What the Lord Requires (MIC 6:6-16)

[6:6] What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him?

[6:7] Will the Lord be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my first-born child to pay for my sins?

[6:8] No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

[6:9] It is wise to fear the Lord. He calls to the city, “Listen, you people who assemble in the city!

[6:10] In the houses of evil people are treasures which they got dishonestly. They use false measures, a thing that I hate.

[6:11] How can I forgive those who use false scales and weights?

[6:12] Your rich people exploit the poor, and all of you are liars.

[6:13] So I have already begun your ruin and destruction because of your sins.

[6:14] You will eat, but not be satisfied—in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything you do save I will destroy in war.

[6:15] You will sow grain, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never get to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it.

[6:16] This will happen because you have followed the evil practices of King Omri and of his son, King Ahab. You have continued their policies, and so I will bring you to ruin, and everyone will despise you. People everywhere will treat you with contempt.”

Israel's Moral Corruption (MIC 7:1-7)

[7:1] It's hopeless! I am like a hungry person who finds no fruit left on the trees and no grapes on the vines. All the grapes and all the tasty figs have been picked.

[7:2] There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down their own people.

[7:3] They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential people tell them what they want, and so they scheme together.

[7:4] Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds. The day has come when God will punish the people, as he warned them through their watchmen, the prophets. Now they are in confusion.

[7:5] Don't believe your neighbor or trust your friend. Be careful what you say even to your husband or wife.

[7:6] In these times sons treat their fathers like fools, daughters oppose their mothers, and young women quarrel with their mothers-in-law; your enemies are the members of your own family.

[7:7] But I will watch for the Lord; I will wait confidently for God, who will save me. My God will hear me.

The Lord Brings Salvation (MIC 7:8-13)

[7:8] Our enemies have no reason to gloat over us. We have fallen, but we will rise again. We are in darkness now, but the Lord will give us light.

[7:9] We have sinned against the Lord, so now we must endure his anger for a while. But in the end he will defend us and right the wrongs that have been done to us. He will bring us out to the light; we will live to see him save us.

[7:10] Then our enemies will see this and be disgraced—the same enemies who taunted us by asking, “Where is the Lord your God?” We will see them defeated, trampled down like mud in the streets.

[7:11] People of Jerusalem, the time to rebuild the city walls is coming. At that time your territory will be enlarged.

[7:12] Your people will return to you from everywhere—from Assyria in the east, from Egypt in the south, from the region of the Euphrates River, from distant seas and far-off mountains.

[7:13] But the earth will become a desert because of the wickedness of those who live on it.

The Lord's Compassion on Israel (MIC 7:14-20)

[7:14] Be a shepherd to your people, Lord, the people you have chosen. Although they live apart in the wilderness, there is fertile land around them. Let them go and feed in the rich pastures of Bashan and Gilead, as they did long ago.

[7:15] Work miracles for us, Lord, as you did in the days when you brought us out of Egypt.

[7:16] The nations will see this and be frustrated in spite of all their strength. In dismay they will close their mouths and cover their ears.

[7:17] They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God.

[7:18] There is no other god like you, O Lord; you forgive the sins of your people who have survived. You do not stay angry forever, but you take pleasure in showing us your constant love.

[7:19] You will be merciful to us once again. You will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea!

[7:20] You will show your faithfulness and constant love to your people, the descendants of Abraham and of Jacob, as you promised our ancestors long ago.

The Lord's Anger against Nineveh (NAM 1:2-15)

[1:2] The Lord God tolerates no rivals; he punishes those who oppose him. In his anger he pays them back.

[1:3] The Lord does not easily become angry, but he is powerful and never lets the guilty go unpunished. Where the Lord walks, storms arise; the clouds are the dust raised by his feet!

[1:4] He commands the sea, and it dries up! He makes the rivers go dry. The fields of Bashan wither, Mount Carmel turns brown, and the flowers of Lebanon fade.

[1:5] Mountains quake in the presence of the Lord; hills melt before him. The earth shakes when the Lord appears; the world and all its people tremble.

[1:6] When he is angry, who can survive? Who can survive his terrible fury? He pours out his flaming anger; rocks crumble to dust before him.

[1:7] The Lord is good; he protects his people in times of trouble; he takes care of those who turn to him.

[1:8] Like a great rushing flood he completely destroys his enemies; he sends to their death those who oppose him.

[1:9] What are you plotting against the Lord? He will destroy you. No one opposes him more than once.

[1:10] Like tangled thorns and dry straw you drunkards will be burned up!

[1:11] From you, Nineveh, there came someone full of wicked schemes, who plotted against the Lord.

[1:12] This is what the Lord says to his people Israel: “Even though the Assyrians are strong and numerous, they will be destroyed and disappear. My people, I made you suffer, but I will not do it again.

[1:13] I will now end Assyria's power over you and break the chains that bind you.”

[1:14] This is what the Lord has decreed about the Assyrians: “They will have no descendants to carry on their name. I will destroy the idols that are in the temples of their gods. I am preparing a grave for the Assyrians—they don't deserve to live!”

