Micah 1
International Standard Version
God’s Coming Judgment
1 This message from the Lord came to Micah[a] of Moresheth during the reigns of[b] the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah concerning the vision he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem:
2 “Listen, people! All of you!
Earth! Pay attention, and all you inhabitants of it!
May the Lord God be a witness against you—
the Lord from his holy Temple.
3 Look here! The Lord is coming from his place!
He will come down
and will trample down the high places[c] throughout the land.
4 The mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax in the presence of fire
and like water gushing down a steep incline.
5 All this comes about due to the transgression of Jacob,
and due to the sins of the house of Israel.
What is Jacob’s sin? It’s Samaria, isn’t it?
And what’s Judah’s high place?[d] It’s Jerusalem, isn’t it?
6 “So I will turn Samaria into a mound of dirt in a field,
a place to plant vineyards.
And I will dump her building stones into the valley,
uncovering her foundation.
7 All of her carved images will be crushed to pieces,
all the earnings of her prostitution will be burned up,
and I will destroy all her idols;
because she collected the wages of prostitution,
and to the wages of prostitution they will return.”
The Coming Destruction
8 “Therefore I will cry out and grieve loudly;
I will walk around stripped and naked.
I will cry out like a jackal
and mourn like a company of ostriches.
9 For Samaria’s[e] injury is fatal,
reaching all the way to Judah,
extending even to the gate of my people—to Jerusalem.”
10 “Don’t discuss it in Gath![f]
Don’t cry bitterly in Akim![g]
Roll in the ashes, Beth-leaphrah!
11 Run away, you residents of Shaphir,
displaying your shameful nakedness.
Don’t come out, you residents of Zaanan![h]
Your firm standing will disappear as Beth-ezel mourns.
12 Even though the inhabitants of Maroth long for success,
nevertheless evil descended from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 “You inhabitants of Lachish, harness your chariot to your swiftest steed—
the daughter of Zion has begun to sin—
because within you the transgressions of Israel were revealed.
14 Therefore give your gifts to Moresheth-gath;
that is, the houses of Achzib as a deceitful symbol[i] to the kings of Israel.
15 Nevertheless, I will deliver an heir to you, inhabitants of Mareshah—
to Adullam the glory of Israel will come.
16 “Shave your head
and cut off your locks as you mourn your beloved children.
Make yourself bald as an eagle,
because they will go from you into exile!”
Notas al pie
- Micah 1:1 The Heb. name Micah means Who is like the Lord?
- Micah 1:1 Lit. days
- Micah 1:3 I.e. the sites of idol worship
- Micah 1:5 I.e. the sites of idol worship
- Micah 1:9 Lit. her
- Micah 1:10 A city in Philistia
- Micah 1:10 So LXX; MT reads Don’t cry at all
- Micah 1:11 A city of Judah
- Micah 1:14 Or a lie
Micah 1-4
International Standard Version
God’s Coming Judgment
1 This message from the Lord came to Micah[a] of Moresheth during the reigns of[b] the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah concerning the vision he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem:
2 “Listen, people! All of you!
Earth! Pay attention, and all you inhabitants of it!
May the Lord God be a witness against you—
the Lord from his holy Temple.
3 Look here! The Lord is coming from his place!
He will come down
and will trample down the high places[c] throughout the land.
4 The mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax in the presence of fire
and like water gushing down a steep incline.
5 All this comes about due to the transgression of Jacob,
and due to the sins of the house of Israel.
What is Jacob’s sin? It’s Samaria, isn’t it?
And what’s Judah’s high place?[d] It’s Jerusalem, isn’t it?
6 “So I will turn Samaria into a mound of dirt in a field,
a place to plant vineyards.
And I will dump her building stones into the valley,
uncovering her foundation.
7 All of her carved images will be crushed to pieces,
all the earnings of her prostitution will be burned up,
and I will destroy all her idols;
because she collected the wages of prostitution,
and to the wages of prostitution they will return.”
The Coming Destruction
8 “Therefore I will cry out and grieve loudly;
I will walk around stripped and naked.
I will cry out like a jackal
and mourn like a company of ostriches.
