New King James Version

New Living Translation

Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.

1

Misery Turned to Hope

How miserable I am!
I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest
who can find nothing to eat.
Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig
can be found to satisfy my hunger.

2

The faithful[a] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
Every man hunts his brother with a net.

2

The godly people have all disappeared;
not one honest person is left on the earth.
They are all murderers,
setting traps even for their own brothers.

3

That they may successfully do evil with both hands —
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.

3

Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil!
Officials and judges alike demand bribes.
The people with influence get what they want,
and together they scheme to twist justice.

4

The best of them is like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.

4

Even the best of them is like a brier;
the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns.
But your judgment day is coming swiftly now.
Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.

5

Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your bosom.

5

Don’t trust anyone —
not your best friend or even your wife!

6

For son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

6

For the son despises his father.
The daughter defies her mother.
The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law.
Your enemies are right in your own household!

7

Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

7

As for me, I look to the LORD for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.

8

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.

8

Do not gloat over me, my enemies!
For though I fall, I will rise again.
Though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.

9

I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.

9

I will be patient as the LORD punishes me,
for I have sinned against him.
But after that, he will take up my case
and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies.
The LORD will bring me into the light,
and I will see his righteousness.

10

Then she who is my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.

10

Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side.
They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying,
“So where is the LORD —
that God of yours?”
With my own eyes I will see their downfall;
they will be trampled like mud in the streets.

11

In the day when your walls are to be built,
In that day [b]the decree shall go far and wide.

11

In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt,
and your borders will be extended.

12

In that day they[c] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [d]fortified cities,
From the [e]fortress to [f]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.

12

People from many lands will come and honor you —
from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt,
from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River,a
and from distant seas and mountains.

13

Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And for the fruit of their deeds.

13

But the landb will become empty and desolate
because of the wickedness of those who live there.
The LORD’s Compassion on Israel

14

God Will Forgive Israel

Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell [g]solitarily in a woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.

14

O LORD, protect your people with your shepherd’s staff;
lead your flock, your special possession.
Though they live alone in a thicket
on the heights of Mount Carmel,c
let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead
as they did long ago.

15

“As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show [h]them wonders.”

15

“Yes,” says the LORD,
“I will do mighty miracles for you,
like those I did when I rescued you
from slavery in Egypt.”

16

The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.

16

All the nations of the world will stand amazed
at what the LORD will do for you.
They will be embarrassed
at their feeble power.
They will cover their mouths in silent awe,
deaf to everything around them.

17

They shall lick the dust like a serpent;
They shall crawl from their holes like [i]snakes of the earth.
They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.

17

Like snakes crawling from their holes,
they will come out to meet the LORD our God.
They will fear him greatly,
trembling in terror at his presence.

18

Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.[j]

18

Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.

19

He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all [k]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.

19

Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

20

You will give truth to Jacob
And [l]mercy to Abraham,
Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.

20

You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Micah 7

Micah 7