Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.j 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knewk that you are a graciousl and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,m a God who relentsn from sending calamity.o 3 Now, Lord, take away my life,p for it is better for me to dieq than to live.”r

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”s

5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God providedt a leafy planta and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.u 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die,v and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”w

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concernx for the great city of Nineveh,y in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Micah

Micah exposed corruption in Judah on every level of society. The rulers, prophets and priests were unjust; the people oppressed the poor and worshiped idols. Micah alternates between words of judgment and words of forgiveness and restoration.

1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moreshetha during the reigns of Jotham,b Ahazc and Hezekiah,d kings of Judahe—the visionf he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear,g you peoples, all of you,h

listen, earthi and all who live in it,

that the Sovereign Lord may bear witnessj against you,

the Lord from his holy temple.k

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwellingl place;

he comes downm and treads on the heights of the earth.n

4 The mountains melto beneath himp

and the valleys split apart,q

like wax before the fire,

like water rushing down a slope.

5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,

because of the sins of the people of Israel.

What is Jacob’s transgression?

Is it not Samaria?r

What is Judah’s high place?

Is it not Jerusalem?

6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,

a place for planting vineyards.s

I will pour her stonest into the valley

and lay bare her foundations.u

7 All her idolsv will be broken to pieces;w

all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;

I will destroy all her images.x

Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,y

as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

8 Because of this I will weepz and wail;

I will go about barefoota and naked.

I will howl like a jackal

and moan like an owl.

9 For Samaria’s plagueb is incurable;c

it has spread to Judah.d

It has reached the very gatee of my people,

even to Jerusalem itself.

10 Tell it not in Gatha;

weep not at all.

In Beth Ophrahb

roll in the dust.

11 Pass by nakedf and in shame,

you who live in Shaphir.c

Those who live in Zaanand

will not come out.

Beth Ezel is in mourning;

it no longer protects you.

12 Those who live in Marothe writhe in pain,

waiting for relief,g

because disasterh has come from the Lord,

even to the gate of Jerusalem.

13 You who live in Lachish,i

harness fast horses to the chariot.

You are where the sin of Daughter Zionj began,

for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

14 Therefore you will give parting giftsk

to Moreshethl Gath.

The town of Akzibf m will prove deceptiven

to the kings of Israel.

15 I will bring a conqueror against you

who live in Mareshah.g o

The nobles of Israel

will flee to Adullam.p

16 Shaveq your head in mourning

for the children in whom you delight;

make yourself as bald as the vulture,

for they will go from you into exile.r

Human Plans and God’s Plans

2 Woe to those who plan iniquity,

to those who plot evils on their beds!t

At morning’s light they carry it out

because it is in their power to do it.

2 They covet fieldsu and seize them,v

and houses, and take them.

They defraudw people of their homes,

they rob them of their inheritance.x

3 Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disastery against this people,

from which you cannot save yourselves.

You will no longer walk proudly,z

for it will be a time of calamity.

4 In that day people will ridicule you;

they will taunt you with this mournful song:

‘We are utterly ruined;a

my people’s possession is divided up.b

He takes it from me!

He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ”

5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord

to divide the landc by lot.d

False Prophets

6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.

“Do not prophesy about these things;

disgracee will not overtake us.f”

7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,

“Does the Lord becomea impatient?

Does he do such things?”

“Do not my words do goodg

to the one whose ways are upright?h

8 Lately my people have risen up

like an enemy.

You strip off the rich robe

from those who pass by without a care,

like men returning from battle.

9 You drive the women of my people

from their pleasant homes.i

You take away my blessing

from their children forever.

10 Get up, go away!

For this is not your resting place,j

because it is defiled,k

it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

11 If a liar and deceiverl comes and says,

‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’m

that would be just the prophet for this people!n

Deliverance Promised

12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;

I will surely bring together the remnanto of Israel.

I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,

like a flock in its pasture;

the place will throng with people.p

13 The One who breaks open the way will go up beforeq them;

they will break through the gater and go out.

Their King will pass through before them,

the Lord at their head.”