犹大王约坦、亚哈斯和希西迦执政期间,耶和华把祂的话传给了摩利沙人弥迦。他看到了有关撒玛利亚和耶路撒冷的异象。

审判将临

万民啊,
你们都要听!
大地和地上的万物啊,
你们要侧耳倾听!
主耶和华从祂的圣殿里作证指控你们。
看啊,耶和华离开祂的居所,
从天降临,
脚踏大地的高处。
群山在祂脚下熔化,
犹如火中的蜡;
山谷崩裂,
岩石如水沿山坡倾泻。
这一切都是因为雅各的叛逆,
以色列家的罪恶。
雅各的叛逆在哪里呢?
岂不是在撒玛利亚吗?
犹大的丘坛在哪里呢?
岂不是在耶路撒冷吗?
“所以,我耶和华要使撒玛利亚沦为荒野的废墟,
成为种葡萄的地方。
我要把她的石头抛进山谷,
直到露出她的根基。
她所有的神像都要被打碎,
她所得的淫资都要化为灰烬;
我要毁灭她的一切偶像。
她以淫资得来的偶像,
也要被用作妓女的淫资。”

先知的哀伤

为此,我要痛哭哀号,
我要赤身光脚而行,
像豺狼哀嚎,
如鸵鸟悲鸣。
因为撒玛利亚的创伤无法救治,
已经祸及犹大,
直逼我百姓的城门,直逼耶路撒冷。
10 不要在迦特宣扬,
也不要哭泣,
要在伯·亚弗拉的灰尘中打滚。
11 沙斐的居民啊,
你们将赤身露体,
被羞辱地掳去。
撒南的居民不敢出城,
伯·以薛在痛哭,
你们已失去它的庇护。
12 玛律的居民痛苦不堪,
渴望得到拯救,
因为耶和华已把灾难降到耶路撒冷的城门。
13 拉吉的居民啊,
用骏马套车逃命吧!
是你们首先唆使锡安城犯罪,
在你们身上看到了以色列的罪恶。
14 去向摩利设·迦特赠送告别礼物吧!
亚革悉人必令以色列诸王受骗上当。
15 玛利沙的居民啊,
我要使征服者到你们那里。
以色列的领袖[a]要躲到亚杜兰。

16 犹大人啊,你们要剃光头发,
为你们所爱的儿女悲伤;
要剃得如秃鹰一样光秃,
因为他们要被掳到远方。

Footnotes

  1. 1:15 以色列的领袖”希伯来文是“以色列的荣耀”。

A message from the Lord came to Micah. He was from the town of Moresheth. The message came while Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This is the vision Micah saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Here is what he said.

Listen to me, all you nations!
    Earth and everyone who lives in it, pay attention!
The Lord and King will be a witness against you.
    The Lord will speak from his holy temple in heaven.

The Lord Will Judge Samaria and Jerusalem

The Lord is about to come down
    from his home in heaven.
    He rules over even the highest places on earth.
The mountains will melt under him
    like wax near a fire.
The valleys will be broken apart
    by water rushing down a slope.
All this will happen because
    Jacob’s people have done what is wrong.
The people of Israel
    have committed many sins.
Who is to blame
    for the wrong things Jacob has done?
    Samaria!
Who is to blame for the high places
    where Judah’s people worship other gods?
    Jerusalem!

So the Lord says,

“I will turn Samaria into a pile of trash.
    It will become a place for planting vineyards.
I will dump its stones down into the valley.
    And I will destroy it
    down to its very foundations.
All the statues of Samaria’s gods
    will be broken to pieces.
All the gifts its people gave to temple prostitutes
    will be burned with fire.
    I will destroy all the statues of its gods.
Samaria collected gifts that were paid to temple prostitutes.
    So the Assyrians will use the gifts
    to pay their own temple prostitutes.”

Micah Weeps Over His People

I will weep and mourn because Samaria will be destroyed.
    I’ll walk around barefoot and naked.
I’ll bark like a wild dog.
    I’ll hoot like an owl.
Samaria’s plague can’t be healed.
    The plague has spread to Judah.
It has spread right up to the gate of my people.
    It has spread to Jerusalem itself.
10 Don’t tell the people of Gath about it.
    Don’t let them see you weep.
    People in Beth Ophrah, roll in the dust.
11 You who live in the town of Shaphir,
    leave naked and in shame.
Those who live in Zaanan
    won’t come out to help you.
The people in Beth Ezel will mourn.
    They won’t be able to help keep you safe any longer.
12 Those who live in Maroth will groan with pain
    as they wait for help.
That’s because the Lord will bring trouble on them.
    It will reach the very gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
    get your fast horses ready to pull their chariots.
You trust in military power.
    Lachish was where sin began
    for the people of Zion.
The wrong things Israel did
    were also done by you.
14 People of Judah, you might as well say goodbye
    to Moresheth near Gath.
The town of Akzib won’t give any help
    to the kings of Israel.
15 An enemy will attack
    you who live in Mareshah.
Israel’s nobles will have to run away
    and hide in the cave of Adullam.
16 The children you enjoy so much
    will be taken away as prisoners.
So shave your heads and mourn.
    Make them as bare as the head of a vulture.

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.