Micah 1-3
Contemporary English Version
1 (A) I am Micah from Moresheth.[a] And this is the message about Samaria and Jerusalem[b] that the Lord gave to me when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah[c] were the kings of Judah.
Judgment on Samaria
2 Listen, all of you!
Earth and everything on it,
pay close attention.
The Lord God accuses you
from his holy temple.[d]
3 And he will come down
to crush underfoot
every pagan altar.
4 Mountains will melt
beneath his feet
like wax beside a fire.
Valleys will vanish like water
rushing down a ravine.
5 This will happen because of
the terrible sins of Israel,
the descendants of Jacob.
Samaria has led Israel to sin,
and pagan altars at Jerusalem
have made Judah sin.
6 So the Lord will leave Samaria
in ruins—
merely an empty field
where vineyards are planted.
He will scatter its stones
and destroy its foundations.
7 Samaria's idols will be smashed,
and the wages
of temple prostitutes[e]
will be destroyed by fire.
Silver and gold from those idols
will then be used by foreigners
as payment for prostitutes.
Judah Is Doomed
8 Because of this tragedy,[f]
I go barefoot and naked.
My crying and weeping
sound like howling wolves
or ostriches.
9 The nation is fatally wounded.
Judah is doomed.
Jerusalem will fall.
10 Don't tell it in Gath!
Don't even cry.
Instead, roll in the dust
at Beth-Leaphrah.[g]
11 Depart naked and ashamed,
you people of Shaphir.[h]
The town of Bethezel[i] mourns
because no one from Zaanan[j]
went out to help.[k]
12 Everyone in Maroth[l]
hoped for the best,
but the Lord sent disaster
down on Jerusalem.
13 Get the war chariots ready,
you people of Lachish.[m]
You led Jerusalem into sin,
just as Israel did.[n]
14 Now you will have to give
a going-away gift[o]
to Moresheth.[p]
Israel's kings will discover
that they cannot trust
the town of Achzib.[q]
15 People of Mareshah,[r]
the Lord will send someone
to capture your town.
Then Israel's glorious king
will be forced to hide
in Adullam Cave.[s]
16 Judah, shave your head
as bald as a vulture
and start mourning.
Your precious children[t]
will be dragged off
to a foreign country.
Punishment for Those Who Abuse Their Power
2 Doomed! You're doomed!
At night you lie in bed,
making evil plans.
And when morning comes,
you do what you've planned
because you have the power.
2 You grab any field or house
that you want;
you cheat families
out of homes and land.
3 But here is what the Lord says:
“I am planning trouble for you.
Your necks will be caught
in a noose,
and you will be disgraced
in this time of disaster.”
4 When that happens,
this sorrowful song
will be sung about you:
“Ruined! Completely ruined!
The Lord has taken our land
and given it to traitors.”[u]
5 And so you will never again
own property
among the Lord's people.
6 “Enough of your preaching!”
That's what you tell me.
“We won't be disgraced,
so stop preaching!”
7 Descendants of Jacob,
is it right for you to claim
that the Lord did what he did
because he was angry?
Doesn't he always bless
those who do right?
8 My people, you have turned against
one another!
You have even stolen
clothes right off the backs
of innocent neighbors
who pass by in peace.[v]
9 You take over lovely homes
that belong to the women
of my nation.
Then you cheat their children
out of the inheritance
that comes from the Lord.[w]
10 Get out of here, you crooks!
You'll find no rest here.
You're not fit to belong
to the Lord's people,
and you will be destroyed.[x]
11 The only prophet you want
is a liar who will say,
“Drink and get drunk!”
A Promise of Hope
12 I, the Lord, promise
to bring together
the people of Israel
who have survived.
I will gather them,
just as a shepherd
brings sheep together,
and there will be many.
13 I will break down the gate
and lead them out—
then I will be their king.
Evil Rulers and Lying Prophets
3 Listen to me,
you rulers of Israel!
You know right from wrong,
2 but you prefer to do evil
instead of what is right.
You skin my people alive.
