| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1The 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. | 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, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord GOD be a 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 is coming out of His 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 under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place. | 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 for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they 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! |
| 6“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, Places for planting a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the valley, And I will uncover 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 shall be beaten to pieces, And all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; All her idols I will lay desolate, For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot, And they shall return to the pay of a harlot.” | 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." |
| 8Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals And a mourning like the ostriches, | 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 wounds are incurable. For it has come to Judah; It has come to the gate of My people— To Jerusalem. | 9For Samaria's disease is incurable. It has infected Judah; it has spread to the leadership of my people and has even contaminated Jerusalem! |
| 10Tell it not in Gath, Weep not at all; In Beth Aphrah Roll yourself in the dust. | 10Don't spread the news in Gath! Don't shed even a single tear! In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! |
| 11Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir; The inhabitant of Zaanan does not go out. Beth Ezel mourns; Its place to stand is taken away 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 inhabitant of Maroth pined for good, But disaster came down from the LORD 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. |
| 13O inhabitant of Lachish, Harness the chariot to the swift steeds (She was 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 you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath; The houses of Achzib shall be a lie 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 yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah; The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam. | 15Residents of Mareshah, a conqueror will attack you, the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. |
| 16Make yourself bald and cut off your hair, Because of your precious children; Enlarge your baldness like an eagle, For they shall go from you into captivity. | 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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