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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Micah 1:4

Then the mountains will melt under him like wax in a fire; they will pour down into the valleys like water pouring down a hill.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Mountain;   Volcanoes;   Wax;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Samaria;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Wax;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Micah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Micah;   Micah, Book of;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Canaan;   Wax;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bush, the Burning;   Wax;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Burning Bush;   Wax;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The mountains will melt beneath him,and the valleys will split apart,like wax near a fire,like water cascading down a mountainside.
Hebrew Names Version
The mountains melt under him, And the valleys split apart, Like wax before the fire, Like waters that are poured down a steep place.
King James Version (1611)
And the mountaines shall be molten vnder him, and the valleis shall be cleft: as waxe before the fire, and as the waters that are powred downe a steepe place.
King James Version
And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
English Standard Version
And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
New American Standard Bible
The mountains will melt under Him And the valleys will be split, Like wax before the fire, Like water poured down a steep place.
New Century Version
The mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will crack open, like wax near a fire, like water running down a hillside.
Amplified Bible
The mountains shall melt under Him And the valleys shall be split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the mountaines shall melt vnder him (so shall the valleys cleaue) as waxe before the fire, and as the waters yt are powred downewarde.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The mountains will melt under Him And the valleys will be split, Like wax before the fire, Like water poured down a steep place.
Legacy Standard Bible
The mountains will melt under Him,And the valleys will be split,Like wax before the fire,Like water poured down a steep place.
Berean Standard Bible
The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water cascading down a slope.
Contemporary English Version
Mountains will melt beneath his feet like wax beside a fire. Valleys will vanish like water rushing down a ravine.
Complete Jewish Bible
Beneath him the mountains will melt, the valleys split open like wax before fire, like water poured down a steep slope.
Darby Translation
And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters poured down a steep place.
Easy-to-Read Version
The mountains will melt under him like wax in a fire. The valleys will break apart and slide like water rushing down a hill.
George Lamsa Translation
And the mountains shall melt under him, and the valleys shall be rent asunder like wax before the fire, and like waters that run down a steep place.
Lexham English Bible
The mountains will melt under him and the valleys will burst open, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
Literal Translation
And the mountains shall melt under Him, and the valleys shall cleave themselves, as wax before the fire, as waters poured out on a steep place.
American Standard Version
And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.
Bible in Basic English
And the mountains will be turned to water under him, and the deep valleys will be broken open, like wax before the fire, like waters flowing down a slope.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The mountaines shal melt vnder him, and the valleyes shall cleaue a sunder, lyke as wax [melteth] before the fire, and as the waters runne downeward.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the mountains shall be shaken under him, and the valleys shall melt like wax before the fire, and as water rushing down a declivity.
English Revised Version
And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.
World English Bible
The mountains melt under him, And the valleys split apart, Like wax before the fire, Like waters that are poured down a steep place.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And mounteyns schulen be waastid vndur hym, and valeis schulen be kit, as wex fro the face of fier, as watirs that rennen in to a pit.
Update Bible Version
And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, [and] as the waters [that are] poured down a steep place.
New English Translation
The 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.
New King James Version
The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.
New Living Translation
The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water pouring down a hill.
New Life Bible
The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will break open, like a candle in front of the fire, like water poured down a hill.
New Revised Standard
Then the mountains will melt under him and the valleys will burst open, like wax near the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall the mountains be melted beneath him, and, the valleys, be cleft, - as wax before the fire, as waters poured out in a steep place.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the mountains shall be melted under him: and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as waters that run down a steep place.
Revised Standard Version
And the mountains will melt under him and the valleys will be cleft, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
Young's Literal Translation
Melted have been the mountains under Him, And the valleys do rend themselves, As wax from the presence of fire, As waters cast down by a slope.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The moutaynes shall consume vnder him, & the valleys shal cleue asunder: like as wax cosumeth at the fyre, & as ye waters runne downwarde.

Contextual Overview

1 During the time that Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, the Lord gave this message to Micah, who was from the town of Moresheth. The Lord revealed to Micah all these things about Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear this, all you nations; listen to this, all who live on earth! The Sovereign Lord will testify against you. Listen! He speaks from his heavenly temple. 3 The Lord is coming from his holy place; he will come down and walk on the tops of the mountains. 4 Then the mountains will melt under him like wax in a fire; they will pour down into the valleys like water pouring down a hill. 5 All this will happen because the people of Israel have sinned and rebelled against God. Who is to blame for Israel's rebellion? Samaria, the capital city itself Who is guilty of idolatry in Judah? Jerusalem itself 6 So the Lord says, "I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country, a place for planting grapevines. I will pour the rubble of the city down into the valley, and will lay bare the city's foundations. 7 All its precious idols will be smashed to pieces, everything given to its temple prostitutes will be destroyed by fire, and all its images will become a desolate heap. Samaria acquired these things for its fertility rites, and now her enemies will carry them off for temple prostitutes elsewhere."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the mountains: Judges 5:4, Psalms 97:5, Isaiah 64:1-3, Amos 9:5, Nahum 1:5, Habakkuk 3:6, Habakkuk 3:10, 2 Peter 3:10-12, Revelation 20:11

