Micah 1:1-16

The Coming Destruction

1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah a of Moresheth b in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw c concerning d Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 e Hear, you peoples, all of you; 1
f pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and g let the Lord God be a witness against you,
h the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold, i the Lord is coming out of j his place,
and will come down and k tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And l the mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for m the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
n What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not d Samaria?
And what is o the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make d Samaria p a heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones q into the valley
and r uncover her foundations.
7 All s her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
t all her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste,
for from t the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

8 u For this I will lament and wail;
I will go v stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation w like the jackals,
and mourning x like the ostriches.
9 y For her wound is incurable,
and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.

10 z Tell it not in a Gath;
weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
b roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way,
inhabitants of Shaphir,
c in nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come out;
the lamentation of Beth-ezel
shall take away from you its standing place.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
wait anxiously for good,
because disaster has come down d from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of e Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
f the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts 2
to g Moresheth-gath;
the houses of h Achzib shall be a deceitful thing
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring i a conqueror to you,
inhabitants of h Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to j Adullam.
16 k Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
for the children of your delight;
k make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they shall go from you into exile.

  1. Cross References
    Micah 1:14
    Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
  2. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:1
    The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
  3. Cross References
    Amos 1:1
    The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 7:9
    And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.'
    Jeremiah 23:13
    In the prophets of Samaria I saw an unsavory thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.
  5. Cross References
    Micah 3:1
    And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? -
    Micah 3:9
    Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight.
    Micah 6:1 - 2
    Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
    Hosea 5:1
    Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:2
    Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.
  7. Cross References
    Malachi 3:5
    Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 11:4
    The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord 's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
    Jonah 2:7
    When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
    Habakkuk 2:20
    But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 26:21
    For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 115:3
    Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
  11. Cross References
    Amos 4:13
    For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
    Deuteronomy 32:13
    He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 97:5
    The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
    Judges 5:5
    The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.
    Amos 9:5
    The Lord God of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt.
    Amos 9:13
    Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
    Nahum 1:5
    The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.
  13. Cross References
    Micah 3:8
    But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
  14. Cross References
    Micah 1:13
    Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel.
  15. Cross References
    Micah 1:1
    The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
  16. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 28:4
    And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
  17. Cross References
    Micah 1:1
    The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
  18. Cross References
    Micah 3:12
    Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
  19. Cross References
    1 Kings 16:24
    He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
  20. Cross References
    Ezekiel 13:14
    And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
  21. Cross References
    Hosea 8:6
    For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
  22. Cross References
    Hosea 2:12
    And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, 'These are my wages, which my lovers have given me.' I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
    Hosea 9:1
    Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors.
  23. Cross References
    Hosea 2:12
    And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, 'These are my wages, which my lovers have given me.' I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
    Hosea 9:1
    Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors.
  24. Cross References
    Isaiah 22:4
    Therefore I said: "Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.
  25. Cross References
    Isaiah 20:2 - 4
    At that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet," and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
  26. Cross References
    Job 30:29
    I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches.
    Psalms 44:19
    Yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
  27. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:21
    But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.
  28. Cross References
    Hosea 5:13
    When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound.
  29. Cross References
    2 Samuel 1:20
    Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
  30. Cross References
    1 Samuel 17:4
    And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
  31. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:26
    O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
  32. Cross References
    Isaiah 20:4
    So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt.
    Isaiah 47:3
    Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.
  33. Cross References
    Amos 3:6
    Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?
  34. Cross References
    Joshua 10:3
    So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying.
    2 Kings 18:14
    And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear." And the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
    2 Kings 18:17
    And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer's Field.
    2 Chronicles 32:9
    After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying.
  35. Cross References
    Micah 1:5
    All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for 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?
    Hosea 13:1
    When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
  36. Cross References
    Micah 1:1
    The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
  37. Cross References
    Joshua 15:44
    Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages.
  38. Cross References
    Micah 2:4
    In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, "We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields.
    Jeremiah 6:12
    Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together, for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land," declares the Lord.
  39. Cross References
    Micah 1:14
    Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
  40. Cross References
    1 Samuel 22:1 - 2
    David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.
  41. Cross References
    Isaiah 22:12
    In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth.
  42. Cross References
    Isaiah 22:12
    In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.