2 Let all the inhabitants of the earth listen as the LORD God witnesses against you from His holy temple. 3 Behold, the LORD is coming down from His place to tread on the high places of the earth. 4 The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will be split like wax near a fire, as it runs down like water.

COMMENT: This sounds like a volcano.

5 All of this is because of the rebellion of Jacob and the sins of the house of Israel. What is their rebellious sin? It is Samaria and Jerusalem. 6 I will make Samaria a heap of ruins. Its foundations will be laid bare and become a place to plant vineyards. 7 Her idols will be smashed. Everything she has gained will be burned with fire. She collected her images with her harlot's earnings.

8 Because of this I will weep and wail, as I go barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. 9 Her wounds cannot be cured, for it has infected Judah, even Jerusalem.

10 Do not tell of it in Gath. Do not weep. Roll in the dust in the house of Aphrah. 11 The inhabitants of Saphir can go in the shame of their nakedness. Neither does Zaanan escape. Bethezel laments because its protection is gone. 12 A calamity from the LORD has come on the inhabitants of Maroth. Evil has come from the LORD on Jerusalem. 13 Harness the horses to the chariot, O Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel. 14 Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. The town of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel. 15 I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mareshah. He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.

16 Shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight. Make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.

Micah 2 - RWB Paraphrase (13 V)
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God Will Remove Injustice
1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, carefully considering every stategy! When morning comes they attempt to carry these out. 2 They covet fields which they then take by violence. They rob a man, his house and his inheritance. 3 Therefore the LORD says, "Behold, I am planning to bring calamity against this family from which there is no escaped. They will no longer walk haughtily for it will be an evil time." 4 "That will be a day of bitter lamentation against you, as you say, 'We are completely destroyed! God has removed the portion of His people from them! He has given the apostate our fields.'." 5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.

6 "Do not speak out," they say, but if they do not speak out about these things, reproach will not be turned back. 7 O house of Jacob, "Is the Spirit of the LORD angry? Does He do such things? Does He not do good to those who are upright?"

8 Recently My people have become the enemy, stripping the unsuspecting, even those returning from war. 9 "You evict the women of My people from the homes they have enjoyed, taking My blessing from their children forever."

10 "Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled. It is ruined beyond remedy." 11 "If a deceiver comes saying, 'I will prophesy plenty of wine and beer for you,' he would be just the prophet for this people!"

12 "I will surely gather all of Jacob, and I will bring together the remnant of Israel like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. The place will be noisy with many people." 13 "The one who breaks open the gate will go out before them, and they will follow after. The LORD their king will pass through at their head."

Micah 3 - RWB Paraphrase (12 V)
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The Trial Of The Leaders
1 Then I said, "Listen, you leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel. You should know what is just." 2 "But you hate good and love evil. You skin My people, stripping their flesh from their bones." 3 "You are eating the flesh of My people, breaking their bones and chopping them in pieces as meat is chopped for the kettle." 4 "Though they cry out to the LORD, He will not answer. He will hide His face, for they have practiced evil."

5 "This is what the LORD says concerning the prophets who lead My people astray. For those who feed them they make good predictions, but those who do not feed them are told to prepare for war." 6 "Therefore, the sun will go down on you, and darkness will settle over you." 7 "The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces in shame because God does not answer them."

8 "But I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin."

9 "Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel. You abhor justice and twist everything that is straight." 10 "You build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with violent injustice." 11 "You pronounce judgment for a bribe. Priests give their services for a price. Prophets take money for their predictions. Yet they think the LORD is in their midst and will bless them. They think that no calamity will come their way." 12 "Therefore, because of you, Zion will become a plowed field and Jerusalem a heap of ruins. And the temple mount will be overgrown with trees."

Micah 4 - RWB Paraphrase (13 V)
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The Lord Will Be King
1 It will come about in the last days that the mountain of the LORD will be raised up above all others, and the people will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come to the mountain of the LORD and the house of Jacob, that they may be taught His ways and walk in His paths as the LORD teaches us. The law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 He will judge all people and render decisions for people in distance places. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Never again will nations lift up their swords or train for war.

