Add parallel Print Page Options

The Lord gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.

Read full chapter

18 They said, “Remember when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah,

‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;
    Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights
    where the Temple now stands.’[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 26:18 Mic 3:12.

These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He saw these visions during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 These kings reigned from 792 to 686 B.c.

The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant spelling of Jehoash.

This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash,[a] was king of Israel.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant spelling of Jehoash.

Jotham Rules in Judah

27 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

Jotham did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done, except that Jotham did not sin by entering the Temple of the Lord. But the people continued in their corrupt ways.

Jotham rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple of the Lord. He also did extensive rebuilding on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He built towns in the hill country of Judah and constructed fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. Jotham went to war against the Ammonites and conquered them. Over the next three years he received from them an annual tribute of 7,500 pounds[a] of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley.[b]

King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God.

The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and other activities, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. When Jotham died, he was buried in the City of David. And his son Ahaz became the next king.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 27:5a Hebrew 100 talents [3,400 kilograms].
  2. 27:5b Hebrew 10,000 cors [2,200 kiloliters] of wheat, and 10,000 cors of barley.

14 Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath[a];
    there is no hope of saving it.
The town of Aczib[b]
    has deceived the kings of Israel.
15 O people of Mareshah,[c]
    I will bring a conqueror to capture your town.
And the leaders[d] of Israel
    will go to Adullam.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:14a Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew term for “gift” or “dowry.”
  2. 1:14b Aczib means “deception.”
  3. 1:15a Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew term for “conqueror.”
  4. 1:15b Hebrew the glory.

And why is this happening?
    Because of the rebellion of Israel[a]
    yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
    Samaria, its capital city!
Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
    In Jerusalem, its capital!

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:5 Hebrew Jacob; also in 1:5b. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.

What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem,[a]
    and you who feel secure in Samaria!
You are famous and popular in Israel,
    and people go to you for help.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 6:1 Hebrew in Zion.

Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:

“From among all the families on the earth,
    I have been intimate with you alone.
That is why I must punish you
    for all your sins.”

Read full chapter

God’s Judgment on Judah and Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They have rejected the instruction of the Lord,
    refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies
    that deceived their ancestors.
So I will send down fire on Judah,
    and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
    and poor people for a pair of sandals.
They trample helpless people in the dust
    and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
    corrupting my holy name.
At their religious festivals,
    they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,[a]
    they drink wine bought with unjust fines.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2:8 Or their God.

12 [a]The people of Israel[b] feed on the wind;
    they chase after the east wind all day long.
They pile up lies and violence;
    they are making an alliance with Assyria
    while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.

Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah.
    He is about to punish Jacob[c] for all his deceitful ways,
    and pay him back for all he has done.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 12:1a Verses 12:1-14 are numbered 12:2-15 in Hebrew text.
  2. 12:1b Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 12:8, 14.
  3. 12:2 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew word for “deceiver.”

14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and built great palaces,
    and Judah has fortified its cities.
Therefore, I will send down fire on their cities
    and will burn up their fortresses.”

Read full chapter

10 Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel:
    My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!

11 “O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you,
    though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.

Read full chapter

“The arrogance of Israel testifies against her;
    Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt.
    Judah, too, will fall with them.
When they come with their flocks and herds
    to offer sacrifices to the Lord,
they will not find him,
    because he has withdrawn from them.
They have betrayed the honor of the Lord,
    bearing children that are not his.
Now their false religion will devour them
    along with their wealth.[a]

“Sound the alarm in Gibeah!
    Blow the trumpet in Ramah!
Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven[b]!
    Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin!
One thing is certain, Israel[c]:
    On your day of punishment,
    you will become a heap of rubble.

10 “The leaders of Judah have become like thieves.[d]
    So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall.
11 The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment
    because they are determined to worship idols.[e]
12 I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool.
    I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.

13 “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were,
    Israel turned to Assyria—
to the great king there—
    but he could neither help nor cure them.
14 I will be like a lion to Israel,
    like a strong young lion to Judah.
    I will tear them to pieces!
I will carry them off,
    and no one will be left to rescue them.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 5:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  2. 5:8 Beth-aven means “house of wickedness”; it is being used as another name for Bethel, which means “house of God.”
  3. 5:9 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 5:11, 12, 13, 14.
  4. 5:10 Hebrew like those who move a boundary marker.
  5. 5:11 Or determined to follow human commands. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

15 “Though you, Israel, are a prostitute,
    may Judah not be guilty of such things.
Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven,[a]
    and do not take oaths there in the Lord’s name.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 4:15 Beth-aven means “house of wickedness”; it is being used as another name for Bethel, which means “house of God.”

Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria,
    and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.
Unless your faith is firm,
    I cannot make you stand firm.”

Read full chapter

This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends