Micah 1

Christian Standard Bible

1 The word of the Lord that came^(A) to Micah^(B) the Moreshite^(C)—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham,^(D) Ahaz,^(E) and Hezekiah,^(F) kings of Judah.

Coming Judgment on Israel

²Listen, all you peoples;^(G)
pay attention, earth^[a] and everyone in it!^(H)
The Lord God will be a witness against you,^(I)
the Lord, from his holy temple.^(J)
³Look, the Lord is leaving his place^(K)
and coming down to trample
the heights^[b] of the earth.^(L)
⁴The mountains will melt beneath him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax near a fire,^(M)
like water cascading down a mountainside.
⁵All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion
and the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?^(N)
And what is the high place of Judah?^(O)
Isn’t it Jerusalem?
⁶Therefore, I will make Samaria
a heap of ruins^(P) in the countryside,
a planting area^(Q) for a vineyard.
I will roll her stones^(R) into the valley
and expose her foundations.^(S)
⁷All her carved images will be smashed^(T) to pieces;
all her wages^(U) will be burned in the fire,
and I will destroy all her idols.
Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,^(V)
they will be used again for a prostitute.

Micah’s Lament

⁸Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.^(W)
I will howl like the jackals^(X)
and mourn like ostriches.^[c]
⁹For her wound is incurable^(Y)
and has reached even Judah;^(Z)
it has approached my people’s city gate,^(AA)
as far as Jerusalem.

¹⁰Don’t announce it in Gath,^(AB)
don’t weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
¹¹Depart in shameful nakedness,^(AC)
you residents of Shaphir;
the residents of Zaanan^(AD) will not come out.
Beth-ezel is lamenting;
its support^[d] is taken from you.
¹²Though the residents of Maroth
anxiously wait for something good,^(AE)
disaster has come from the Lord^(AF)
to the gate of Jerusalem.
¹³Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.^(AG)
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion
because Israel’s acts of rebellion^(AH) can be traced to you.
¹⁴Therefore, send farewell gifts^(AI) to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib^(AJ) are a deception^(AK)
to the kings of Israel.
¹⁵I will again bring a conqueror
against you who live in Mareshah.^(AL)
The nobility^[e] of Israel will come to Adullam.^(AM)
¹⁶Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair^(AN)
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.^(AO)

Footnotes

1:2 Or land
1:3 Or high places
1:8 Or eagle owls; lit daughters of the desert
1:11 Lit its standing place; Hb obscure
1:15 Lit glory

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.