New Living Translation

English Standard Version

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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

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 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!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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

11

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

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.

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

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

13

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

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.

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

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

15

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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 show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob 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 Living Translation

English Standard Version

Micah 7

Micah 7