Mic 2:1-3, 8, 3:1-11, 6:12, Hab 1:2-4, Zep 1:9, 3:3-4 | ESV | STEP | Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds ! When the morning dawns , they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand .

aq[See ver. 2 above]

ar[Mic. 7:3]

as[Job 21:7; Jer. 12:1]

at[1 Sam. 5:5]

av Ezek. 22:27; [Mic. 3:9, 10]

aw Hab. 1:8

ax Jer. 23:11; Hos. 9:7

ay Jer. 23:11; Hos. 9:7

az Ezek. 22:26

Micah 2:1-3

Woe to the Oppressors

1 ^aWoe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil ^bon their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and ^cseize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against ^dthis family I am devising disaster, ^{▼▼The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context}
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you ^fshall not walk haughtily,
^gfor it will be a time of disaster.

Micah 2:8

8 But lately ^hmy people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war. ^{▼▼Or returning from war}

Micah 3:1-11

Rulers and Prophets Denounced

1 And I said:
^jHear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
^kIs it not for you to know justice?—
2 you ^lwho hate the good and love the evil,
^mwho tear the skin from off my people ^{▼▼Hebrew from off them}
and their flesh from off their bones,
3 ^owho eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
4 ^pThen they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
^qhe will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning ^rthe prophets
who lead my people astray,
^swho cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore ^tit shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
^uThe sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 ^vthe seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
^wthey shall all cover their lips,
for ^xthere is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, ^yI am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob ^zhis transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 ^aaHear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
^abwho detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
10 ^acwho build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 ^adIts heads give judgment for a bribe;
^aeits priests teach for a price;
^afits prophets practice divination for money;
^agyet they lean on the Lord and ^ahsay,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
^aiNo disaster shall come upon us.”

Micah 6:12

12 Your ^{▼▼Hebrew whose} rich men are ^akfull of violence;
your inhabitants ^alspeak lies,
and ^amtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Habakkuk 1:2-4

Habakkuk’s Complaint

2 O Lord, ^anhow long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ^ao“Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 ^apWhy do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction ^aqand violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 ^arSo the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
^asFor the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.

Zephaniah 1:9

9 On that day I will punish
everyone ^atwho leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s ^{▼▼Or their Lord’s} house
with violence and fraud.

Zephaniah 3:3-4

3 ^avHer officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are ^awevening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4 ^axHer prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
^ayher priests ^azprofane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.