| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem: | 1This is the prophetic message that the LORD gave to Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to Samaria and Jerusalem. |
| 2Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. | 2Listen, all you nations! Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! The sovereign LORD will testify against you; the LORD will accuse you from his majestic palace. |
| 3For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. | 3Look, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling place! He will descend and march on the earth's mountaintops! |
| 4The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. | 4The mountains will disintegrate beneath him, and the valleys will be split in two. The mountains will melt like wax in a fire, the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. |
| 5All this is for the transgression of Jacob and 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? | 5All this is because of Jacob's rebellion and the sins of the nation of Israel. How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! Where are Judah's pagan worship centers, you ask? They are right in Jerusalem! |
| 6Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble in the open field, a planting area for a vineyard. I will pour her stones into the valley and expose her foundations. | 6"I will turn Samaria into a heap of ruins in an open field--vineyards will be planted there! I will tumble the rubble of her stone walls down into the valley, and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. |
| 7All her carved images will be smashed to pieces; all her wages will be burned in the fire, and I will destroy all her idols. Since she collected the wages of a prostitute, they will be used again on a prostitute. | 7All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces; all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. I will make a waste heap of all her images. Since she gathered the metal as a prostitute collects her wages, the idols will become a prostitute's wages again." |
| 8Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich. | 8For this reason I will mourn and wail; I will walk around barefoot and without my outer garments. I will howl like a wild dog, and screech like an owl. |
| 9For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself. | 9For Samaria's disease is incurable. It has infected Judah; it has spread to the leadership of my people and has even contaminated Jerusalem! |
| 10Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah. | 10Don't spread the news in Gath! Don't shed even a single tear! In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! |
| 11Depart in shameful nakedness, O dwellers of Shaphir. The dwellers of Zaanan will not come out. Beth-ezel is in mourning; its support is taken from you. | 11Residents of Shaphir, pass by in nakedness and humiliation! The residents of Zaanan can't leave their city. Beth Ezel mourns, "He takes from you what he desires." |
| 12For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good, but calamity came down from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem. | 12Indeed, the residents of Maroth hope for something good to happen, though the LORD has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. |
| 13Harness your chariot horses, O dweller of Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. | 13Residents of Lachish, hitch the horses to the chariots! You influenced Daughter Zion to sin, for Israel's rebellious deeds can be traced back to you! |
| 14Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel. | 14Therefore you will have to say farewell to Moresheth Gath. The residents of Achzib will be as disappointing as a dried up well to the kings of Israel. |
| 15I will again bring a conqueror against you, O dweller of Mareshah. The glory of Israel will come to Adullam. | 15Residents of Mareshah, a conqueror will attack you, the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. |
| 16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile. | 16Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; shave your foreheads as bald as an eagle, for they are taken from you into exile. |
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