Micah 6

• 1. Listen to what the LORD is saying: "Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
• 2. "And now, O mountains, listen to the LORD's complaint! He has a case against his people Israel! He will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.
• 3. O my people, what have I done to make you turn from me? Tell me why your patience is exhausted! Answer me!
• 4. For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from your slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.
• 5. "Don't you remember, my people, how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead? And remember your journey from Acacia to Gilgal, when I, the LORD, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness."
• 6. What can we bring to the LORD to make up for what we've done? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves?
• 7. Should we offer him thousands of rams and tens of thousands of rivers of olive oil? Would that please the LORD? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for the sins of our souls? Would that make him glad?
• 8. No, O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
• 9. Listen! Fear the LORD if you are wise! His voice is calling out to everyone in Jerusalem: "The armies of destruction are coming; the LORD is sending them.
• 10. Will there be no end of your getting rich by cheating? The homes of the wicked are filled with treasures gained by dishonestly measuring out grain in short measures.
• 11. And how can I tolerate all your merchants who use dishonest scales and weights?
• 12. The rich among you have become wealthy through extortion and violence. Your citizens are so used to lying that their tongues can no longer tell the truth.
• 13. "Therefore, I will wound you! I will bring you to ruin for all your sins.
• 14. You will eat but never have enough. Your hunger pangs and emptiness will still remain. And though you try to save your money, it will come to nothing in the end. You will save a little, but I will give it to those who conquer you.
• 15. You will plant crops but not harvest them. You will press your olives but not get enough oil to anoint yourselves. You will trample the grapes but get no juice to make your wine.
• 16. "The only laws you keep are those of evil King Omri; the only example you follow is that of wicked King Ahab! Therefore, I will make an example of you, bringing you to complete ruin. You will be treated with contempt, mocked by all who see you."

Micah 7

• 1. What misery is mine! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single fig can be found to satisfy my hunger.
• 2. The godly people have all disappeared; not one fair-minded person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, even setting traps for their own brothers.
• 3. They go about their evil deeds with both hands. How skilled they are at using them! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with money and influence pay them off, and together they scheme to twist justice.
• 4. Even the best of them is like a brier; the straightest is more crooked than a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here.
• 5. Don't trust anyone--not your best friend or even your wife!
• 6. For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household.
• 7. As for me, I look to the LORD for his help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.
• 8. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD himself will be my light.
• 9. I will be patient as the LORD punishes me, for I have sinned against him. But after that, he will take up my case and punish my enemies for all the evil they have done to me. The LORD will bring me out of my darkness into the light, and I will see his righteousness.
• 10. Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side. They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying, "Where is the LORD--that God of yours?" With my own eyes I will see them trampled down like mud in the streets.
• 11. In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt, and your borders will be extended.
• 12. People from many lands will come and honor you--from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt, and from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River, and from many distant seas and mountains.
• 13. But the land will become empty and desolate because of the wickedness of those who live there.
• 14. O LORD, come and rule your people; lead your flock in green pastures. Help them to live in peace and prosperity. Let them enjoy the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead as they did long ago.
• 15. "Yes," says the LORD, "I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt."
• 16. All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the LORD will do for you. They will be embarrassed that their power is so insignificant. They will stand in silent awe, deaf to everything around them.
• 17. They will come to realize what lowly creatures they really are. Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the LORD our God. They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence.
• 18. Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy.
• 19. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
• 20. You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised with an oath to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

New Living Translation: 313 of 324 days.