Micah 1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 1
1 The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
I. Oracles of Punishment
2 Hear, O peoples, all of you,
give heed, O earth, and all that is in it!(A)
Let the Lord God be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple![a]
3 For see, the Lord goes out from his place(B)
and descending, treads upon the heights of the earth.[b]
4 The mountains melt under him
and the valleys split open,
Like wax before the fire,
like water poured down a slope.
5 All this is for the crime of Jacob,
for the sins of the house of Israel.[c]
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 So I will make Samaria a ruin in the field,
a place to plant vineyards;
I will throw its stones into the valley,
and lay bare its foundations.[d]
7 All its carved figures shall be broken to pieces,(C)
all its wages shall be burned in the fire,
and all its idols I will destroy.
As the wages of a prostitute[e] it gathered them,
and to the wages of a prostitute they shall return.
8 [f]For this I will lament and wail,
go barefoot and naked;
I will utter lamentation like the jackals,
mourning like the ostriches,(D)
9 For her wound is incurable;
it has come even to Judah.
It has reached to the gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
10 [g]Do not announce it in Gath,
do not weep at all;
In Beth-leaphrah
roll in the dust.(E)
11 Pass by,
you who dwell in Shaphir!
The inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come forth from their city.
There is lamentation in Beth-ezel.
It will withdraw its support from you.
12 The inhabitants of Maroth
hope for good,
But evil has come down from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of Lachish;
You are the beginning of sin
for daughter Zion,
For in you were found
the crimes of Israel.
14 Therefore you must give back the dowry
to Moresheth-gath;
The houses of Achzib[h] are a dry stream bed
to the kings of Israel.
15 Again I will bring the conqueror to you,
inhabitants of Mareshah;
The glory of Israel shall come
even to Adullam.
16 Make yourself bald, cut off your hair,
for the children whom you cherish;
Make yourself bald as a vulture,
for they are taken from you into exile.[i]
Footnotes
- 1:2 The prophet summons all the peoples to hear the divine accusations against them. What follows in 1:2–3:12 is a series of prophecies of punishment addressed to the capital cities of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, Samaria and Jerusalem. The prophecies indict the leaders and main officials, including prophets. Because of the corruption and selfishness of their leaders, Samaria and Jerusalem will fall to their enemies.
- 1:3 The Lord comes in a theophany which has devastating effects on the natural world (1:4).
- 1:5 Although the summons (1:2) had been addressed to all people, the Lord speaks against Israel and Judah, identifying their crimes with the respective capital cities of Samaria and Jerusalem. Only Samaria, however, is scheduled for destruction in the announcement of punishment (vv. 6–7).
- 1:6 The punishment of Samaria will be a military disaster such as the one that actually came at the hands of the Assyrian army in 722/721 B.C.
- 1:7 The wages of a prostitute: as often in the prophets, prostitution is a metaphor for idolatry (Hos 1–3; 4:14). They shall return: i.e., Samaria’s idols shall come to nothing just as the wages of a prostitute are counted as nothing.
- 1:8–16 The prophet laments and wails, singing a funeral song or dirge over the city of Jerusalem. Finally (1:16) he calls upon the people of Jerusalem to join in the mourning.
- 1:10–15 Not all of the cities and villages in this long list can be located with certainty. However, those which can be identified, including the prophet’s hometown, lie southwest of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew, wordplays on the names of these cities abound. The territory involved corresponds to that decimated by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 B.C., during the reign of Hezekiah. Do not weep at all: some commentators and translators understand the Hebrew differently. They argue that the translation “in (unknown place name) weep!” fits the context better.
- 1:14 The houses of Achzib: there is a wordplay here. In the Hebrew, the word translated here as “dry stream bed” is ’achzab; this word is sometimes translated as “deception” or “disappointment.”
- 1:16 Shaving the head was a sign of mourning; cf. Is 3:24; Am 8:10.
Micah 1
King James Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.
7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.
12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.
13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
Micah 1
English Standard Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah (A)of Moresheth (B)in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw (C)concerning (D)Samaria and Jerusalem.
The Coming Destruction
2 (E)Hear, you peoples, all of you;[a]
(F)pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and (G)let the Lord God be a witness against you,
(H)the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold, (I)the Lord is coming out of (J)his place,
and will come down and (K)tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And (L)the mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for (M)the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
(N)What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not (O)Samaria?
And what is (P)the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make (Q)Samaria (R)a heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones (S)into the valley
and (T)uncover her foundations.
7 All (U)her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
(V)all her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste,
for from (W)the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
8 (X)For this I will lament and wail;
I will go (Y)stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation (Z)like the jackals,
and mourning (AA)like the ostriches.
9 (AB)For her wound is incurable,
and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.
10 (AC)Tell it not in (AD)Gath;
weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
(AE)roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way,
inhabitants of Shaphir,
(AF)in nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come out;
the lamentation of Beth-ezel
shall take away from you its standing place.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
wait anxiously for good,
because disaster has come down (AG)from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of (AH)Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
(AI)the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts[b]
to (AJ)Moresheth-gath;
the houses of (AK)Achzib shall be a deceitful thing
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring (AL)a conqueror to you,
inhabitants of (AM)Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to (AN)Adullam.
16 (AO)Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
for the children of your delight;
(AP)make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they shall go from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:2 Hebrew all of them
- Micah 1:14 Or give dowry
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