COMMENT: In our time this idea seems far away.

4 Each one will sit under his vine and his fig tree with no reason to fear, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

5 Even though all peoples call on the name of their god, we will always walk in the name of the LORD our God. 6 The LORD declares, "In that day, I will gather the lame and the outcast, even the ones I have afflicted." 7 "I will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation, and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from that time forward." 8 "As for you, who have been the tower of the flock on the hill of Zion, your former dominion will be restored to you. And kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem."

9 "Why do you cry saying there is no king among you, or that your counselor has perished? Agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth." 10 "Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For a while you must leave this city and camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon and be rescued from there. It will be there that the LORD will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies."

11 "Many nations are now assembled against you. They gloat over you as they defile you." 12 "They do not know the LORD's thoughts. They do not understand His ways and purposes. He has gathered them like sheaves for threshing."

13 "Arise, daughter of Zion, and thresh. For I will make your horn of iron and your hoofs of bronze. You will break to pieces many nations. And you will devote their unjust gain and all their wealth to the LORD of all the earth."

Micah 5 - RWB Paraphrase (15 V)
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A Ruler Will Come From Bethlehem
1 Gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops, for they have laid siege against you. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. 2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are too small to be among the clans of Judah. Yet from you I will send One forth to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity past.

COMMENT: This would be Jesus, the incarnate Son of God. It has often happened that God has chosen the weak to glorify Him.

3 Israel will be abandoned until the time of fulfillment has come and the rest of his brothers return to join him. 4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength and majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great throughout the entire earth.

5 He will be their peace. When the Assyrian invades our land marches through our fortresses, we will raise against him, seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.

COMMENT: Jesus has always been the source of true peace.

John 14:27 "I am leaving you with peace. My peace is not like the world's peace. You do not need to be troubled or afraid."

6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances. And He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they attack our land trample our territory. 7 Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which always comes. 8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations among many peoples. It will be like a lion among the beasts of the forest, or a young lion among flocks of sheep, mauling and mangling as it pleases with none to rescue.

COMMENT: No wonder the Jews of Jesus time hoped for a worldly conqueror. They just ignored too many other verses about the suffering servant.

Isaiah 53:1-3 "Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" [2] "For He grew up like a tender shoot in unlikely ground. He had no beauty or majesty, nor a way about Him to attract us to Him." [3] "He was despised and forsaken by men. As a Man of sorrows He was acquainted with grief. There were times when esteem for Him was so low men would turn their faces away."

Psalms 22:6-8 But I am not a man, but a worm, despised by the people. [7] All who see me sneer and wag their heads, saying, [8] "He trusted in the LORD to deliver him. Let Him deliver him now, since He delights in him."

Isaiah 49:7 Thus says the LORD, Israel's Redeemer and its Holy One, who is despised and � abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers, to Whom Kings will see � and stand up. Princes will also bow down, because of the LORD who is � faithful, the Holy One of Israel, has chosen You.

9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed. 10 "In that day, " declares the LORD, "I will destroy your horses and your chariots." 11 "I will also destroy your cities and your land, and I will tear down all your fortifications." 12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer have fortune tellers. 13 "I will do away with your carved images and sacred pillars. You will no longer bow down to what your hands have made." 14 "I will get rid of your Asherim and demolish your cities." 15 "I will execute vengeance with anger and wrath on the nations which have not obeyed Me."

Micah 6 - RWB Paraphrase (16 V)
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God Has A Complaint Against His People
1 Hear what the LORD says: "Arise, plead your case before the mountains. Let the hills hear your voice." 2 "Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth, because the LORD has a case against His people Israel." 3 He says, "What have I done to weary you who are My people? Tell Me." 4 "Didn't I bring you out of Egypt and ransom you from slavery? Didn't I send Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead you?" 5 "Remember what Balak king of Moab did to you when Balaam son of Beor advised him? Remember how I was with you from Shittim to Gilgal, teaching you My righteous ways?"

