Online Bible

Calamity in Israel and Judah

The ^aword of ¹Yahweh which came to ^bMicah of Moresheth in the days of ^cJotham, ^dAhaz, and ^eHezekiah, kings of Judah, which he beheld concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, O peoples, all of ¹you;^aGive heed, O earth, as well as its fullness,And let Lord Yahweh be a ^bwitness against you,The Lord from His holy temple.3 For behold, Yahweh is ^agoing forth from His place.He will come down and ^btread on the high places of the ¹earth.4 ^aThe 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 ^atransgression of Jacob?Is it not ^bSamaria?What is the ^chigh ¹place of Judah?Is it not Jerusalem?6 So I will make Samaria a ^aheap of ruins in the field,^bPlanting places for a vineyard.And I will ^cpour her stones down into the valleyAnd will ^dlay bare her foundations.7 And all of her ^agraven images will be smashed,And all of her earnings will be burned with fireAnd all of her idols I will make desolate,For she collected them from a ^bharlot’s earnings,And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.

8 Because of this I must lament and wail;I must go ^abarefoot and naked;I must make a lament like the ^bjackalsAnd a mourning like the ostriches.9 For her ¹^awound is incurable,For ^bit has come to Judah;It has reached the ^cgate of my people,Even to Jerusalem.10 ^aTell it not in Gath,Weep not at all.At ¹Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.11 ¹Pass on by, inhabitant of ²Shaphir, in ^ashameful nakedness.The inhabitant of ³^bZaanan does not go out.The lamentation of ⁴Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its ⁵support.”12 For the inhabitant of ¹MarothWrithes ^ain waiting for goodBecause a ²calamity has come down from YahwehTo the ^bgate of Jerusalem.13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,O inhabitant of ^aLachish—She was the beginning of sinTo the daughter of Zion—Because in you were foundThe ^btransgressions of Israel.14 Therefore you will give parting ^agiftsOn behalf of ¹Moresheth-gath;The houses of ²^bAchzib will become a ^cdeceptionTo the kings of Israel.15 Moreover, I will bring on youThe one who takes possession,O inhabitant of ¹^aMareshah.The glory of Israel will enter ^bAdullam.16 Make yourself ^abald and cut off your hair,Because of the children of your delight;Extend your baldness like the eagle,For they will ^bgo from you into exile.