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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.[a]
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.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:8 Literally “daughters of an ostrich”

Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
    I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
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.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:10a Gath sounds like the Hebrew term for “tell.”
  2. 1:10b Beth-leaphrah means “house of dust.”
  3. 1:11a Shaphir means “pleasant.”
  4. 1:11b Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew term for “come out.”
  5. 1:11c Beth-ezel means “adjoining house.”
  6. 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew term for “bitter.”
  7. 1:13a Lachish sounds like the Hebrew term for “team of horses.”
  8. 1:13b Hebrew the daughter of Zion.
  9. 1:14a Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew term for “gift” or “dowry.”
  10. 1:14b Aczib means “deception.”
  11. 1:15a Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew term for “conqueror.”
  12. 1:15b Hebrew the glory.