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.

Mourning for Israel and Judah

Therefore I will wail and howl,
I will go stripped and naked;
(A)I will make a wailing like the jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches,
For her wounds are incurable.
For (B)it has come to Judah;
It has come to the gate of My people—
To Jerusalem.

10 (C)Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all;
In [a]Beth Aphrah
Roll yourself in the dust.
11 Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of [b]Shaphir;
The inhabitant of [c]Zaanan does not go out.
Beth Ezel mourns;
Its place to stand is taken away from you.

12 For the inhabitant of [d]Maroth [e]pined for good,
But (D)disaster came down from the Lord
To the gate of Jerusalem.
13 O inhabitant of (E)Lachish,
Harness the chariot to the swift steeds
(She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion),
For the transgressions of Israel were (F)found in you.

14 Therefore you shall (G)give presents to [f]Moresheth Gath;
The houses of (H)Achzib[g] shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
15 I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of (I)Mareshah;[h]
The glory of Israel shall come to (J)Adullam.[i]
16 Make yourself (K)bald and cut off your hair,
Because of your (L)precious children;
Enlarge your baldness like an eagle,
For they shall go from you into (M)captivity.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Lit. House of Dust
  2. Micah 1:11 Lit. Beautiful
  3. Micah 1:11 Lit. Going Out
  4. Micah 1:12 Lit. Bitterness
  5. Micah 1:12 Lit. was sick
  6. Micah 1:14 Lit. Possession of Gath
  7. Micah 1:14 Lit. Lie
  8. Micah 1:15 Lit. Inheritance
  9. Micah 1:15 Lit. Refuge