Israel is corrupt

1I feel so empty inside—

like someone starving

for grapes or figs,

after the vines and trees

have all been picked clean.

2No one is loyal to God;

no one does right.

Everyone is brutal

and eager to deceive

everyone else.

3People cooperate to commit crime.

Judges and leaders demand bribes,

and rulers cheat in court.7.3 court: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 3.

4The most honest of them

is worse than a thorn patch.

Your doom has come!

Lookouts sound the warning,

and everyone panics.

5Don't trust anyone,

not even your best friend,

and be careful what you say

to the one you love.

6Sons refuse to respect7.6: Mt 10.35,36; Lk 12.53.

their own fathers,

daughters rebel against

their own mothers,

and daughters-in-law despise

their mothers-in-law.

Your family is now your enemy.

7But I trust the LORD God

to save me,

and I will wait for him

to answer my prayer.

The nation turns to God

8My enemies, don't be glad

because of my troubles!

I may have fallen,

but I will get up;

I may be sitting in the dark,

but the LORD is my light.

9I have sinned against the LORD.

And so I must endure his anger,

until he comes to my defence.

But I know that I will see him

making things right for me

and leading me to the light.

10You, my enemies, said,

“The LORD God is helpless.”

Now each of you

will be disgraced

and put to shame.

I will see you trampled

like mud in the street.

A bright future

11Towns of Judah, the day is coming

when your walls will be rebuilt,

and your boundaries enlarged.

12People will flock to you

from Assyria and Egypt,

from Babylonia7.12 Babylonia: The Hebrew text has “the river”, meaning the River Euphrates, which stood for Babylonia.

and everywhere else.

13Those nations will suffer disaster

because of what they did.

Micah's prayer and the LORD's answer

14Lead your people, LORD!

Come and be our shepherd.

Grasslands surround us,

but we live in a forest.

So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,7.14 Bashan and Gilead: Two regions east of the River Jordan, known for their fertile pasture lands.

and let us find pasture

as we did long ago.

15I, the LORD, will work miracles

just as I did when I led you

out of Egypt.

16Nations will see this

and be ashamed because

of their helpless armies.

They will be in shock,

unable to speak or hear,

17because of their fear of me,

your LORD and God.

Then they will come trembling,

crawling out of their fortresses

like insects or snakes,

lapping up the dust.

No one is like God

The people said:

18Our God, no one is like you.

We are all that is left

of your chosen people,

and you freely forgive

our sin and guilt.

You don't stay angry for ever;

you're glad to have pity

19and pleased to be merciful.

You will trample on our sins

and throw them in the sea.

20You will keep your word

and be faithful to Jacob

and to Abraham,

as you promised our ancestors

many years ago.