Micah 1
World English Bible
1 Yahweh’s[a] word that came to Micah of Morasheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you!
Listen, O earth, and all that is therein.
Let the Lord[b] Yahweh be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold,[c] Yahweh comes out of his place,
and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains melt under him,
and the valleys split apart like wax before the fire,
like waters that are poured down a steep place.
5 “All this is for the disobedience of Jacob,
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the disobedience of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Aren’t they Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field,
like places for planting vineyards;
and I will pour down its stones into the valley,
and I will uncover its foundations.
7 All her idols will be beaten to pieces,
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire,
and I will destroy all her images;
for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them,
and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return.”
8 For this I will lament and wail.
I will go stripped and naked.
I will howl like the jackals
and mourn like the ostriches.
9 For her wounds are incurable;
for it has come even to Judah.
It reaches to the gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath.
Don’t weep at all.
At Beth Ophrah[d] I have rolled myself in the dust.
11 Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame.
The inhabitant of Zaanan won’t come out.
The wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you his protection.
12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good,
because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish.
She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion;
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath.
The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
15 I will yet bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
16 Shave your heads,
and cut off your hair for the children of your delight.
Enlarge your baldness like the vulture,
for they have gone into captivity from you!
Footnotes
- 1:1 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.
- 1:2 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
- 1:3 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
- 1:10 Beth Ophrah means literally “House of Dust.”
Micah 1
New Catholic Bible
A Trial of God against Israel
Chapter 1
1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth[a] during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and which he received in visions concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
I Will Reduce Samaria to a Ruin
2 Listen, all you peoples!
Give heed, O earth, and all who dwell in it.
Let the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
3 Take note that the Lord is leaving his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads upon the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt at his touch,
and the valleys are torn open,
like wax near a fire,
like water pouring down a hillside.
5 All this is the result
of the crime of Jacob
and the sins of Israel.
What is the crime of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what is the sin of the house of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore, I will reduce Samaria
to a ruin in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will hurl down her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.
7 All of her idols will be shattered,
all of her earnings will be consumed by fire,
and all of her statues I will lay waste.
For she amassed her gifts
from the wages of prostitution,[b]
and the earnings of a prostitute
they once more will become.
I Will Lament and Wail[c]
8 This is the reason why I will lament and wail,
why I will go barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and mourn like a desert owl.
9 There is no remedy for the wounds
that the Lord inflicts;
now the blow has fallen on Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
10 Do not announce it in Gath,
nor shed any tears.
In Beth-leaphrah
roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Begin your journey,
you inhabitants of Shaphir.
Those who dwell in Zaanan
have not left their city.
Beth-ezel is filled with lamentation
and no longer can offer you support.
12 The inhabitants of Maroth
are filled with despair.
For disaster has come down from the Lord
to the very gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots
you inhabitants of Lachish.
You first led the daughter of Zion into sin;
the crimes of Israel can be traced to you.
14 Therefore, you shall offer parting gifts
to Moresheth-gath.
Beth-achzib will prove to be deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again send a conqueror against you,
O inhabitants of Mareshah.
And the glory of Israel
shall be transferred to Adullam.
16 Shave your heads in mourning
for the children who were your delight.
Make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they have gone from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:1 We are in the period after 740 B.C., the time of the great threats to Samaria and Jerusalem. Moresheth was southwest of Jerusalem. Jotham reigned 738–736 B.C.; Ahaz: 736–721 B.C.; Hezekiah: 721–693 B.C.
- Micah 1:7 Wages of prostitution: the gifts left for the idols, according to custom, in Canaanite sanctuaries; the invaders will take these and use them, in the same way, in their own rituals.
- Micah 1:8 Micah weeps over his little homeland that has been ravaged by an Assyrian raid; the year is probably 701 B.C., and Sennacherib’s armies are on the march.
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