Micah 1
World English Bible
1 Yahweh’s[a] word that came to Micah the Morashtite 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:
and 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,
and all her temple gifts will be burned with fire,
and all her images I will destroy;
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 moan like the daughters of owls.
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 to you, inhabitant of Mareshah, him who will possess you.
He who is 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 Living Translation
1 The Lord gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.
Grief over Samaria and Jerusalem
2 Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!
Let the earth and everything in it hear.
The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you;
the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
3 Look! The Lord is coming!
He leaves his throne in heaven
and tramples the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath his feet
and flow into the valleys
like wax in a fire,
like water pouring down a hill.
5 And why is this happening?
Because of the rebellion of Israel[a]—
yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
Samaria, its capital city!
Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
In Jerusalem, its capital!
6 “So I, the Lord, will make the city of Samaria
a heap of ruins.
Her streets will be plowed up
for planting vineyards.
I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below,
exposing her foundations.
7 All her carved images will be smashed.
All her sacred treasures will be burned.
These things were bought with the money
earned by her prostitution,
and they will now be carried away
to pay prostitutes elsewhere.”
8 Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For my people’s wound
is too deep to heal.
It has reached into Judah,
even to the gates of Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell our enemies in Gath[b];
don’t weep at all.
You people in Beth-leaphrah,[c]
roll in the dust to show your despair.
11 You people in Shaphir,[d]
go as captives into exile—naked and ashamed.
The people of Zaanan[e]
dare not come outside their walls.
The people of Beth-ezel[f] mourn,
for their house has no support.
12 The people of Maroth[g] anxiously wait for relief,
but only bitterness awaits them
as the Lord’s judgment reaches
even to the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Harness your chariot horses and flee,
you people of Lachish.[h]
You were the first city in Judah
to follow Israel in her rebellion,
and you led Jerusalem[i] into sin.
14 Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath[j];
there is no hope of saving it.
The town of Aczib[k]
has deceived the kings of Israel.
15 O people of Mareshah,[l]
I will bring a conqueror to capture your town.
And the leaders[m] of Israel
will go to Adullam.
16 Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow,
for the children you love will be snatched away.
Make yourselves as bald as a vulture,
for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands.
Footnotes
- 1:5 Hebrew Jacob; also in 1:5b. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 1:10a Gath sounds like the Hebrew term for “tell.”
- 1:10b Beth-leaphrah means “house of dust.”
- 1:11a Shaphir means “pleasant.”
- 1:11b Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew term for “come out.”
- 1:11c Beth-ezel means “adjoining house.”
- 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew term for “bitter.”
- 1:13a Lachish sounds like the Hebrew term for “team of horses.”
- 1:13b Hebrew the daughter of Zion.
- 1:14a Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew term for “gift” or “dowry.”
- 1:14b Aczib means “deception.”
- 1:15a Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew term for “conqueror.”
- 1:15b Hebrew the glory.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
