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The Book of Micah ORACLES OF PUNISHMENT

dudecon

Opera, Masculine Vocals, Drone folk, avant-garde jazz, guttural chants, bowed cymbals, distorted harmonium, overtone singing, theremin swells, polyrhythmic drumming, melancholic guitar feedback

[Instrumental]

[Prologue]
The word of the LORD
which came to Micah
of Moresheth
in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah,
which he saw
concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
ORACLES OF PUNISHMENT
[Instrumental]

[Verse]
Hear, O peoples, all of you,
give heed, O earth, and all that is in it!
Let the Lord GOD be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple!
For see, the LORD goes out from his place
and descending, treads upon the heights of the earth.
The mountains melt under him
and the valleys split open,
Like wax before the fire,
like water poured down a slope.
All this is for the crime of Jacob,
for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria?
And what is the sin of the house of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
So I will make Samaria a ruin in the field,
a place to plant vineyards;
I will throw its stones into the valley,
and lay bare its foundations.
All its carved figures shall be broken to pieces,
all its wages shall be burned in the fire,
and all its idols I will destroy.
As the wages of a prostitute it gathered them,
and to the wages of a prostitute they shall return.
[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.
[Instrumental]

[Verse]
For this I will lament and wail,
go barefoot and naked;
I will utter lamentation like the jackals,
mourning like the ostriches,
For her wound is incurable;
it has come even to Judah.
It has reached to the gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.
[Instrumental]

[Verse]
Do not announce it in Gath,
do not weep at all;
In Beth-leaphrah
roll in the dust.
Pass by,
you who dwell in Shaphir!
The inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come forth from their city.
There is lamentation in Beth-ezel.
It will withdraw its support from you.
The inhabitants of Maroth
hope for good,
But evil has come down from the LORD
to the gate of Jerusalem.
Harness steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of Lachish;
You are the beginning of sin
for daughter Zion,
For in you were found
the crimes of Israel.
Therefore you must give back the dowry
to Moresheth-gath;
The houses of Achzib are a dry stream bed
to the kings of Israel.
Again I will bring the conqueror to you,
inhabitants of Mareshah;
The glory of Israel shall come
even to Adullam.
Make yourself bald, cut off your hair,
for the children whom you cherish;
Make yourself bald as a vulture,
for they are taken from you into exile.
[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.
[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.
[Instrumental]

[Verse]
You covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and take them;
You cheat owners of their houses,
people of their inheritance.
Therefore thus says the LORD:
Look, I am planning against this family an evil
from which you cannot free your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head held high,
for it will be an evil time.
On that day you shall be mocked,
and there will be bitter lament:
“Our ruin is complete,
our fields are divided among our captors,
The fields of my people are measured out,
and no one can get them back!”
Thus you shall have no one
in the assembly of the LORD
to allot to you a share of land.
[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.
[Instrumental]

[Verse]
“Do not preach,” they preach,
“no one should preach of these things!
Shame will not overtake us.”
How can it be said, house of Jacob,
“Is the LORD short of patience;
are these the Lord’s deeds?”
Do not my words promise good
to the one who walks in justice?
But you rise up against my people as an enemy:
you have stripped off the garment from the peaceful,
From those who go their way in confidence,
as though it were spoils of war.
The women of my people you drive out
from their pleasant houses;
From their children you take away
forever the honor I gave them.
[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.
[Instrumental]

[Verse]
“Get up! Leave,
this is no place to rest”;
Because of uncleanness that destroys
with terrible destruction.
If one possessed of a lying spirit
speaks deceitfully, saying,
“I will preach to you wine and strong drink,”
that one would be the preacher for this people.

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.

[Verse]
I will gather you, Jacob, each and every one,
I will assemble all the remnant of Israel;
I will group them like a flock in the fold,
like a herd in its pasture;
the noise of the people will resound.
The one who makes a breach goes up before them;
they make a breach and pass through the gate;
Their king shall go through before them,
the LORD at their head.

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.

[Verse]
And I said:
Hear, you leaders of Jacob,
rulers of the house of Israel!
Is it not your duty to know what is right,
you who hate what is good, and love evil?
You who tear their skin from them,
and their flesh from their bones;
Who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin from them,
and break their bones;
Who chop them in pieces like flesh in a kettle,
like meat in a pot.
When they cry to the LORD,
he will not answer them;
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because of the evil they have done.

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.

[Verse]
Thus says the LORD regarding the prophets:
O you who lead my people astray,
When your teeth have something to bite
you announce peace,
But proclaim war against the one
who fails to put something in your mouth.

[Verse]
Therefore you shall have night, not vision,
darkness, not divination;
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be dark for them.
Then the seers shall be put to shame,
and the diviners confounded;
They shall all cover their lips,
because there is no answer from God.
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the LORD,
with justice and with might;
To declare to Jacob his crimes
and to Israel his sins.

