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
International Children’s Bible
Samaria and Israel to Be Punished
1 Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. During the time they were kings, the word of the Lord came to Micah, who was from Moresheth. He saw these visions about Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear this, all you nations.
Listen, all you who live on the earth.
The Lord God will come from his Holy Temple.
He will come as a witness against you.
3 See, the Lord is coming out of his place in heaven.
He is coming down to walk on the tops of the mountains.
4 The mountains will melt under him
like wax in a fire.
The valleys will crack open
as if split by water raging down a mountain.
5 This is because of Jacob’s sin.
It is because of the sins of the nation of Israel.
Who is responsible for Jacob’s sin?
Samaria!
Who is responsible for Judah’s worshiping idols?
Jerusalem!
The Lord Speaks
6 “So I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country.
It will be like a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour Samaria’s stones down into the valley.
And I will destroy her down to her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken into pieces.
All the gifts to her idols will be burned with fire.
I will destroy all her idols.
This is because Samaria earned her money by being unfaithful to me.
So this money will be carried off by other people who are not faithful to me.”
Micah’s Great Sadness
8 I will moan and cry because of this evil.
I will go around barefoot and without clothes.
I will cry loudly like the wild dogs.
I will cry like the ostriches.
9 I will do this because Samaria’s wound cannot be healed.
Her destruction will spread to Judah.
It will reach the city gate of my people.
It will come all the way to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath.[a]
Don’t cry in Acco.[b]
Cry and roll in the dust
at Beth Ophrah.[c]
11 Pass on your way, naked and ashamed,
you who live in Shaphir.[d]
Those who live in Zaanan[e]
won’t come out to help you.
The people in Beth Ezel[f] will cry.
But they will not give you any support.
12 Those who live in Maroth[g]
will be anxious for good news to come.
This is because trouble will come from the Lord.
It will come all the way to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You people living in Lachish,[h]
harness the fastest horse to the chariot.
Jerusalem’s sins started in you.
This is because you followed in Israel’s sins.
14 So you must give farewell gifts
to Moresheth[i] in Gath.
The houses in Aczib[j] will be false help
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring an enemy against you
who live in Mareshah.[k]
He will take what you own.
The leaders Israel brags about
will hide in the cave at Adullam.
16 Cut off your hair to show you are sad.
Cry for the children you love.
Make yourself bald like the eagle,
because your children will be forced to live in a foreign land.
Footnotes
- 1:10 Gath This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “tell.”
- 1:10 Acco This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “cry.”
- 1:10 Beth Ophrah This name means “house of dust.”
- 1:11 Shaphir This name means “beautiful.”
- 1:11 Zanaan This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “come out.”
- 1:11 Beth Ezel This name means “house by the side of another,” suggesting help or support.
- 1:12 Maroth This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “sad” or “miserable.”
- 1:13 Lachish This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “horses.”
- 1:14 Moresheth This may be a wordplay on the word “engaged,” referring to a farewell gift to a bride.
- 1:14 Aczib This name means “lie” or “trick.”
- 1:15 Mareshah This name sounds like the Hebrew word for a person who captures other cities and lands.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
