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Micah 1
The Voice

1 These are the words of the Eternal One and the visions about the two capital cities of Israel and Judah, Samaria and Jerusalem, that were given to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah over Judah.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel, sometimes called Samaria after its capital city, was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 722 b.c. The Southern Kingdom of Judah, where Micah lives and speaks, has been spared that fate, but at a high price: the people have lost the power to govern themselves, pay huge tributes to the Assyrians, and allow the corruption of their religious practices because of the Assyrians’ influence. All Israelites suffer under these conditions, but Micah’s attention is drawn especially to the poor and dispossessed; somehow, as often happens in wartime, rich people manage to get richer while the poor are exploited, and Micah is outraged at the way the rulers of Judah have taken advantage of those who had little—and now have less.

2 Listen, all of you people![a]
    Pay attention, earth and all upon it!
The Eternal Lord gives evidence against you;
    the Lord speaks from His holy temple.
3 Look at this: the Eternal is leaving His home in heaven,
    and He is coming down to walk[b] over the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains will melt beneath His feet;
    the valleys will burst open,
Like wax next to a raging fire,
    as water pours from the heights.

5 Eternal One: All of this is happening because of the crimes of Jacob,
        the wrongdoings of the people of Israel.
    And what is the crime of Jacob? Isn’t it Samaria?
        And what is the high place of Judah? Isn’t it Jerusalem?
6     And so I will turn Samaria into a pile of ruins in an open field.
        To make her properly into a place to plant a vineyard,
    I will roll her stones into the valley
        and bare her foundations for all to see.
7     I will shatter her images and burn her immoral riches with fire,
        and all her idols I will break down.
    They came from the earning of prostitutes, servants of other gods,
        and they will be used again to pay the wages of another prostitute.

8 Because of this, I will howl and wail;
    this is why I will go barefoot and naked,
Why I will scream like the jackals
    and screech like the ostriches as if in mourning.

9 Eternal One: For her wounds cannot be cured because Samaria’s transgression has reached Judah.
        It now has reached the gate of My people, even in Jerusalem.

This listing of 11 conquered Israelite cities begins with David’s quote about Gath when he was lamenting the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:20).

10     Do not tell this in Gath. Do not weep even a little.[c]
        In Beth-le-aphrah, wallow in the dust as you mourn.
11     Travel on, you who live in Shaphir, no longer beautiful but naked and ashamed.
        You who live in Zaanan, do not come out when the enemy approaches.
    Beth-ezel is weeping, “He is tearing you away from His foundations,”
        and she won’t be there to support her neighbors.
12     Those who live in Maroth wait anxiously for good news;
        the Eternal sends disaster down to the gates of Jerusalem.
13     Harness your horses to the chariots, you who live in the stronghold called Lachish;
        in you are the seeds of the sin of My daughter Zion;
        in you are the crimes of Israel.
14     That is why you will pay a dowry to Moresheth-gath
        when Israel departs for exile.
    The houses of Achzib will deceive and disappoint the kings of Israel.
15     I will send a conqueror again to all of you living in Mareshah,
        and the glory of Israel, her treasures and leaders, will come to Adullam for refuge as David once did.

The list of cities given here matches the path Sennacherib took when he marched against Jerusalem in 701 b.c.

16 Cut off your hair and shave your heads. Prepare yourselves for slavery
    on account of the children whom you pampered and privileged.
Make yourself as bald as an eagle,
    for they have been removed from you into exile.

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Hebrew manuscripts read, “them.”
  2. 1:3 Greek and Latin manuscripts omit, “to walk.”
  3. 1:10 Greek manuscripts read, “not in Acco.”
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Micah 1
New International Version

1 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.

2 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

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
    he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
4 The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
    and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
5 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?

6 “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)
7 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

8 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.
9 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.
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Jonah 4
Micah 2
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