6 "How did you come to believe that all the LORD God wants is burnt offerings and yearling calves?"

COMMENT: Things that become ritual, that are done often, can sometimes take the place of a heart felt response to the Holy Spirit's pull on us.

7 "What made you think the LORD delights in thousands of rams, and even ten thousand rivers of oil? Did I ever ask for your firstborn because of your unrighteous acts?"

8 "He has told you, O man, what is good. And what has the LORD said other than that He requires you to do justice, be loving and kind, and to walk humbly with your God?"

COMMENT:

Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might."

Leviticus 19:18 "You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You are to love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind." [38] "This is the greatest commandment." [39] "The second commandment is like the first. You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

9 "The voice of the LORD calls the city to hear His call for wisdom and to fear His name. Hear and know that He has set limits."

COMMENT: There is a limit to God's mercy when justice must be served.

10 "O wicked house, am I to continue to overlook your ill gotten treasures and the unjust standard you use when trading?" 11 "Can I justify wicked scales and deceptive weights?" 12 "This city's rich men are violent and liars who speak deceitfully."

13 "So I will strike you down making you sick because of your sins." 14 "You will eat without being satisfied. You will try to flee with what you treasure but I will see to it that you loose it by the sword." 15 "You will sow but not reap of it. Though you tread out the oil you will not use it. Neither will you drink the wine from your grapes." 16 "You carefully observe the laws laid down by Omri and Ahab, doing whatever they say. So I will give you up for destruction and you will bear the reproach of My people."

COMMENT: Omri and Ahab were very bad kings of Israel.

Micah 7 - RWB Paraphrase (20 V)
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God Promises Eventual Restoration
1 "Woe is me, for I am like a fruit picker looking for grapes, and there are no grapes. Neither are there any early figs." 2 "The godly people have all disappeared from the land. There are no upright men. They all lie in wait for bloodshed. Everyone is trying to catch someone else in his net." 3 "One hand does evil just as well as the other. The prince and the judge takes bribes and the rich call the shots. They all work together to bring about injustice." 4 "The best of them is like a briar and the most upright is like a thorn bush. Your punishment will come even as you are posting your watchmen. Confusion will follow shortly."

5 "You will not be able to depend on your neighbor, or your friend. Watch what you say even to your wife." 6 "For sons will treat their fathers with contempt, and daughters will rise up against their mothers. Daughter-In-Laws will be against mother-in-laws. A man's enemies will be those of his own household."

7 "But as for me, I will watch for the LORD, and wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me." 8 "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will yet rise. 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. He will plead my case and execute justice in my behalf. He will bring me to the light where I will see His righteousness." 10 "Then she that is my enemy will be covered with shame. I will see the downfall of the one who said to me, 'Where is the LORD your God?' She will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets."

11 "On that day you will build your walls and extend your boundaries." 12 "People will come to you from the Euphrates in Assyria to the cities of Egypt. They will come from sea to sea and from every mountain." 13 "On account of the fruit of their deeds, the earth's inhabitants will be gone."

14 "Shepherd Your people with Your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in the forest and in fertile fields. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days of old." 15 "Let it be as it was when you came out of Egypt so that I will once again show you miracles." 16 "The nations shall recognize their lack of might. They shall lay their hands on their mouths, their ears shall be deaf." 17 "They will lick the dust like a serpent, and like other reptiles of the earth. They will be afraid of the LORD our God."

18 "Who is like You, O God? You pardon iniquity and overlook the rebellious acts of Your remnant and possession. Because of Your unchanging love You do not remain angry forever." 19 "You will have compassion on us once more, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." 20 You will give truth to Jacob and unchanging love to Abraham, just as You swore to our forefathers in the days of old.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7