Micah 1
Expanded Bible
Samaria and Israel to Be Punished
1 During the time that Jotham [C ruled 758–743 bc], Ahaz [C ruled 743–727 bc], and Hezekiah [C ruled 727–698 bc] were kings of Judah, the word of the Lord came to Micah, who was from Moresheth [C a town in southern Judah]. He saw these visions about Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear this, all you ·nations [peoples];
listen, earth and all you who live on it.
The Lord God will ·be a witness [bring charges] against you,
the Lord from his Holy Temple.
3 See, the Lord is coming out of his place;
he is coming down to ·walk on [tread upon] the ·tops of the mountains [heights of the earth].
4 The mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will ·crack open [split apart],
like wax near a fire,
like water running down a hillside.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s ·sin [rebellion; transgression],
because of the sins of the ·nation [L house] of Israel.
What is ·the place of Jacob’s sin [L Jacob’s trangression]?
Isn’t it Samaria [C the capital of the northern empire]?
What is Judah’s ·place of idol worship [L high place; C a pagan worship site]?
Isn’t it Jerusalem [C Judah’s sin made the temple in Jerusalem no better than a pagan temple]?
The Lord Speaks
6 “So I will make Samaria a ·pile [heap] of ruins in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones down into the valley
and ·strip her down to [lay bare; uncover] her foundations.
7 All her ·idols [carved images] will be broken into pieces;
all the ·gifts to her idols [L prostitute’s wages] will be burned with fire.
I will ·destroy [make desolate] all her idols,
and because Samaria ·earned her money [or gathered these things] by ·being unfaithful to me [prostituting herself],
·this money will be carried off by others who are not faithful to me [L to the pay of the prostitute they will return; C Samaria’s wealth earned through idolatry would now go to the pagan temples of Assyria—one prostitute’s wages going to another].”
Micah’s Great Sadness
8 I will ·moan and cry [mourn and wail] because of this evil,
going around barefoot and naked.
I will ·cry loudly [wail] like ·the wild dogs [jackals]
and ·make sad sounds [moan] like the ·owls [or ostriches] do,
9 because Samaria’s wound ·cannot be healed [is incurable].
It ·will spread [or has spread] to Judah;
it ·will reach [or has reached] the city gate of my people [C where the city’s affairs were conducted],
all the way to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath [C sounds like Hebrew for “tell”; Gath and the cities in this list were in Assyria’s path of destruction in 701 bc].
Don’t cry ·in Acco [or at all; C the Hebrew for “cry” sounds like Acco].
Roll in the dust
at Beth Ophrah [C “house of dust”].
11 Pass on your way, naked and ashamed,
you who live in Shaphir [C “beautiful” or “pleasant”].
Those who live in Zaanan [C sounds like Hebrew for “come out”]
won’t come out.
The people in Beth Ezel [C “house of nearness”] ·will cry [are in mourning],
but they will not give you any support.
12 Those who live in Maroth [C sounds like Hebrew for “sad” or “miserable”]
·will be anxious [hope] for good news to come,
because ·trouble [disaster] ·will [or has] come from the Lord,
all the way to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You people living in Lachish [C a large town in Judah; Lachish sounds like the Hebrew for “horse” or “steed”],
harness the fastest ·horses [steeds] to the chariot.
·Jerusalem’s [L Daughter of Zion’s; C the location of the Temple] sins ·started in [began with] you;
yes, Israel’s ·sins [transgressions; rebellion] were found in you.
14 So you must give ·farewell gifts [a dowry]
to Moresheth in Gath.
The houses in Aczib [C “deception”] ·will be false help
to [or have deceived/betrayed] the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring against you people who will ·take [possess; conquer] your land,
you who live in Mareshah [C sounds like Hebrew for “conqueror”].
The ·glory [or nobles; leaders] of Israel
will go in to Adullam [C perhaps to hide in its caves].
16 ·Cut off your hair [Shave your head; Make yourself bald; C a sign of mourning or sadness]
for the children ·you love [in whom you delight].
Make yourself bald like the eagle,
because your children will be taken away ·to a foreign land [in exile/captivity].
Micah 1
Amplified Bible
Destruction in Israel and Judah
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw [through divine revelation] concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2
Hear, O peoples, all of you;
Listen closely, O earth and all that is in it,
And let the Lord God be witness [giving a testimony of the judgment] against you,
The Lord from His holy temple [in the heavens].(A)
3
For behold, the Lord is coming down from His place
He shall come down and tread [in judgment] on the high places of the earth.(B)
4
The mountains shall melt under Him
And the valleys shall be split
Like wax before the fire,
Like waters poured down a steep place.
5
All this is because of the rebellion and apostasy of [a]Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom).
What is the rebellion and apostasy of Jacob?
Is it not [the abandonment of God in order to worship the idols of] Samaria?
What are the high places [of idolatry] in Judah (the Southern Kingdom)?
Are they not Jerusalem [the capital and center of corruption]?
6
Therefore I [the Lord] shall make Samaria a [b]heap of ruins [and of stones and arable land] in the open country,
A place for planting vineyards;
And I will pour her stones down into the ravine
And lay bare her foundations.(C)
7
All her idols shall be broken in pieces,
All her earnings [from her idolatry] shall be burned with fire,
And all her images I shall make desolate;
For from the earnings of a prostitute she collected them,
And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return.
8
Because of this I [Micah] must lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) and wail,
I must go barefoot and naked [without outer garments as if robbed];
I must wail like the jackals
And lament [with a loud, mournful cry] like the ostriches.
9
For Samaria’s wound is incurable,
For it has come to Judah;
The enemy has reached the gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.
10
[c]Announce it not in Gath [in Philistia],
Weep not at all [and in this way betray your grief to Gentiles];
In Beth-le-aphrah (House of Dust) roll in the dust [among your own people].
11
Go on your way [into exile—stripped of beauty, disarmed], inhabitants of Shaphir (Beautiful), in shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of Zaanan (Go Out) does not go out [of the house];
The wailing of Beth-ezel (House of Removal) will take away from you its support.
12
For the inhabitant of Maroth (Bitterness)
Writhes in pain [at its losses] and waits anxiously for good,
Because a catastrophe has come down from the Lord
To the gate of Jerusalem.
13
Harness the chariot to the team of horses [to escape the invasion],
O inhabitant of Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)—
Because in you were found
The rebellious acts of Israel.
14
Therefore you will give parting gifts
On behalf of Moresheth-gath (Micah’s home);
The houses of Achzib (Place of Deceit) will become a deception
To the kings of Israel.
15
Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of Mareshah (Prominent Place).
The glory (nobility) of Israel will enter Adullam [seeking refuge].(D)
16
Make yourself bald [in mourning]—shave off your hair
For the children of your delight;
Remain as bald as the eagle,
For your children will be taken from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:5 I.e. an alternate name for Israel. The capital city was Samaria.
- Micah 1:6 Omri king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom—the ten tribes) purchased the hill on which he built Samaria, his capital city, for two talents of silver. It served both as a center for the worship of idols and as the capital of Israel until it was captured by Sargon king of Assyria in 721 b.c. This victory marked the end of the kingdom of the ten tribes.
- Micah 1:10 Micah uses a play on words as he denounces the cities in vv 10-15.
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