[1:15] Look, a messenger is coming over the mountains with good news! He is on his way to announce the victory! People of Judah, celebrate your festivals and give God what you solemnly promised him. The wicked will never invade your land again. They have been totally destroyed!

The Fall of Nineveh (NAM 2:1-3:19)

[2:1] Nineveh, you are under attack! The power that will shatter you has come. Prepare the defenses! Guard the road! Prepare for battle! (

[2:2] The Lord is about to restore the glory of Israel, as it was before her enemies plundered her.)

[2:3] The enemy soldiers carry red shields and wear uniforms of red. They are preparing to attack! Their chariots flash like fire! Their horses prance!

[2:4] Chariots dash wildly through the streets, rushing back and forth in the city squares. They flash like torches and dart about like lightning.

[2:5] The officers are summoned; they stumble as they press forward. The attackers rush to the wall and set up the shield for the battering ram.

[2:6] The gates by the river burst open; the palace is filled with terror.

[2:7] The queen is taken captive; her servants moan like doves and beat their breasts in sorrow.

[2:8] Like water from a broken dam the people rush from Nineveh! “Stop! Stop!” the cry rings out— but no one turns back.

[2:9] Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The city is full of treasure!

[2:10] Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate! Hearts melt with fear; knees tremble, strength is gone; faces grow pale.

[2:11] Where now is the city that was like a den of lions, the place where young lions were fed, where the lion and the lioness would go and their cubs would be safe?

[2:12] The lion killed his prey and tore it to pieces for his mate and her cubs; he filled his den with torn flesh.

[2:13] “I am your enemy!” says the Lord Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots. Your soldiers will be killed in war, and I will take away everything that you took from others. The demands of your envoys will no longer be heard.”

[3:1] Doomed is the lying, murderous city, full of wealth to be looted and plundered!

[3:2] Listen! The crack of the whip, the rattle of wheels, the gallop of horses, the jolting of chariots!

[3:3] Cavalry troops charge, swords flash, spears gleam! Corpses are piled high, dead bodies without number— men stumble over them!

[3:4] Nineveh the whore is being punished. Attractive and full of deadly charms, she enchanted nations and enslaved them.

[3:5] The Lord Almighty says, “I will punish you, Nineveh! I will strip you naked and let the nations see you, see you in all your shame.

[3:6] I will treat you with contempt and cover you with filth. People will stare at you in horror.

[3:7] All who see you will shrink back. They will say, ‘Nineveh lies in ruins! Who has any sympathy for her? Who will want to comfort her?’”

[3:8] Nineveh, are you any better than Thebes, the capital of Egypt? She too had a river to protect her like a wall—the Nile was her defense.

[3:9] She ruled Ethiopia and Egypt, there was no limit to her power; Libya was her ally.

[3:10] Yet the people of Thebes were carried off into exile. At every street corner their children were beaten to death. Their leading men were carried off in chains and divided among their captors.

[3:11] Nineveh, you too will fall into a drunken stupor! You too will try to escape from your enemies.

[3:12] All your fortresses will be like fig trees with ripe figs: shake the trees, and the fruit falls right into your mouth!

[3:13] Your soldiers are helpless, and your country stands defenseless before your enemies. Fire will destroy the bars across your gates.

[3:14] Draw water to prepare for a siege, and strengthen your fortresses! Trample the clay to make bricks, and get the brick molds ready!

[3:15] No matter what you do, you will still be burned to death or killed in battle. You will be wiped out like crops eaten up by locusts. You multiplied like locusts!

[3:16] You produced more merchants than there are stars in the sky! But now they are gone, like locusts that spread their wings and fly away.

[3:17] Your officials are like a swarm of locusts that stay in the walls on a cold day. But when the sun comes out, they fly away, and no one knows where they have gone!

[3:18] Emperor of Assyria, your governors are dead, and your noblemen are asleep forever! Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to bring them home again.

[3:19] There is no remedy for your injuries, and your wounds cannot be healed. All those who hear the news of your destruction clap their hands for joy. Did anyone escape your endless cruelty?

Habakkuk Complains of Injustice (HAB 1:2-4)

[1:2] O Lord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence?

[1:3] Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere.

[1:4] The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.

The Lord's Reply (HAB 1:5-11)

[1:5] Then the Lord said to his people, “Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it.

[1:6] I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands.

[1:7] They spread fear and terror, and in their pride they are a law to themselves.

[1:8] “Their horses are faster than leopards, fiercer than hungry wolves. Their cavalry troops come riding from distant lands; their horses paw the ground. They come swooping down like eagles attacking their prey.

[1:9] “Their armies advance in violent conquest, and everyone is terrified as they approach. Their captives are as numerous as grains of sand.

[1:10] They treat kings with contempt and laugh at high officials. No fortress can stop them—they pile up earth against it and capture it.

[1:11] Then they sweep on like the wind and are gone, these men whose power is their god.”