the depths of the sea.

20

You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago.

20

You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

Parallel

New International Version

English Standard Version

Micah 7

Micah 7