Micah 7 - Easy To Read Version

¹ I am upset because I am\par like fruit that has been gathered,\par like grapes that have already been picked.\par There are no grapes left to eat.\par There are none of the early figs\par that I love.\par

² I mean, all of the faithful people are gone.\par There are no good people left\par in this country.\par Every person is waiting to kill someone.\par Every person is trying to trap his brother.\par

³ People are good at doing bad things\par with both hands.\par Officials ask for bribes.\par Judges take money\par to change their decisions in court.\par “Important leaders” \{don’t make\par good and fair decisions\}.\par They do whatever they want to do.\par

⁴ \{Even\} the best of them is like a thorn bush.\par Even the best of them is more crooked\par than a tangled thorn bush.\par

⁵ Don’t trust your neighbor!\par Don’t trust a friend!\par Don’t even speak freely with your wife!\par

⁶ A person’s enemies will be\par the people in his own house.\par A son will not honor his father.\par A daughter will turn against her mother.\par A daughter-in-law will turn against\par her mother-in-law.\par

⁷ So I will look to the Lord \{for help\}!\par I will wait for God to save me.\par My God will hear me.\par

⁸ I have fallen.\par But enemy, don’t laugh at me!\par I will get up again.\par I sit in darkness now.\par But the Lord will be a light for me.\par

⁹ I sinned against the Lord.\par So he was angry at me.\par But he will argue my case for me in court.\par He will do the things that are right for me.\par Then he will bring me out into the light.\par And I will see that he is right.\par

¹⁰ My enemy said to me,\par “Where is the Lord your God?”\par But my enemy will see this,\par and she will be ashamed.\par At that time, I will laugh at her. {\cf2\super [81]} \par People will walk over her,\par like mud in the streets.\par

¹¹ The time \{will come\} when your walls\par will be built again.\par At that time, the country will grow.\par

¹² Your people will come back to your land.\par They will come back from Assyria\par and from the cities of Egypt.\par Your people will come from Egypt and from the other side of the Euphrates River.\par They will come from the sea\{ in the west\}\par and from the mountains \{in the east\}.\par

¹³ The land was ruined by the people\par that lived there and by what they did.\par

¹⁴ So rule your people with your rod.\par Rule the flock of people\par that belongs to you.\par That flock lives alone in the woods,\par and up on Mount Carmel.\par That flock lives in Bashan and Gilead\par like they did in time past.\par

¹⁵ I did many miracles\par when I took you out of Egypt.\par I will let you see more miracles like that.\par

¹⁶ The nations will see those miracles,\par and they will be ashamed.\par They will see that their “power”\par \{is nothing compared to mine\}.\par They will \{be amazed\}\par and put their hands over their mouths!\par They will cover their ears\par \{and refuse to listen\}.\par

¹⁷ They will crawl in the dust like a snake.\par They will shake with fear.\par They will be like insects crawling\par from their holes in the ground\par and coming to the Lord our God.\par God, they will fear and respect you!\par

¹⁸ There is no God like you.\par You take away people’s guilt.\par

¹⁹ He will come back and comfort us again.\par He will crush our guilt\par and throw all of our sins\par into the deep sea.\par

²⁰ \{God,\} please be true to Jacob, {\cf2\super [82]} \par Be kind and loyal to Abraham, {\cf2\super [83]} \par like you promised our ancestors {\cf2\super [84]} \par a long time ago.\par