9 For Samaria’s[e] injury is fatal,
reaching all the way to Judah,
extending even to the gate of my people—to Jerusalem.”
10 “Don’t discuss it in Gath![f]
Don’t cry bitterly in Akim![g]
Roll in the ashes, Beth-leaphrah!
11 Run away, you residents of Shaphir,
displaying your shameful nakedness.
Don’t come out, you residents of Zaanan![h]
Your firm standing will disappear as Beth-ezel mourns.
12 Even though the inhabitants of Maroth long for success,
nevertheless evil descended from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 “You inhabitants of Lachish, harness your chariot to your swiftest steed—
the daughter of Zion has begun to sin—
because within you the transgressions of Israel were revealed.
14 Therefore give your gifts to Moresheth-gath;
that is, the houses of Achzib as a deceitful symbol[i] to the kings of Israel.
15 Nevertheless, I will deliver an heir to you, inhabitants of Mareshah—
to Adullam the glory of Israel will come.
16 “Shave your head
and cut off your locks as you mourn your beloved children.
Make yourself bald as an eagle,
because they will go from you into exile!”
God’s Warning to His People
2 “Woe to those who are crafting iniquity,
planning evil well into the night![j]
When morning’s light comes,
they carry out their plans[k] because they have the power to do so.
2 They covet fields and seize them;
they covet[l] houses, and grab them, too.
They harass the valiant man, along with his household,
an individual and his estate.
3 “Therefore this is what the Lord says,
‘I’m crafting evil against this family,
from which you can’t escape.[m]
You won’t strut around arrogantly,
because the times are evil.’
4 “When this happens,[n] someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully,
‘We are completely ruined!
He has given my people’s heritage to others.[o]
How he has removed it from me,
dividing up our fields!’
5 “This is why there will not be left even a single person
to settle boundary disputes[p] in the Lord’s community.
6 To those who speak out, they will declare,
‘Don’t prophesy to anyone!’
so their shame won’t go away.
7 “It is said, house of Jacob,
‘The Spirit of the Lord is limited,
if he acts this way, is he not?’
“But my words benefit those who live righteously, do they not?
8 Lately my people have acted like an enemy—
you strip travelers who thought they were[q] as secure
as those who return from war.
9 You have evicted the wives of my people from their dream homes;
you have removed my majesty from their children permanently.
10 “Get up and go,
because there’s no rest for you here!
Since everything[r] is polluted, it can only cause destruction,
even heavy destruction.
11 Suppose a man who keeps company with a deceiving spirit prophesies like this:
‘Drink wine and strong drink!’
Won’t the people accept him as a prophet?”
The Coming Judgment
12 “Jacob, how I will surely gather all of you!
How I will gather the survivors of Israel!
I will gather them together like sheep in a pen,[s]
like the flock in the midst of the sheepfold.
There will be a great commotion because of all[t] the people.
13 God will stand up and break through[u] in their presence.
Then they will pass through the gate, going out by it.
Their king will pass in front of them
with the Lord at their head.”
3 “He will say, ‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel!
You should know justice, should you not?—
2 you who despise good and love evil,
who tear off the skin of my people,[v]
along with the flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh of my people,
flaying their skin from them.
You break their bones,
chopping them in pieces like meat[w] for a pot,
like meat destined for a soup kettle.’
4 “Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not listen to them.
In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they were so wicked in what they were doing.”
God’s Judgment against False Prophets
5 “This is what the Lord says about the prophets
who are causing my people to go astray,
who are calling out ‘Peace’ when they’re being fed,[x]
but who declare war against those who won’t feed them:[y]
6 ‘You will have nights without visions,
and darkness without prophecy.
The sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will darken for them.
7 Those who see visions will be put to shame,
and the diviners will be disgraced—every one of them—
they will cover their faces,[z]
because there will be no answer from God.’”
The Message of God’s Prophet
8 “As for me, I am truly filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord,
filled[aa] with judgment and power
to announce to Jacob his transgression,
and to Israel his sin.
9 Please listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel,
you who hate administering justice,
who pervert the very meaning of[ab] equity,
10 who are building up Zion by means of bloodshed,
and Jerusalem by means of iniquity.
