Micah 2:1-8
Micah 2:1-11 The Message (MSG)
Doom to those who plot evil, who go to bed dreaming up crimes! As soon as it’s morning, they’re off, full of energy, doing what they’ve planned. They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them. GOD has had enough. He says, “I have some plans of my own: Disaster because of this interbreeding evil! Your necks are on the line. You’re not walking away from this. It’s doomsday for you. Mocking ballads will be sung of you, and you yourselves will sing the blues: ‘Our lives are ruined, our homes and lands auctioned off. They take everything, leave us nothing! All is sold to the highest bidder.’” And there’ll be no one to stand up for you, no one to speak for you before GOD and his jury. * * * “Don’t preach,” say the preachers. “Don’t preach such stuff. Nothing bad will happen to us. Talk like this to the family of Jacob? Does GOD lose his temper? Is this the way he acts? Isn’t he on the side of good people? Doesn’t he help those who help themselves?” * * * “What do you mean, ‘good people’! You’re the enemy of my people! You rob unsuspecting people out for an evening stroll. You take their coats off their backs like soldiers who plunder the defenseless. You drive the women of my people out of their ample homes. You make victims of the children and leave them vulnerable to violence and vice. Get out of here, the lot of you. You can’t take it easy here! You’ve polluted this place, and now you’re polluted—ruined! If someone showed up with a good smile and glib tongue and told lies from morning to night— ‘I’ll preach sermons that will tell you how you can get anything you want from God: More money, the best wines . . . you name it’— you’d hire him on the spot as your preacher! * * *
Micah 2:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil. In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD. Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.
Micah 2:1-8 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Woe to those who scheme iniquity, Who work out evil on their beds! When morning comes, they do it, For it is in the power of their hands. They covet fields and then seize them, And houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, A man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity From which you cannot remove your necks; And you will not walk haughtily, For it will be an evil time. On that day they will take up against you a taunt And utter a bitter lamentation and say, ‘We are completely destroyed! He exchanges the portion of my people; How He removes it from me! To the apostate He apportions our fields.’ Therefore you will have no one stretching a measuring line For you by lot in the assembly of the LORD. ‘Do not speak out,’ so they speak out. But if they do not speak out concerning these things, Reproaches will not be turned back. Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these His doings?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly? Recently My people have arisen as an enemy— You strip the robe off the garment From unsuspecting passers-by, From those returned from war.
Micah 2:1-8 New Century Version (NCV)
How terrible it will be for people who plan wickedness, who lie on their beds and make evil plans. When the morning light comes, they do what they planned, because they have the power to do so. They want fields, so they take them; they want houses, so they take them away. They cheat people to get their houses; they rob them even of their property. That is why the LORD says: “Look, I am planning trouble against such people, and you won’t be able to save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, because it will be a terrible time. At that time people will make fun of you and sing this sad song about you: ‘We are completely ruined; the LORD has taken away my people’s land. Yes, he has taken it away from me and divided our fields among our enemies!’ ” So you will have no one from the LORD’s people to throw lots to divide the land. The prophets say, “Don’t prophesy to us! Don’t prophesy about these things! Nothing to make us feel bad will happen!” But I must say this, people of Jacob: The LORD is becoming angry about what you have done. My words are welcome to the person who does what is right. But you are fighting against my people like an enemy. You take the coats from people who pass by; you rob them of their safety; you plan war.
Micah 2:1-8 American Standard Version (ASV)
Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time. In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly ruined: he changeth the portion of my people: how doth he remove it from me! to the rebellious he divideth our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the line by lot in the assembly of Jehovah. Prophesy ye not, thus they prophesy. They shall not prophesy to these: reproaches shall not depart. Shall it be said, O house of Jacob, Is the Spirit of Jehovah straitened? are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? But of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye strip the robe from off the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.
Micah 2:1-8 New International Version (NIV)
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance. Therefore, the LORD says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ” Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot. “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, “Does the LORD become impatient? Does he do such things?” “Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright? Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle.
Micah 2:1-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, against this family I am devising disaster, From which you cannot remove your necks; Nor shall you walk haughtily, For this is an evil time. In that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ” Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot In the assembly of the LORD. “Do not prattle,” you say to those who prophesy. So they shall not prophesy to you; They shall not return insult for insult. You who are named the house of Jacob: “Is the Spirit of the LORD restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To him who walks uprightly? “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy— You pull off the robe with the garment From those who trust you, as they pass by, Like men returned from war.
Micah 2:1-8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Woe (judgment is coming) to those who devise wickedness And plot evil on their beds! When morning comes, they practice evil Because it is in the power of their hands. They covet fields and seize them, And houses, and take them away. They oppress and rob a man and his house, A man and his inheritance. [Is 5:8; Ex 20:17; Lev 25:23ff.] Therefore, thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am planning against this family a disaster (exile) [Like a noose] from which you cannot remove your necks; Nor will you be able to walk haughtily and erect, For it will be an evil time [of subjugation to the invaders]. “On that day they shall take up a [taunting, deriding] parable against you And wail with a doleful and bitter song of mourning and say, ‘We are completely destroyed! God exchanges the inheritance of my people; How He removes it from me! He divides our fields to the rebellious [our captors].’ “Therefore, you will have no one stretching a measuring line [dividing the common land] For you by lot in the assembly of the LORD. [Rev 21:27] ¶‘Do not speak out,’ so they speak out. But if they do not speak out concerning these things, Reproaches will not be turned back. “Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Or are these [prophesied judgments] His doings?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly? “But lately My people have stood up as an enemy [and have made Me their antagonist]. You strip the ornaments off the garment Of those unsuspecting passers-by, Like those returned from war.
Micah 2:1-8 New Living Translation (NLT)
What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance. But this is what the LORD says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.” In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you: “We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us.” Others will set your boundaries then, and the LORD’s people will have no say in how the land is divided. “Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the LORD’s Spirit have patience with such behavior? If you would do what is right, you would find my words comforting. Yet to this very hour my people rise against me like an enemy! You steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, making them as ragged as men returning from battle.
Micah 2:1-8 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Disaster is ahead for those who plot evil. They’re as good as dead! Disaster is ahead for those who scheme as they lie on their bed. No sooner is it dawn than they act on their plan just because they can. They covet someone’s field and seize it for themselves, and they take over his house as well. They defraud a man of his home and another man of his inheritance. So here’s what YAHWEH has to say about that: “Now I am the one plotting a disaster for those who plot to defraud others, a disaster from which you cannot escape. You will no longer walk with heads held high, for a catastrophe will bring you low. And when that time comes, people will adopt a taunting proverb about you and sing this mournful song to mock your sad experience: ‘We have lost everything! God has divided up our people’s lands with no one left to restore it to our hands. Our property has been seized and given to our captors—the traitors.’ ” Because of this, when YAHWEH restores the land to his people, those corrupt leaders will have no stake in YAHWEH’s assembly nor have any part in the distribution of land. They berate me continually. “Don’t prophesy,” they say to me. “Don’t keep prophesying on and on about these things! Disgrace will not overtake us.” Should Jacob’s descendants even be asking, “Is the Spirit of YAHWEH really so short-tempered that he would do such things to us?” YAHWEH “When I speak, don’t my words produce good within the one who obeys them? But you wealthy oppressors of the poor have become like enemies attacking my people. When men return home from war and think they are finally safe at home, there you are, ready to snatch the coats off their backs as security for the money they owe you.
Micah 2:1-8 English Standard Version Revision 2016 (ESV)
Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the LORD: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster. In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, “We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields.” Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the LORD. “Do not preach”—thus they preach— “one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.” Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the LORD grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly? But lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly with no thought of war.