(A)For this I will lament and wail;
    I will go (B)stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation (C)like the jackals,
    and mourning (D)like the ostriches.
(E)For her wound is incurable,
    and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
    to Jerusalem.

10 (F)Tell it not in (G)Gath;
    weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
    (H)roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way,
    inhabitants of Shaphir,
    (I)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 (J)from the Lord
    to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
    inhabitants of (K)Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
    to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
    (L)the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts[a]
    to (M)Moresheth-gath;
the houses of (N)Achzib shall be a deceitful thing
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring (O)a conqueror to you,
    inhabitants of (P)Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
    shall come to (Q)Adullam.
16 (R)Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
    for the children of your delight;
(S)make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
    for they shall go from you into exile.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:14 Or give dowry

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(A) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(B) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague(C) is incurable;(D)
    it has spread to Judah.(E)
It has reached the very gate(F) of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
    weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
    roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked(G) and in shame,
    you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
    will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
    it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
    waiting for relief,(H)
because disaster(I) has come from the Lord,
    even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(J)
    harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(K) began,
    for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(L)
    to Moresheth(M) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](N) will prove deceptive(O)
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.[g](P)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.(Q)
16 Shave(R) your head in mourning
    for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
    for they will go from you into exile.(S)

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
  2. Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
  3. Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
  4. Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
  5. Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
  6. Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
  7. Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.