the valleys: Zechariah 14:4

as wax: Psalms 68:2

a steep place: Heb. a descent

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 32:22 - foundations 1 Samuel 5:4 - of Dagon Psalms 46:3 - mountains Psalms 95:4 - the strength of the hills is his also Psalms 114:4 - General Isaiah 2:19 - when he Isaiah 5:25 - the hills Isaiah 17:3 - fortress Isaiah 30:30 - the flame Jeremiah 4:24 - mountains Jeremiah 10:10 - at Hosea 13:16 - Samaria Amos 7:4 - called Micah 6:1 - before Zechariah 4:7 - O great Matthew 27:51 - the earth 2 Peter 3:12 - melt

Cross-References

Genesis 1:10
He named the land "Earth," and the water which had come together he named "Sea." And God was pleased with what he saw.
Genesis 1:12
So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.
Genesis 1:18
to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw.
Genesis 1:25
So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.
Genesis 1:31
God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came—that was the sixth day.
Ecclesiastes 2:13
Oh, I know, "Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
Ecclesiastes 11:7
It is good to be able to enjoy the pleasant light of day.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the mountains shall be molten under him,.... As Sinai was when he descended on it, and as all nations will be at the general conflagration; but here the words are to be taken, not literally, but figuratively, for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and for the kings, and princes, and great men in them, that lifted up their heads as high, and thought themselves as secure, as mountains; yet when the judgments of God should fall upon them, their hearts would melt through fear under him; as well as all their glory and greatness depart from them, and they be no more what they were before, but levelled with the meanest subject:

and the valleys shall be cleft: have chasms made in them by the melting of the mountains, or by the flow of water from the hills: these may design the lower sort of people, who shall have their share in this calamity; the inhabitants of the valleys and country villages; who, though mean and low, shall be lower still, and lose that little substance, that liberty and those privileges, they had; as valleys may be cleft, and open, and sink into the lower parts of the earth; so it is signified that these people should be in a more depressed state and condition:

as wax before the fire; melts, and cannot stand the force of it; so the mountains should melt at the presence of the Lord; and kingdoms and states, and the greatest and mightiest of men in them, would not be able to stand before the fierceness of his wrath; see Psalms 68:2;

[and] as the waters [that are] poured down a steep place; that run with great swiftness, force, and rapidity, and there is no stopping them; so should the judgments of God come down upon the lower sort of people, the inhabitants of the valleys; neither high nor low would escape the indignation of the Lord, or be able to stand against it, or stand up under it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the mountains shall be molten under Him - It has been thought that this is imagery, taken from volcanic eruptions ; but, although there is a very remarkable volcanic district just outside of Gilead, it is not thought to have been active at times so late as these; nor were the people to whom the words were said, familiar with it. Fire, the real agent at the end of the world, is, meanwhile, the symbol of God’s anger, as being the most terrible of His instruments of destruction: whence God revealed Himself as a consuming fire Deuteronomy 4:24, and at this same time said by Isaiah; “For behold, the Lord will come with fire ... to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire” Isaiah 66:15.

And the valleys shall be cleft as wax before the fire - It seems natural that the mountains should be cleft; but the valleys , so low already! This speaks of a yet deeper dissolution; of lower depths beyond our sight or knowledge, into the very heart of the earth. Sanch.: “This should they fear, who will to be so low; who, so far from lifting themselves to heavenly things, pour out their affections on things of earth, meditate on and love earthly things, and forgetful of the heavenly, choose to fix their eyes on earth. These the wide gaping of the earth which they loved, shall swallow: to them the cleft valleys shall open an everlasting sepulchre, and, having received them, shall never part with them.”

Highest and lowest, first and last, shall perish before Him. The pride of the highest, kings and princes, priests and judges, shall sink and melt away beneath the weight and Majesty of His glory; the hardness of the lowest, which would not open itself to Him, shall be cleft in twain before Him.

As wax before the fire - (See Psalms 97:5), melting away before Him by whom they were not softened, vanishing into nothingness. Metals melt, changing their form only; wax, so as to cease to be.

As the waters poured down - (As a stream or cataract, so the word means .)

A steep place - Down to the very edge, it is borne along, one strong, smooth, unbroken current; then, at once, it seems to gather its strength, for one great effort. But to what end? To fall, with the greater force, headlong, scattered in spray, foam and froth; dissipated, at times, into vapor, or reeling in giddy eddies, never to return. In Judea, where the autumn rains set in with great vehemence, the waters must have been often seen pouring in their little tumultuous brooklets down the mountain side , hastening to disappear, and disappearing the faster, the more vehemently they rolled along . Both images exhibit the inward emptiness of sinners, man’s utter helplessness before God. They need no outward impulse to their destruction. Jerome: “Wax endureth not the nearness of the fire, and the waters are carried headlong. So all of the ungodly, when the Lord cometh, shall be dissolved and disappear.” At the end of the world, they shall be gathered into bundles, and cast away.


 
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