Micah 1:8-16
Expanded Bible
Micah’s Great Sadness
8 I will ·moan and cry [mourn and wail] because of this evil,
going around barefoot and naked.
I will ·cry loudly [wail] like ·the wild dogs [jackals]
and ·make sad sounds [moan] like the ·owls [or ostriches] do,
9 because Samaria’s wound ·cannot be healed [is incurable].
It ·will spread [or has spread] to Judah;
it ·will reach [or has reached] the city gate of my people [C where the city’s affairs were conducted],
all the way to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath [C sounds like Hebrew for “tell”; Gath and the cities in this list were in Assyria’s path of destruction in 701 bc].
Don’t cry ·in Acco [or at all; C the Hebrew for “cry” sounds like Acco].
Roll in the dust
at Beth Ophrah [C “house of dust”].
11 Pass on your way, naked and ashamed,
you who live in Shaphir [C “beautiful” or “pleasant”].
Those who live in Zaanan [C sounds like Hebrew for “come out”]
won’t come out.
The people in Beth Ezel [C “house of nearness”] ·will cry [are in mourning],
but they will not give you any support.
12 Those who live in Maroth [C sounds like Hebrew for “sad” or “miserable”]
·will be anxious [hope] for good news to come,
because ·trouble [disaster] ·will [or has] come from the Lord,
all the way to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You people living in Lachish [C a large town in Judah; Lachish sounds like the Hebrew for “horse” or “steed”],
harness the fastest ·horses [steeds] to the chariot.
·Jerusalem’s [L Daughter of Zion’s; C the location of the Temple] sins ·started in [began with] you;
yes, Israel’s ·sins [transgressions; rebellion] were found in you.
14 So you must give ·farewell gifts [a dowry]
to Moresheth in Gath.
The houses in Aczib [C “deception”] ·will be false help
to [or have deceived/betrayed] the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring against you people who will ·take [possess; conquer] your land,
you who live in Mareshah [C sounds like Hebrew for “conqueror”].
The ·glory [or nobles; leaders] of Israel
will go in to Adullam [C perhaps to hide in its caves].
16 ·Cut off your hair [Shave your head; Make yourself bald; C a sign of mourning or sadness]
for the children ·you love [in whom you delight].
Make yourself bald like the eagle,
because your children will be taken away ·to a foreign land [in exile/captivity].
Micah 1:8-16
Amplified Bible
8
Because of this I [Micah] must lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) and wail,
I must go barefoot and naked [without outer garments as if robbed];
I must wail like the jackals
And lament [with a loud, mournful cry] like the ostriches.
9
For Samaria’s wound is incurable,
For it has come to Judah;
The enemy has reached the gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.
10
[a]Announce it not in Gath [in Philistia],
Weep not at all [and in this way betray your grief to Gentiles];
In Beth-le-aphrah (House of Dust) roll in the dust [among your own people].
11
Go on your way [into exile—stripped of beauty, disarmed], inhabitants of Shaphir (Beautiful), in shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of Zaanan (Go Out) does not go out [of the house];
The wailing of Beth-ezel (House of Removal) will take away from you its support.
12
For the inhabitant of Maroth (Bitterness)
Writhes in pain [at its losses] and waits anxiously for good,
Because a catastrophe has come down from the Lord
To the gate of Jerusalem.
13
Harness the chariot to the team of horses [to escape the invasion],
O inhabitant of Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)—
Because in you were found
The rebellious acts of Israel.
14
Therefore you will give parting gifts
On behalf of Moresheth-gath (Micah’s home);
The houses of Achzib (Place of Deceit) will become a deception
To the kings of Israel.
15
Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of Mareshah (Prominent Place).
The glory (nobility) of Israel will enter Adullam [seeking refuge].(A)
16
Make yourself bald [in mourning]—shave off your hair
For the children of your delight;
Remain as bald as the eagle,
For your children will be taken from you into exile.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:10 Micah uses a play on words as he denounces the cities in vv 10-15.
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