Micah 1:8-16
New Living Translation
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[a];
don’t weep at all.
You people in Beth-leaphrah,[b]
roll in the dust to show your despair.
11 You people in Shaphir,[c]
go as captives into exile—naked and ashamed.
The people of Zaanan[d]
dare not come outside their walls.
The people of Beth-ezel[e] mourn,
for their house has no support.
12 The people of Maroth[f] 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.[g]
You were the first city in Judah
to follow Israel in her rebellion,
and you led Jerusalem[h] into sin.
14 Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath[i];
there is no hope of saving it.
The town of Aczib[j]
has deceived the kings of Israel.
15 O people of Mareshah,[k]
I will bring a conqueror to capture your town.
And the leaders[l] 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
- 1:10a 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.
Micah 1:8-16
Christian Standard Bible
Micah’s Lament
8 Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.(A)
I will howl like the jackals(B)
and mourn like ostriches.[a]
9 For her wound is incurable(C)
and has reached even Judah;(D)
it has approached my people’s city gate,(E)
as far as Jerusalem.
10 Don’t announce it in Gath,(F)
don’t weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
11 Depart in shameful nakedness,(G)
you residents of Shaphir;
the residents of Zaanan(H) will not come out.
Beth-ezel is lamenting;
its support[b] is taken from you.
12 Though the residents of Maroth
anxiously wait for something good,(I)
disaster has come from the Lord(J)
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.(K)
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion
because Israel’s acts of rebellion(L) can be traced to you.
14 Therefore, send farewell gifts(M) to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib(N) are a deception(O)
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror
against you who live in Mareshah.(P)
The nobility[c] of Israel will come to Adullam.(Q)
16 Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair(R)
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.(S)
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.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.