[Chorus]
Ah! you plotters of iniquity,
who work out evil on your beds!
In the morning light you carry it out
for it lies within your power.

[Verse]
Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel!
You who abhor justice,
and pervert all that is right;
Who build up Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness!
Its leaders render judgment for a bribe,
the priests teach for pay,
the prophets divine for money,
While they rely on the LORD, saying,
“Is not the LORD in the midst of us?
No evil can come upon us!”
Therefore, because of you,
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
and Jerusalem reduced to rubble,
And the mount of the temple
to a forest ridge.

[Instrumental]

[End]

7443/7500

[Instrumental] [Prologue] The word of the LORD which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. ORACLES OF PUNISHMENT [Instrumental] [Verse] Hear, O peoples, all of you, give heed, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple! For see, the LORD goes out from his place and descending, treads upon the heights of the earth. The mountains melt under him and the valleys split open, Like wax before the fire, like water poured down a slope. All this is for the crime of Jacob, for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? So I will make Samaria a ruin in the field, a place to plant vineyards; I will throw its stones into the valley, and lay bare its foundations. All its carved figures shall be broken to pieces, all its wages shall be burned in the fire, and all its idols I will destroy. As the wages of a prostitute it gathered them, and to the wages of a prostitute they shall return. [Instrumental] [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Instrumental] [Verse] For this I will lament and wail, go barefoot and naked; I will utter lamentation like the jackals, mourning like the ostriches, For her wound is incurable; it has come even to Judah. It has reached to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. [Instrumental] [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Instrumental] [Verse] Do not announce it in Gath, do not weep at all; In Beth-leaphrah roll in the dust. Pass by, you who dwell in Shaphir! The inhabitants of Zaanan do not come forth from their city. There is lamentation in Beth-ezel. It will withdraw its support from you. The inhabitants of Maroth hope for good, But evil has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem. Harness steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; You are the beginning of sin for daughter Zion, For in you were found the crimes of Israel. Therefore you must give back the dowry to Moresheth-gath; The houses of Achzib are a dry stream bed to the kings of Israel. Again I will bring the conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah; The glory of Israel shall come even to Adullam. Make yourself bald, cut off your hair, for the children whom you cherish; Make yourself bald as a vulture, for they are taken from you into exile. [Instrumental] [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Instrumental] [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Instrumental] [Verse] You covet fields, and seize them; houses, and take them; You cheat owners of their houses, people of their inheritance. Therefore thus says the LORD: Look, I am planning against this family an evil from which you cannot free your necks; Nor shall you walk with head held high, for it will be an evil time. On that day you shall be mocked, and there will be bitter lament: “Our ruin is complete, our fields are divided among our captors, The fields of my people are measured out, and no one can get them back!” Thus you shall have no one in the assembly of the LORD to allot to you a share of land. [Instrumental] [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Instrumental] [Verse] “Do not preach,” they preach, “no one should preach of these things! Shame will not overtake us.” How can it be said, house of Jacob, “Is the LORD short of patience; are these the Lord’s deeds?” Do not my words promise good to the one who walks in justice? But you rise up against my people as an enemy: you have stripped off the garment from the peaceful, From those who go their way in confidence, as though it were spoils of war. The women of my people you drive out from their pleasant houses; From their children you take away forever the honor I gave them. [Instrumental] [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Instrumental] [Verse] “Get up! Leave, this is no place to rest”; Because of uncleanness that destroys with terrible destruction. If one possessed of a lying spirit speaks deceitfully, saying, “I will preach to you wine and strong drink,” that one would be the preacher for this people. [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Verse] I will gather you, Jacob, each and every one, I will assemble all the remnant of Israel; I will group them like a flock in the fold, like a herd in its pasture; the noise of the people will resound. The one who makes a breach goes up before them; they make a breach and pass through the gate; Their king shall go through before them, the LORD at their head. [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Verse] And I said: Hear, you leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not your duty to know what is right, you who hate what is good, and love evil? You who tear their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones; Who eat the flesh of my people, flay their skin from them, and break their bones; Who chop them in pieces like flesh in a kettle, like meat in a pot. When they cry to the LORD, he will not answer them; He will hide his face from them at that time, because of the evil they have done. [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Verse] Thus says the LORD regarding the prophets: O you who lead my people astray, When your teeth have something to bite you announce peace, But proclaim war against the one who fails to put something in your mouth. [Verse] Therefore you shall have night, not vision, darkness, not divination; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them. Then the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; They shall all cover their lips, because there is no answer from God. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, with justice and with might; To declare to Jacob his crimes and to Israel his sins. [Chorus] Ah! you plotters of iniquity, who work out evil on your beds! In the morning light you carry it out for it lies within your power. [Verse] Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel! You who abhor justice, and pervert all that is right; Who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness! Its leaders render judgment for a bribe, the priests teach for pay, the prophets divine for money, While they rely on the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil can come upon us!” Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem reduced to rubble, And the mount of the temple to a forest ridge. [Instrumental] [End]