Headings in this style, and the references under them, were added by the translators to help you find your place. They are not part of the original text.
Judgment to Come
1This is the word of the Lord that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:
2Hear, O peoples, all of you;listen, O earth, and everyone in it!May the Lord God bear witness against you,the Lord from His holy temple.3For behold, the Lord comes forthfrom His dwelling place;He will come down and treadon the high places of the earth.4The mountains will melt beneath Him,and the valleys will split apart,like wax before the fire,like water rushing down a slope.
5All this is for the transgression of Jacoband the sins of the house of Israel.What is the transgression of Jacob?Is it not Samaria?And what is the high place of Judah?Is it not Jerusalem?
6Therefore I will make Samariaa heap of rubble in the open field,a planting area for a vineyard.I will pour her stones into the valleyand expose her foundations.7All her carved images will be smashed to pieces;all her wages will be burned in the fire,and I will destroy all her idols.Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,they will be used again on a prostitute.
Weeping and Mourning
8Because of this I will lament and wail;I will walk barefoot and naked.I will howl like a jackal 1:8FootnoteOr a serpent or a dragonand mourn like an ostrich.1:8FootnoteLiterally like daughters of an ostrich or like daughters of an owl9For her wound is incurable;it has reached even Judah;it has approached the gate of my people,as far as Jerusalem itself.
10Do not tell it in Gath;1:10FootnoteGath sounds like the Hebrew for tell. do not weep at all.Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.1:10FootnoteBeth-Leaphrah means house of dust.11Depart in shameful nakedness,O dwellers of Shaphir.1:11FootnoteShaphir means pleasant.The dwellers of Zaanan 1:11FootnoteZaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.will not come out.Beth-ezel 1:11FootnoteBeth-ezel means adjoining house. is in mourning;its support is taken from you.12For the dwellers of Maroth 1:12FootnoteMaroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter. pined for good,but calamity came down from the Lord,even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13Harness your chariot horses,O dweller of Lachish.1:13FootnoteLachish sounds like the Hebrew term for team of horses.You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion,for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.14Therefore, send farewell gifts 1:14FootnoteOr give dowry to Moresheth-gath;1:14FootnoteMoresheth sounds like the Hebrew for gift or dowry.the houses of Achzib 1:14FootnoteAchzib means deception. will prove deceptiveto the kings of Israel.15I will again bring a conqueror against you,O dweller of Mareshah.1:15FootnoteMareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hairin mourning for your precious children;make yourselves as bald as an eagle,for they will go from you into exile.
Footnotes in this chapter (13)
- 1:8 Or a serpent or a dragon
- 1:8 Literally like daughters of an ostrich or like daughters of an owl
- 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
- 1:10 Beth-Leaphrah means house of dust.
- 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
- 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
- 1:11 Beth-ezel means adjoining house.
- 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
- 1:13 Lachish sounds like the Hebrew term for team of horses.
- 1:14 Or give dowry
- 1:14 Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew for gift or dowry.
- 1:14 Achzib means deception.
- 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.
Scripture text: The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain. berean.bible