11 Her leaders judge for the money,
her priests teach only when they’re paid,
and her prophets prophesy for cash.
Even so, don’t they all rely on the Lord as they ask,
‘The Lord is among us, is he not?
Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!’
12 “Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the Temple Mount like a forest high place.”
The Future Reign of God
4 “But in the last days it will come about
that the Temple Mount of the Lord will be firmly set
as the leading mountain.
It will be exalted above its surrounding[ac] hills,
and people will stream toward it.
2 Many nations will approach and say,
‘Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to the Temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways,
and we will walk according to his directions.’
“Indeed, the Law will proceed from Zion,
and the message of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he will judge among many people,
rebuking strong nations far away;
and they will reshape their swords as plowshares
and their spears as pruning hooks.
No nation will threaten another,[ad]
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Instead, each man will sit in the shade of[ae] his grape vines
and beneath the shade of[af] his fig tree,”
since the[ag] Lord of the Heavenly Armies has spoken.
5 “Because all of the people will walk,
each person in the name of his God,
and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
6 “At that time,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble the lame;
and I will gather those whom I have scattered,
along with those whom I have afflicted.
7 I will transform the lame into survivors,
and those who were scattered into a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion,
now and forever.”
Zion’s Captivity
8 “And you, watchtower of the flock,
you stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
it will happen even to you:
The former dominion, even the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem, will come.
9 Why are you crying so loud now?
There’s no king among you, is there?
Perhaps your advisor has died?
For pain has overtaken you like a woman in labor.
10 Be in pain! Be in labor, you daughter of Zion,
like a woman about to give birth,
because now you will depart from the city,
living in the open fields.
To Babylon you will go.
There you will be delivered,
there the Lord will rescue you from the power[ah] of your enemies.”
The Nations Despise Zion
11 “Now many nations have gathered against you, saying,
‘Let her be defiled,’ and
‘Let’s look down on Zion.’
12 But they don’t know the thoughts of the Lord,
and they don’t understand his tactics,
for he will gather them like harvested grain to his threshing floor.
13 Get up and smash[ai] them to pieces, daughter of Zion,
because I will make your horn like iron
and your hooves like bronze!
And you will beat many people to pieces,
and I will consecrate their dishonest[aj] gain to the Lord
and their assets to the Lord of the entire earth.”
Notas al pie
- Micah 1:1 The Heb. name Micah means Who is like the Lord?
- Micah 1:1 Lit. days
- Micah 1:3 I.e. the sites of idol worship
- Micah 1:5 I.e. the sites of idol worship
- Micah 1:9 Lit. her
- Micah 1:10 A city in Philistia
- Micah 1:10 So LXX; MT reads Don’t cry at all
- Micah 1:11 A city of Judah
- Micah 1:14 Or a lie
- Micah 2:1 Lit. evil upon their beds
- Micah 2:1 The Heb. lacks their plans
- Micah 2:2 The Heb. lacks they covet
- Micah 2:3 Lit. can’t remove your necks
- Micah 2:4 Lit. In that day
- Micah 2:4 The Heb. lacks to others
- Micah 2:5 Lit. to stretch out a measuring line
- Micah 2:8 The Heb. lacks thought they were
- Micah 2:10 Lit. it
- Micah 2:12 Or sheep of Bozrah
- Micah 2:12 The Heb. lacks all
- Micah 2:13 Lit. The one who breaks through will arise
- Micah 3:2 The Heb. lacks of my people
- Micah 3:3 The Heb. lacks meat
- Micah 3:5 Lit. who bite with their teeth, crying out “Peace”
- Micah 3:5 Lit. against him who puts nothing in their mouths
- Micah 3:7 Lit. beard
- Micah 3:8 The Heb. lacks filled
- Micah 3:9 Lit. pervert all
- Micah 4:1 The Heb. lacks surrounding
- Micah 4:3 Lit. A nation will not lift up a sword against a nation
- Micah 4:4 Lit. sit under
- Micah 4:4 The Heb. lacks the shade of
- Micah 4:4 Lit. the mouth of the
- Micah 4:10 Lit. hand
- Micah 4:13 Lit. thresh
- Micah 4:13 The Heb. lacks dishonest
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
