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The Lord is coming!

The Lord’s word that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Judah’s Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:

Listen, all you peoples!
        Pay attention, earth, and all that fills it!
    May the Lord God be a witness against you,
            the Lord from his holy temple.
Look! The Lord is coming out from his place;
        he will go down and tread on the shrines of the earth.
Then the mountains will melt under him;
        the valleys will split apart,
            like wax yielding to the fire,
            like waters poured down a slope.
All this is for the crime of Jacob
        and the sins of the house of Israel.
        Who is responsible for the crime of Jacob?[a]
                Isn’t it Samaria?
            Who is responsible for[b] the shrines of Judah?
                Isn’t it Jerusalem?
So I will make Samaria a pile of rubble in the open field,
        a place for planting vineyards.
    I will pour her stones into the valley;
        her foundations I will lay bare.
All her images will be beaten to pieces;
        all her wages will be burned;
    I will make all her idols worthless.
        Since she gathered them from the wages of a prostitute,
            they will again become wages of a prostitute.
On account of this, I will cry out and howl;
        I will go about barefoot and stripped.
    I will cry out like the jackals,
        and mourn like the ostriches.

Destruction looms

Indeed, Zion has been weakened by her wounds!
            It has come as far as Judah;
    he has struck as far as the gate of my people,
            as far as Jerusalem.
10 In Gath tell it not; no need to weep there![c]
        In Beth-le-aphrah, roll yourself in the dust!
11 Pass by (for your sake),[d] inhabitants of Shaphir!
        In nakedness and shame she will not go out, inhabitants of Zaanan.
The cry of Beth-ezel
        will take away from you[e] any place to stand.
12 How she longs for good, inhabitants of Maroth!
        Calamity has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariot, inhabitants of Lachish!
        It was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion;
            the crimes of Israel have been found in you.
14 Therefore, you will give good-bye gifts to Moresheth-gath;
        the houses of Achzib have become a deception for the kings of Israel.
15 Again I will bring to you the one who conquers, inhabitants of Mareshah;
        the glory of Israel will come as far as Adullam.
16 Make yourself bald and cut off your hair
            because of your cherished children!
        Make yourself as bald as the vulture,
            for they have gone from you into exile.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:5 Heb lacks responsible for.
  2. Micah 1:5 Heb lacks responsible for.
  3. Micah 1:10 Heb lacks there.
  4. Micah 1:11 You (plural)
  5. Micah 1:11 You (feminine singular)

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth(A) during the reigns of Jotham,(B) Ahaz(C) and Hezekiah,(D) kings of Judah(E)—the vision(F) he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear,(G) you peoples, all of you,(H)
    listen, earth(I) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(J) against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.(K)

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
    he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
    and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
    because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
    Is it not Samaria?(R)
What is Judah’s high place?
    Is it not Jerusalem?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(S)
I will pour her stones(T) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(U)
All her idols(V) will be broken to pieces;(W)
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.(X)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(Y)
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(Z) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(AA) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague(AB) is incurable;(AC)
    it has spread to Judah.(AD)
It has reached the very gate(AE) 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(AF) 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,(AG)
because disaster(AH) has come from the Lord,
    even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(AI)
    harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(AJ) began,
    for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(AK)
    to Moresheth(AL) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](AM) will prove deceptive(AN)
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.[g](AO)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.(AP)
16 Shave(AQ) 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.(AR)

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.