oremus Bible Browser

Micah 7

The Total Corruption of the People

7Woe is me! For I have become like one who,
   after the summer fruit has been gathered,
   after the vintage has been gleaned,
finds no cluster to eat;
   there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger.
² The faithful have disappeared from the land,
   and there is no one left who is upright;
they all lie in wait for blood,
   and they hunt each other with nets.
³ Their hands are skilled to do evil;
   the official and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the powerful dictate what they desire;
   thus they pervert justice.^*
⁴ The best of them is like a brier,
   the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of their^* sentinels, of their^* punishment, has come;
   now their confusion is at hand.
⁵ Put no trust in a friend,
   have no confidence in a loved one;
guard the doors of your mouth
   from her who lies in your embrace;
⁶ for the son treats the father with contempt,
   the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
   your enemies are members of your own household.
⁷ But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
   I will wait for the God of my salvation;
   my God will hear me.

Penitence and Trust in God

⁸ Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy;
   when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
   the Lord will be a light to me.
⁹ I must bear the indignation of the Lord,
   because I have sinned against him,
until he takes my side
   and executes judgement for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
   I shall see his vindication.
¹⁰ Then my enemy will see,
   and shame will cover her who said to me,
   ‘Where is the Lord your God?’
My eyes will see her downfall;^*
   now she will be trodden down
   like the mire of the streets.

A Prophecy of Restoration

¹¹ A day for the building of your walls!
   In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
¹² In that day they will come to you
   from Assyria to^* Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
   from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
¹³ But the earth will be desolate
   because of its inhabitants,
   for the fruit of their doings.

¹⁴ Shepherd your people with your staff,
   the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
   in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
   as in the days of old.
¹⁵ As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
   show us^* marvellous things.
¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed
   of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
   their ears shall be deaf;
¹⁷ they shall lick dust like a snake,
   like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
   they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
   and they shall stand in fear of you.

God’s Compassion and Steadfast Love

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
   and passing over the transgression
   of the remnant of your^* possession?
He does not retain his anger for ever,
   because he delights in showing clemency.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion upon us;
   he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our^* sins
   into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob
   and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
   from the days of old.

Prayer of Manasseh

THE PRAYER OF MANASSEH

Ascription of Praise

¹ O Lord Almighty,
God of our ancestors,
of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
and of their righteous offspring;
² you who made heaven and earth
with all their order;
³ who shackled the sea by your word of command,
who confined the deep
and sealed it with your terrible and glorious name;
⁴ at whom all things shudder,
and tremble before your power,
⁵ for your glorious splendour cannot be borne,
and the wrath of your threat to sinners is unendurable;
⁶ yet immeasurable and unsearchable
is your promised mercy,
⁷ for you are the Lord Most High,
of great compassion, long-suffering, and very merciful,
and you relent at human suffering.
O Lord, according to your great goodness
you have promised repentance and forgiveness
to those who have sinned against you,
and in the multitude of your mercies
you have appointed repentance for sinners,
so that they may be saved.^*
⁸ Therefore you, O Lord, God of the righteous,
have not appointed repentance for the righteous,
for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against you,
but you have appointed repentance for me, who am a sinner.

Confession of Sins

⁹ For the sins I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea;
my transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied!
I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven
because of the multitude of my iniquities.
¹⁰ I am weighted down with many an iron fetter,
so that I am rejected^* because of my sins,
and I have no relief;
for I have provoked your wrath
and have done what is evil in your sight,
setting up abominations and multiplying offences.

Supplication for Pardon

¹¹ And now I bend the knee of my heart,
imploring you for your kindness.
¹² I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,
and I acknowledge my transgressions.
¹³ I earnestly implore you,
forgive me, O Lord, forgive me!
Do not destroy me with my transgressions!
Do not be angry with me for ever or store up evil for me;
do not condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent,
¹⁴ and in me you will manifest your goodness;
for, unworthy as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy,
¹⁵ and I will praise you continually all the days of my life.
For all the host of heaven sings your praise,
and yours is the glory for ever. Amen.