Destruction in Israel and Judah
1 The (A)word of the Lord which came to (B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of [a]you;
(F)Listen, O earth and [b]all it contains,
And let the Lord [c]God be a (G)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, the Lord is (H)coming forth from His place.
He will come down and (I)tread on the high places of the [d]earth.
4 (J)The mountains will melt under Him
And the valleys will be split,
Like wax before the fire,
Like water poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the (K)rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not (L)Samaria?
What is the (M)high [e]place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 For I will make Samaria a (N)heap of ruins [f]in the open country,
(O)Planting places for a vineyard.
I will (P)pour her stones down into the valley
And will (Q)lay bare her foundations.
7 All of her (R)idols will be smashed,
All of her earnings will be burned with fire
And all of her images I will make desolate,
For she collected them from a (S)harlot’s earnings,
And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.
8 Because of this I must lament and wail,
I must go (T)barefoot and naked;
I must make a lament like the (U)jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her [g](V)wound is incurable,
For (W)it has come to Judah;
It has reached the (X)gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.
10 (Y)Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all.
At [h]Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.
11 [i]Go on your way, inhabitant of [j]Shaphir, in (Z)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of [k](AA)Zaanan does not [l]escape.
The lamentation of [m]Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its [n]support.”
12 For the inhabitant of [o]Maroth
Becomes weak (AB)waiting for good,
Because a calamity has come down from the Lord
To the (AC)gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
O inhabitant of (AD)Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the daughter of Zion—
Because in you were found
The (AE)rebellious acts of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting (AF)gifts
On behalf of Moresheth-gath;
The houses of (AG)Achzib will become a (AH)deception
To the kings of Israel.
15 Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of [p](AI)Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will enter (AJ)Adullam.
16 Make yourself (AK)bald and cut off your hair,
Because of the children of your delight;
Extend your baldness like the eagle,
For they will (AL)go from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:2 Lit them
- Micah 1:2 Lit its fullness
- Micah 1:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Micah 1:3 Or land
- Micah 1:5 Lit places
- Micah 1:6 Lit of the field
- Micah 1:9 Lit wounds
- Micah 1:10 I.e. house of dust
- Micah 1:11 I.e. Go into captivity
- Micah 1:11 I.e. pleasantness
- Micah 1:11 I.e. going out
- Micah 1:11 Lit go out
- Micah 1:11 I.e. house of removal
- Micah 1:11 Lit standing place
- Micah 1:12 I.e. bitterness
- Micah 1:15 I.e. possession
Cross references
- Micah 1:1 : 2 Pet 1:21
- Micah 1:1 : Jer 26:18
- Micah 1:1 : 2 Kin 15:5, 32-38; 2 Chr 27:1-9; Is 1:1; Hos 1:1
- Micah 1:1 : 2 Kin 16:1-20; 2 Chr 28:1-27; Is 7:1-12
- Micah 1:1 : 2 Kin 18:1-20; 2 Chr 29:1-31
- Micah 1:2 : Jer 6:19; 22:29
- Micah 1:2 : Is 50:7
- Micah 1:3 : Is 26:21
- Micah 1:3 : Amos 4:13
- Micah 1:4 : Ps 97:5; Is 64:1, 2; Nah 1:5
- Micah 1:5 : Jer 2:19
- Micah 1:5 : Is 7:9; Amos 8:14
- Micah 1:5 : 2 Chr 34:3, 4
- Micah 1:6 : 2 Kin 19:25; Mic 3:12
- Micah 1:6 : Jer 31:5; Amos 5:11
- Micah 1:6 : Lam 4:1
- Micah 1:6 : Ezek 13:14
- Micah 1:7 : Deut 9:21; 2 Chr 34:7
- Micah 1:7 : Deut 23:18; Is 23:17
- Micah 1:8 : Is 32:11
- Micah 1:8 : Is 13:21, 22
- Micah 1:9 : Is 3:26; Jer 30:12, 15
- Micah 1:9 : 2 Kin 18:13; Is 8:7, 8
- Micah 1:9 : Mic 1:12
- Micah 1:10 : 2 Sam 1:20
- Micah 1:11 : Ezek 23:29
- Micah 1:11 : Josh 15:37
- Micah 1:12 : Is 59:9-11; Jer 14:19
- Micah 1:12 : Mic 1:9
- Micah 1:13 : Josh 10:3; 2 Kin 14:19; Is 36:2
- Micah 1:13 : Mic 1:5
- Micah 1:14 : 2 Kin 16:8
- Micah 1:14 : Josh 15:44
- Micah 1:14 : Jer 15:18
- Micah 1:15 : Josh 15:44
- Micah 1:15 : Josh 12:15; 15:35; 2 Sam 23:13
- Micah 1:16 : Is 22:12
- Micah 1:16 : 2 Kin 17:6; Amos 7:11, 17