1 Calamity in Israel and Judah The word of 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15 Yahweh which cametoMicah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz,andHezekiah, kings of Judah, which he beheld concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of 1:2 Lit them you;Give heed, O earth, as well as its fullness,And let Lord Yahweh be a witness against you,The Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, Yahweh is going forth from His place.He will come down and tread on the high places of the 1:3Or land earth.
4 The mountains will melt under Him,And the valleys will be split,Like wax before the fire,Like water poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the transgression of JacobAnd for the sins of the house of Israel.What is the transgression of Jacob?Is it not Samaria?What is the high 1:5 Lit places place of Judah?Is it not Jerusalem?
6 So I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field,Planting places for a vineyard.And I will pour her stones down into the valleyAnd will lay bare her foundations.
7 And all of her graven images will be smashed,And all of her earnings will be burned with fireAnd all of her idols I will make desolate,For she collectedthemfrom a harlot’s earnings,And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.
8 ¶Because of this I must lament and wail;I must go barefoot and naked;I must make a lament like the jackalsAnd a mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her 1:9 Lit wounds are wound is incurable,For it has come to Judah;It has reached the gate of my people,Evento Jerusalem.
10 Tell it not in Gath,Weep not at all.At 1:10 Lit house of dust Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.
11 1:11 Go into captivity Pass on by, inhabitant of 1:11 Lit pleasantness Shaphir, in shameful nakedness.The inhabitant of 1:11 Lit going out Zaanan does not go out.The lamentation of 1:11 Lit house of removal Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its 1:11 Lit standing place support.”
12 For the inhabitant of 1:12Lit bitterness MarothWrithesin waitingfor goodBecause a 1:12Lit evil calamity has come down from YahwehTo the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,O inhabitant of Lachish—She was the beginning of sinTo the daughter of Zion—Because in you were foundThe transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting giftsOn behalf of 1:14 Lit possession of Gath Moresheth-gath;The houses of 1:14 Lit deception Achzibwillbecome a deceptionTo the kings of Israel.
15 Moreover, I will bring on youThe one who takes possession,O inhabitant of 1:15 Lit to take possession Mareshah.The glory of Israel will enter Adullam.
16 Make yourself bald and cut off your hair,Because of the children of your delight;Extend your baldness like the eagle,For they will go from you into exile.