Micah 1
Lexham English Bible
The Impending Doom of Samaria and Jerusalem
1 The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, that he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:
2 Hear, all you peoples;
give heed, O earth and its fullness.
And let the Lord Yahweh be against you as a witness,
the Lord from his holy temple.[a]
3 For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place,
and he will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will burst open,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob,
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem?
6 So I will make Samaria as a heap of rubble in the field,
a place for planting a vineyard.
And I will pour down her stones into the valley
and uncover her foundations.
7 Then all her idols will be broken in pieces,
and all her prostitution wages will be burned in the fire,
and all her idols I will make a desolation,
For from the wage of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the wage of a prostitute they will return.
8 On account of this I will lament and wail.
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will make a lamentation like the jackals,
and a mourning ceremony like the ostriches.[b]
9 For her wounds are incurable,
because it has come to Judah.
It has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.
10 Do not tell it in Gath;
you must not weep at all.
In Beth-le-Aphrah
roll yourself in dust.
11 Pass on, you inhabitants of Shaphir,
in naked shame.
The inhabitants of Zaanan do not come forth;
the wailing of Beth-ha-Ezel will take its protection from you.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
writhed for good,
because disaster has come down from Yahweh
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
O inhabitants of Lachish;
it is the beginning of sin
for the daughter of Zion,
for the transgressions of Israel
were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth-Gath;
the houses of Achzib will be a deception
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring the conqueror upon you,
O inhabitants of Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
will come to Adullam.
16 Make yourselves bald
and cut off your hair
for the children of your pleasure.
Expand your baldness as the eagle,
for they will go into exile away from you.
Micah 1
New American Standard Bible
Destruction in Israel and Judah
1 The (A)word of the Lord which came to (B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz, and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and which he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of [a]you;
(F)Listen carefully, earth and [b]all it contains,
And may the Lord [c]God be a (G)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, the Lord is (H)coming forth from His place.
He will come down and (I)tread on the high places of the [d]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 due to the [e]wrongdoing of Jacob
And the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the (K)[f]wrongdoing of Jacob?
Is it not (L)Samaria?
What is the (M)high [g]place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 For I will make Samaria a (N)heap of ruins [h]in the open country,
(O)Planting places for a vineyard.
I will (P)hurl her stones down into the valley,
And (Q)lay bare her foundations.
7 All of her (R)idols will be crushed,
All of her earnings will be burned with fire,
And all of her images I will make desolate;
For she collected them from a (S)prostitute’s earnings,
And to the earnings of a prostitute they will return.
8 Because of this I must mourn and wail,
I must go (T)barefoot and naked;
I must do mourning like the (U)jackals,
And a mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her (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)Do not tell it in Gath,
Do not weep at all.
At [i]Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust in mourning.
11 [j]Go on your way, inhabitant of [k]Shaphir, in (Z)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of [l](AA)Zaanan does not [m]escape.
The mourning of [n]Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its [o]support.”
12 For the inhabitant of [p]Maroth
[q](AB)Waits for something good,
Because a disaster has come down from the Lord
To the (AC)gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
You inhabitant of (AD)Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the daughter of Zion—
Because in you were found
The (AE)rebellious acts of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting (AF)gifts
In behalf of Moresheth-gath;
The houses of (AG)Achzib will become a [r](AH)deception
To the kings of Israel.
15 Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
You inhabitant of [s](AI)Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will enter (AJ)Adullam.
16 Shave yourself (AK)bald, yes, 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 1:2 Lit them
- Micah 1:2 Lit its fullness
- Micah 1:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Micah 1:3 Or land
- Micah 1:5 Or rebellion
- Micah 1:5 Or rebellion
- Micah 1:5 Lit places
- Micah 1:6 Lit of the field
- Micah 1:10 I.e., house of dust
- Micah 1:11 I.e., Go into captivity
- Micah 1:11 I.e., pleasantness
- Micah 1:11 I.e., going out
- Micah 1:11 Lit go out
- Micah 1:11 I.e., the house beside
- Micah 1:11 Lit standing place
- Micah 1:12 I.e., bitterness
- Micah 1:12 Or possibly has been in agony for
- Micah 1:14 Heb achzab, wordplay on Achzib
- Micah 1:15 I.e., possession
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