You strip off their flesh,
3 break their bones,
cook it all in a pot,
and gulp it down.
4 Someday you will beg the Lord
to help you,
but he will turn away
because of your sins.
5 You lying prophets promise
security for anyone
who gives you food,
but disaster for anyone
who refuses to feed you.
Here is what the Lord says
to you prophets:
6 “You will live in the dark,
far from the sight of the sun,
with no message from me.
7 You prophets and fortunetellers
will all be disgraced,
with no message from me.”
8 But the Lord has filled me
with power and his Spirit.
I have been given the courage
to speak about justice
and to tell you people of Israel
that you have sinned.
9 So listen to my message,
you rulers of Israel!
You hate justice
and twist the truth.
10 You make cruelty and murder
a way of life in Jerusalem.
11 You leaders accept bribes
for dishonest decisions.
You priests and prophets
teach and preach,
but only for money.
Then you say,
“The Lord is on our side.
No harm will come to us.”
12 (B) And so, because of you,
Jerusalem will be plowed under
and left in ruins.
Thorns will cover the mountain
where the temple now stands.
Footnotes
- 1.1 Moresheth: A town in southern Judah not far from Gath. In verse 14 it is called Moresheth-Gath.
- 1.1 Samaria and Jerusalem: Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom (Israel), and Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom (Judah).
- 1.1 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah: Jotham, the son of Uzziah, ruled Judah 740–736 b.c.; Ahaz, the son of Jotham, ruled 736–716 b.c.; Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, ruled 716–687 b.c.
- 1.2 holy temple: Possibly the one in heaven, though it may be the Jerusalem temple.
- 1.7 wages of temple prostitutes: At pagan temples, people had sex with prostitutes as a way of worshiping the idols, and the money earned in this way was used to support the pagan religion.
- 1.8 this tragedy: Either the destruction of Samaria (verses 6,7) or the coming destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.
- 1.10 Gath … Beth-Leaphrah: Gath was a Philistine city; Beth-Leaphrah is unknown, but in Hebrew it sounds like “House of Dust.”
- 1.11 Shaphir: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Shaphir” means “beautiful.”
- 1.11 Bethezel: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Bethezel” means “house next door.”
- 1.11 Zaanan: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Zaanan” means “one who goes out.”
- 1.11 The town … help: Or “No one from Zaanan refused to desert their town, and Bethezel mourns because it is left undefended.”
- 1.12 Maroth: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew “Maroth” means “bitter.”
- 1.13 Lachish: The chief city of southwest Judah, about 48 kilometers from Jerusalem.
- 1.13 led … sin … did: Or “You led Jerusalem and Israel into sin.” In Hebrew “Lachish” sounds like “a team of horses (that pulls a war chariot).” And the sin may be that Lachish led the nation to trust the power of war chariots instead of the Lord. But the sin could be idolatry or some false teachings that were brought in from Egypt by way of Lachish.
- 1.14 going-away gift: The gift (dowry) that a bride's father gave her when she left the home of her parents to live with the family of her husband. In Hebrew the word for “bride” or “fiancee” sounds like “Moresheth.”
- 1.14 Moresheth: Hebrew “Moresheth-Gath”; the home of Micah (see verse 1).
- 1.14 Achzib: Meaning “lie” or “deception” was near Adullam Cave (verse 15), where David hid from King Saul (see 1 Samuel 22.1,2). Micah probably means that the people of Israel (including their king) will have to run for their lives, but will find that all hope for escape is merely a “lie” (see verse 15).
- 1.15 Mareshah: Sounds something like the Hebrew word for “conqueror” and was only a few kilometers northeast of Lachish.
- 1.15 Adullam Cave: See the note at 1.14.
- 1.16 precious children: The towns mentioned in verses 10-15.
- 2.4 The Lord … traitors: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 2.8 of innocent neighbors … peace: Or “of your unsuspecting soldiers returning home from battle.”
- 2.9 inheritance … Lord: The Hebrew text has “my glory,” which refers to the inheritance of land that the Lord had promised his people.
- 2.10 destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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