The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.

12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.

13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.

15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.

16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.

Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.

Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.

The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.

Micah

1 The destruction of Judah and Jerusalem because of the idolatry.

The word of the Lord, that came unto Micah the [a]Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria, and Jerusalem.

Hear, [b]all ye people: hearken thou, O earth, and all that therein is, and let the Lord God be witness against you, even the Lord from his holy Temple.

For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place, and will come [c]down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

And the mountains shall melt under him (so shall the valleys cleave) as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured downward.

For the wickedness of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel: what is the wickedness of Jacob? Is not [d]Samaria? and which are the high [e]places of Judah? Is not Jerusalem?

Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and for the planting of a vineyard, and I will cause the stones thereof to tumble down into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

And all the graven images thereof shall be broken, and all the [f]gifts thereof shall be burnt with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I destroy: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return [g]to the wages of an harlot.

Therefore I will mourn and howl: I will go without clothes, and naked: I will make lamentation like the dragons, and mourning as the ostriches.

For her plagues are grievous: for it is come into Judah: the enemy is come unto the gate of my people, unto Jerusalem.

10 Declare ye it not at [h]Gath, neither weep ye: for the house of [i]Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

11 Thou that dwellest at [j]Shaphir, go together naked with shame: she that dwelleth at Zaanan, shall not come forth in the mourning of Beth Ezel: the enemy shall [k]receive of you for his standing.

12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited for good, but evil came from the Lord unto the [l]gate of Jerusalem.

13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the beasts [m]of price: she [n]is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth [o]Gath: the houses of Achzib shall be as a lie to the kings of Israel.

15 Yet will I bring an [p]heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah, he shall come unto Adullam, [q]the glory of Israel.

16 Make thee bald: and shave thee for thy delicate children: enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they are gone into captivity from thee.

1 Threatenings against the wanton and dainty people. 6 They would teach the Prophets to preach.

Woe unto them that imagine iniquity, and work wickedness upon their beds: [r]when the morning is light they practice it, because their hand [s]hath power.

And they covet fields, and take them by violence, and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even man and his heritage.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, against this family have I devised a plague, whereout ye shall not pluck your necks, and ye shall not go so proudly, for this time is evil.

In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, [t]We be utterly wasted: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he taken it away to restore it unto me? he hath divided our fields.

Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in [u]the congregation of the Lord.

[v]They that prophesy, Prophesy ye not. [w]They shall not prophesy to them, neither shall they take shame.

O thou that art named of the house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord shortened? [x]are these his works? are not my works good unto him [y]that walketh uprightly?

But he that was [z]yesterday my people, is risen up on the other side, as against an enemy: they spoil the [aa]beautiful garment from them that pass by peaceably, as though they returned from the war.

The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses, and from their children have ye taken away [ab]my glory continually.

10 Arise and depart, for this is not your [ac]rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

11 If a man [ad]walk in the spirit, and would lie falsely, saying, [ae]I will prophesy unto thee of wine, and of strong drink, he shall even be the prophet of this people.

12 I will surely gather [af]thee wholly, O Jacob: I will surely gather the remnant of Israel: I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, even as the flock in the midst of their fold: the cities shall be full of brute of the men.

13 The [ag]breaker up shall come up before them: they shall break out, and pass by the gate, and go out by it, and their king shall go before them, and the Lord shall be [ah]upon their heads.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:1 Born in Moresheth, a city of Judah.
  2. Micah 1:2 Because of the malice and obstinacy of the people, whom he had so oft exhorted to repentance, he summoneth them to God’s judgments, taking all creatures, and God himself to witness, that the preaching of his Prophets, which they have abused, shall be revenged.
  3. Micah 1:3 Meaning hereby, that God will come to judgment against the strong cities and holds.
  4. Micah 1:5 Samaria, which should have been an example to all Israel of true religion and justice, was the puddle, and stews of all idolatry and corruption, and boasted themselves of their father Jacob.
  5. Micah 1:5 That is, the idolatry and infection.
  6. Micah 1:7 Which they gathered by evil practices, and thought that their idols had enriched them therewith for their service unto them.
  7. Micah 1:7 The gain that came by their idols shall be consumed as a thing of naught: for as the wages or riches of harlots are wickedly gotten, so are they vilely and speedily spent.
  8. Micah 1:10 Lest the Philistines our enemies rejoice at our destruction.
  9. Micah 1:10 Which was a city near to Jerusalem, Josh. 18:23, there called Ophrah, and signifieth dust: therefore he willeth them to mourn and roll themselves in the dust, for their dusty city.
  10. Micah 1:11 These were cities whereby the enemy should pass as he came to Judah.
  11. Micah 1:11 He shall not depart before he hath overcome you, and so you shall pay for his tarrying.
  12. Micah 1:12 For Rabshakeh had shut up Jerusalem, that they could not send to succor them.
  13. Micah 1:13 To flee away: for Sennacherib laid siege first to that city, and re-mained therein when he sent his captains and army against Jerusalem.
  14. Micah 1:13 Thou first receivedst the idolatry of Jeroboam, and so didst infect Jerusalem.
  15. Micah 1:14 Thou shalt bribe the Philistines thy neighbors, but they shall deceive thee, as well as they of Jerusalem.
  16. Micah 1:15 He prophesieth against his own city: and because it signified an heritage, he saith that God would send an heir to possess it.
  17. Micah 1:15 For so they thought themselves for the strength of their city.
  18. Micah 2:1 As soon as they rise, they execute their wicked devices of the night, and according to their power hurt others.
  19. Micah 2:1 Hebrew, is in power.
  20. Micah 2:4 Thus the Jews lament and say that there is no hope of restitution, seeing their possessions are divided among the enemies.
  21. Micah 2:5 Ye shall have no more lands to divide as you had in times past, and as you used to measure them in the Jubilee.
  22. Micah 2:6 Thus the people warn the prophets that they speak to them no more, for they cannot abide their threatenings.
  23. Micah 2:6 God saith that they shall not prophesy, nor receive no more of their rebukes nor taunts.
  24. Micah 2:7 Are these your works according to his Law?
  25. Micah 2:7 Do not the godly find my words comfortable?
  26. Micah 2:8 That is, aforetime.
  27. Micah 2:8 The poor can have no commodity by them, but they spoil them, as though they were enemies.
  28. Micah 2:9 That is, their substance and living, which is God’s blessing, and as it were part of his glory.
  29. Micah 2:10 Jerusalem shall not be your safeguard: but the cause of your destruction.
  30. Micah 2:11 That is, show himself to be a Prophet.
  31. Micah 2:11 He showeth what prophets they delight in, that is, in flatterers, which tell them pleasant tales, and speak of their commodities.
  32. Micah 2:12 To destroy thee.
  33. Micah 2:13 The enemy shall break their gates and walls, and lead them into Chaldea.
  34. Micah 2:13 To drive them forward, and to help their enemies.