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The word of Adonai that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—visions he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Smashing Idols in the High Places

Hear, O peoples—all of you!
Attention, O land and everything in it!
Adonai Elohim will be witness against you—
The Lord from His holy Temple.
For behold, Adonai is coming forth out of His place.
He will come down and trample on the high places of the land.
The mountains will melt away under Him
and the valleys will split apart
    like wax before the fire,
like water being poured down a slope.

All this is because of Jacob’s transgression
    and the sins of the house of Israel.
Who is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
Who are the high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem?
So I will make Samaria into a ruin in the countryside,
    planting places for a vineyard.
I will hurl her stones into the valley
and will lay bare her foundations.
All her images will be smashed,
all her prostitute’s pay burned with fire,
and all her idols I will make desolate.
For from prostitute’s pay she collected them
and to prostitute’s pay they will return.

Concerning this let me lament and howl.
Let me walk barefoot and naked.
I will make a howl like jackals
and a mourning like ostriches.
For her wounds are incurable.
For it has come up to Judah.
It has reached the gate of my people—
even up to Jerusalem!
10 Tell it not in Gath—weep not at all.
At Beth-le-aphrah[a] roll in the dust.
11 Pass on, you who dwell in Saphir
—nakedness and shame—
she who dwells in Zaanan
    will not come out.
Wailing of Beth-ezel[b]:
    He will take from you its standing-place.
12 For she who dwells in Maroth has languished for something good.
For calamity has come down
    from Adonai to Jerusalem’s gate.
13 Harness the chariot to the steed,
    O inhabitant of Lachish!
It was the beginning of sin
    for the Daughter of Zion—
because in you were found
    the rebellions of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath—
houses of Achzib as a deception to the kings of Israel.
15 Yet I will bring the possessor to you,
    inhabitant of Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will come
    as far as Adullam.
16 Shave yourself bald,
yes shear your hair for the children of your delight.
Enlarge your bald spot like a vulture,
for they went from you into exile.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Meaning, House of Dust.
  2. Micah 1:11 Meaning, the house nearby.

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth(A) during the reigns of Jotham,(B) Ahaz(C) and Hezekiah,(D) kings of Judah(E)—the vision(F) he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear,(G) you peoples, all of you,(H)
    listen, earth(I) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(J) against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.(K)

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
    he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
    and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
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?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(S)
I will pour her stones(T) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(U)
All her idols(V) 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

Because of this I will weep(Z) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(AA) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague(AB) is incurable;(AC)
    it has spread to Judah.(AD)
It has reached the very gate(AE) of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
    weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
    roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked(AF) and in shame,
    you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
    will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
    it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
    waiting for relief,(AG)
because disaster(AH) has come from the Lord,
    even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(AI)
    harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(AJ) began,
    for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(AK)
    to Moresheth(AL) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](AM) will prove deceptive(AN)
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.[g](AO)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.(AP)
16 Shave(AQ) 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.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
  2. Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
  3. Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
  4. Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
  5. Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
  6. Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
  7. Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.