Day 357 of 730

¹The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

²Hear, you peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth, and all that is therein: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

³For, behold, the Lord comes forth out of his place, and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.

⁴The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place.

⁵"All this is for the disobedience of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the disobedience of Jacob? Isn't it Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Aren't they Jerusalem?

⁶Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field, like places for planting vineyards; and I will pour down its stones into the valley, and I will uncover its foundations.

⁷All her idols will be beaten to pieces, and all her temple gifts will be burned with fire, and all her images I will destroy; for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them, and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return."

⁸For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will howl like the jackals, and moan like the daughters of owls.

⁹For her wounds are incurable; for it has come even to Judah. It reaches to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

¹⁰Do not tell it in Gath. Do not weep at all. At Beth Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust.

¹¹Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame. The inhabitant of Zaanan won't come out. The wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you his protection.

¹²For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good, because evil has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.

¹³Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish. She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; For the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

¹⁴Therefore you will give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath. The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.

¹⁵I will yet bring to you, inhabitant of Mareshah. He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.

¹⁶Shave your heads, and cut off your hair for the children of your delight. Enlarge your baldness like the vulture; for they have gone into captivity from you!

¹Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.

²They 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.

³Therefore thus says the Lord: "Behold, I am planning against these people a disaster, from which you will not remove your necks, neither will you walk haughtily; for it is an evil time.

⁴In that day they will take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, saying, 'We are utterly ruined! My people's possession is divided up. Indeed he takes it from me and assigns our fields to traitors!'"

⁵Therefore you will have no one who divides the land by lot in the assembly of the Lord.

⁶"Do not prophesy!" They prophesy. "Do not prophesy about these things. Disgrace won't overtake us."

⁷Shall it be said, O house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the Lord angry? Are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him who walks blamelessly?"

⁸But lately my people have risen up as an enemy. You strip the robe and clothing from those who pass by without a care, returning from battle.

⁹You drive the women of my people out from their pleasant houses; from their young children you take away my blessing forever.

¹⁰Arise, and depart! For this is not your resting place, because of uncleanness that destroys, even with a grievous destruction.

¹¹If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: "I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink;" he would be the prophet of this people.

¹²I will surely assemble, Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they will swarm with people.

¹³He who breaks open the way goes up before them. They break through the gate, and go out. And their king passes on before them, with the Lord at their head.

¹Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.

²I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me.

³He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.

⁴My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

⁵Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth!

⁶They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into its midst themselves. Selah.

⁷My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.

⁸Wake up, my glory! Wake up, psaltery and harp! I will wake up the dawn.

⁹I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your great loving kindness reaches to the heavens, and your truth to the skies.

¹¹Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.

¹The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

²All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weighs the motives.

³Commit your deeds to the Lord, and your plans shall succeed.

⁴The Lord has made everything for its own end- yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: they shall certainly not be unpunished.

⁶By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

⁷When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.

⁹A man's heart plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

¹⁰Inspired judgments are on the lips of the king. He shall not betray his mouth.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are his work.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to do wrong, for the throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings. They value one who speaks the truth.

¹⁴The king's wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

¹⁵In the light of the king's face is life. His favor is like a cloud of the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the plunder with the proud.

²⁰He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in the Lord is blessed.

²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent. Pleasantness of the lips promotes instruction.

²²Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the punishment of fools is their folly.

²³The heart of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

²⁵There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

²⁶The appetite of the laboring man labors for him; for his mouth urges him on.

²⁷A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.

²⁹A man of violence entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰One who winks his eyes to plot perversities, one who compresses his lips, is bent on evil.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.

³²One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.