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Destruction in Israel and Judah

¹ The ^(C1)word of the LORD that came to ^(C2)Micah of Moresheth in the days of ^(C3)Jotham, ^(C4)Ahaz, and ^(C5)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw through divine revelation concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

² Hear, O peoples, all of you;
^(C1)Listen closely, O earth and all that is in it,
And let the Lord GOD be ^(C2)witness giving a testimony of the judgment against you,
The Lord from His holy temple in the heavens. ^(VR1)

³ For behold, the LORD ^(C1)is coming down from His place
He shall come down and ^(C2)tread in judgment on the high places of the earth. ^(VR1)

^4 (C1)The mountains shall melt under Him
And the valleys shall be split
Like wax before the fire,
Like waters poured down a steep place.

⁵ All this is because of the rebellion and apostasy of ^(F1)Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom).
What is the ^(C1)rebellion and apostasy of Jacob?
Is it not the abandonment of God in order to worship the idols of ^(C2)Samaria?
What are the ^(C3)high places of idolatry in Judah (the Southern Kingdom)?
Are they not Jerusalem the capital and center of corruption?

⁶ Therefore I the LORD shall make Samaria a ^(F1)(C1)heap of ruins and of stones and arable land in the open country,
A place for ^(C2)planting vineyards;
And I will ^(C3)pour her stones down into the ravine
And ^(C4)lay bare her foundations. ^(VR1)

⁷ All her ^(C1)idols shall be broken in pieces,
All her earnings from her idolatry shall be burned with fire,
And all her images I shall make desolate;
For from the ^(C2)earnings of a prostitute she collected them,
And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return.

⁸ Because of this I Micah must lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) and wail,
I must go ^(C1)barefoot and naked without outer garments as if robbed;
I must wail like the ^(C2)jackals
And lament with a loud, mournful cry like the ostriches.

⁹ For Samaria's ^(C1)wound is incurable,
For ^(C2)it has come to Judah;
The enemy has reached the ^(C3)gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.

^10 (F1)(C1)Announce it not in Gath in Philistia,
Weep not at all and in this way betray your grief to Gentiles;
In Beth-le-aphrah (House of Dust) roll in the dust among your own people.

¹¹ Go on your way into exile—stripped of beauty, disarmed, inhabitants of Shaphir (Beautiful), in ^(C1)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of ^(C2)Zaanan (Go Out) does not go out of the house;
The wailing of Beth-ezel (House of Removal) will take away from you its support.

¹² For the inhabitant of Maroth (Bitterness)
Writhes in pain at its losses and ^(C1)waits anxiously for good,
Because a catastrophe has come down from the LORD
To the ^(C2)gate of Jerusalem.

¹³ Harness the chariot to the team of horses to escape the invasion,
O inhabitant of ^(C1)Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)—
Because in you were found
The ^(C2)rebellious acts of Israel.

¹⁴ Therefore you will give parting ^(C1)gifts
On behalf of Moresheth-gath (Micah's home);
The houses of ^(C2)Achzib (Place of Deceit) will become a ^(C3)deception
To the kings of Israel.

¹⁵ Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of ^(C1)Mareshah (Prominent Place).
The glory (nobility) of Israel will enter ^(C2)Adullam seeking refuge. ^(VR1)

¹⁶ Make yourself ^(C1)bald in mourning—shave off your hair
For the children of your delight;
Remain as bald as the eagle,
For your children will be ^(C2)taken from you into exile.