Micah 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Calamity in Israel and Judah
1 The (A)word of [a]Yahweh which came to (B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz, and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he beheld concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of [b]you;
(F)Give heed, O earth, as well as its fullness,
And let Lord Yahweh be a (G)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, Yahweh is (H)going forth from His place.
He will come down and (I)tread on the high places of the [c]earth.
4 (J)The mountains will melt under Him,
And the valleys will be split,
Like wax before the fire,
Like water poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the (K)transgression of Jacob?
Is it not (L)Samaria?
What is the (M)high [d]place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 So I will make Samaria a (N)heap of ruins in the field,
(O)Planting places for a vineyard.
And I will (P)pour her stones down into the valley
And will (Q)lay bare her foundations.
7 And all of her (R)graven images will be smashed,
And all of her earnings will be burned with fire
And all of her idols I will make desolate,
For she collected them from a (S)harlot’s earnings,
And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.
8 Because of this I must lament and wail;
I must go (T)barefoot and naked;
I must make a lament like the (U)jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her [e](V)wound is incurable,
For (W)it has come to Judah;
It has reached the (X)gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.
10 (Y)Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all.
At [f]Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.
11 [g]Pass on by, inhabitant of [h]Shaphir, in (Z)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of [i](AA)Zaanan does not go out.
The lamentation of [j]Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its [k]support.”
12 For the inhabitant of [l]Maroth
Writhes (AB)in waiting for good
Because a [m]calamity has come down from Yahweh
To the (AC)gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
O inhabitant of (AD)Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the daughter of Zion—
Because in you were found
The (AE)transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting (AF)gifts
On behalf of [n]Moresheth-gath;
The houses of [o](AG)Achzib will become a (AH)deception
To the kings of Israel.
15 Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of [p](AI)Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will enter (AJ)Adullam.
16 Make yourself (AK)bald and cut off your hair,
Because of the children of your delight;
Extend your baldness like the eagle,
For they will (AL)go from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Micah 1:2 Lit them
- Micah 1:3 Or land
- Micah 1:5 Lit places
- Micah 1:9 Lit wounds are
- Micah 1:10 Lit house of dust
- Micah 1:11 Go into captivity
- Micah 1:11 Lit pleasantness
- Micah 1:11 Lit going out
- Micah 1:11 Lit house of removal
- Micah 1:11 Lit standing place
- Micah 1:12 Lit bitterness
- Micah 1:12 Lit evil
- Micah 1:14 Lit possession of Gath
- Micah 1:14 Lit deception
- Micah 1:15 Lit to take possession
Micah 1
Common English Bible
The Lord is coming!
1 The Lord’s word that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Judah’s Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:
2 Listen, all you peoples!
Pay attention, earth, and all that fills it!
May the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
3 Look! The Lord is coming out from his place;
he will go down and tread on the shrines of the earth.
4 Then the mountains will melt under him;
the valleys will split apart,
like wax yielding to the fire,
like waters poured down a slope.
5 All this is for the crime of Jacob
and the sins of the house of Israel.
Who is responsible for the crime of Jacob?[a]
Isn’t it Samaria?
Who is responsible for[b] the shrines of Judah?
Isn’t it Jerusalem?
6 So I will make Samaria a pile of rubble in the open field,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley;
her foundations I will lay bare.
7 All her images will be beaten to pieces;
all her wages will be burned;
I will make all her idols worthless.
Since she gathered them from the wages of a prostitute,
they will again become wages of a prostitute.
8 On account of this, I will cry out and howl;
I will go about barefoot and stripped.
I will cry out like the jackals,
and mourn like the ostriches.
Destruction looms
9 Indeed, Zion has been weakened by her wounds!
It has come as far as Judah;
he has struck as far as the gate of my people,
as far as Jerusalem.
10 In Gath tell it not; no need to weep there![c]
In Beth-le-aphrah, roll yourself in the dust!
11 Pass by (for your sake),[d] inhabitants of Shaphir!
In nakedness and shame she will not go out, inhabitants of Zaanan.
The cry of Beth-ezel
will take away from you[e] any place to stand.
12 How she longs for good, inhabitants of Maroth!
Calamity has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariot, inhabitants of Lachish!
It was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion;
the crimes of Israel have been found in you.
14 Therefore, you will give good-bye gifts to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib have become a deception for the kings of Israel.
15 Again I will bring to you the one who conquers, inhabitants of Mareshah;
the glory of Israel will come as far as Adullam.
16 Make yourself bald and cut off your hair
because of your cherished children!
Make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they have gone from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:5 Heb lacks responsible for.
- Micah 1:5 Heb lacks responsible for.
- Micah 1:10 Heb lacks there.
- Micah 1:11 You (plural)
- Micah 1:11 You (feminine singular)
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