Destruction in Israel and Judah

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, and which he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, you peoples, all of [a]you;
(F)Listen carefully, earth and [b]all it contains,
And may the Lord [c]God be a (G)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.
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.
(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.
All this is due to the [e]wrongdoing of Jacob
And the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the (K)[f]wrongdoing of Jacob?
Is it not (L)Samaria?
What is the (M)high [g]place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
For I will make Samaria a (N)heap of ruins [h]in the open country,
(O)Planting places for a vineyard.
I will (P)hurl her stones down into the valley,
And (Q)lay bare her foundations.
All of her (R)idols will be crushed,
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)prostitute’s earnings,
And to the earnings of a prostitute they will return.

Because of this I must mourn and wail,
I must go (T)barefoot and naked;
I must do mourning like the (U)jackals,
And a mourning like the ostriches.
For her (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)Do not tell it in Gath,
Do not weep at all.
At [i]Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust in mourning.
11 [j]Go on your way, inhabitant of [k]Shaphir, in (Z)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of [l](AA)Zaanan does not [m]escape.
The mourning of [n]Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its [o]support.”
12 For the inhabitant of [p]Maroth
[q](AB)Waits for something good,
Because a disaster has come down from the Lord
To the (AC)gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
You 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
In behalf of Moresheth-gath;
The houses of (AG)Achzib will become a [r](AH)deception
To the kings of Israel.
15 Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
You inhabitant of [s](AI)Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will enter (AJ)Adullam.
16 Shave yourself (AK)bald, yes, 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

  1. Micah 1:2 Lit them
  2. Micah 1:2 Lit its fullness
  3. Micah 1:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  4. Micah 1:3 Or land
  5. Micah 1:5 Or rebellion
  6. Micah 1:5 Or rebellion
  7. Micah 1:5 Lit places
  8. Micah 1:6 Lit of the field
  9. Micah 1:10 I.e., house of dust
  10. Micah 1:11 I.e., Go into captivity
  11. Micah 1:11 I.e., pleasantness
  12. Micah 1:11 I.e., going out
  13. Micah 1:11 Lit go out
  14. Micah 1:11 I.e., the house beside
  15. Micah 1:11 Lit standing place
  16. Micah 1:12 I.e., bitterness
  17. Micah 1:12 Or possibly has been in agony for
  18. Micah 1:14 Heb achzab, wordplay on Achzib
  19. Micah 1:15 I.e., possession

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