Mikha 1:3-8

1:3 Look, ¹  the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!

He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! ² 

1:4 The mountains will disintegrate ³  beneath him,

and the valleys will be split in two. ⁴ 

The mountains will melt ⁵  like wax in a fire,

the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. ⁶ 

1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion

and ⁷  the sins of the nation ⁸  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ⁹ 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ¹⁰ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ¹¹ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ¹² 

1:6 “I will turn Samaria ¹³  into a heap of ruins in an open field –

vineyards will be planted there! ¹⁴ 

I will tumble ¹⁵  the rubble of her stone walls ¹⁶  down into the valley,

and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. ¹⁷ 

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹⁸ 

I will make a waste heap ¹⁹  of all her images.

Since ²⁰  she gathered the metal ²¹  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ²² 

1:8 For this reason I ²³  will mourn and wail;

I will walk around barefoot ²⁴  and without my outer garments. ²⁵ 

I will howl ²⁶  like a wild dog, ²⁷ 

and screech ²⁸  like an owl. ²⁹ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).

[1:3]  ² tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ³ tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[1:5]  sn In vv. 2-5 Micah narrows the scope of God’s judgment from the nations (vv. 2-4) to his covenant people (v. 5). Universal judgment is coming, but ironically Israel is the focal point of God’s anger. In v. 5c the prophet includes Judah within the scope of divine judgment, for it has followed in the pagan steps of the northern kingdom. He accomplishes this with rhetorical skill. In v. 5b he develops the first assertion of v. 5a (“All of this is because of Jacob’s rebellion”). One expects in v. 5c an elaboration of the second assertion in v. 5a (“and the sins of the nation of Israel”), which one assumes, in light of v. 5b, pertains to the northern kingdom. But the prophet specifies the “sins” as “high places” and makes it clear that “the nation of Israel” includes Judah. Verses 6-7 further develop v. 5b (judgment on the northern kingdom), while vv. 8-16 expand on v. 5c (judgment on Judah).

[1:5]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:6]  ¹³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.

[1:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.

[1:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  sn The precious metal used by Samaria’s pagan worship centers to make idols are here compared to a prostitute’s wages because Samaria had been unfaithful to the Lord and prostituted herself to pagan gods, such as Baal.

[1:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ²¹ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ²² tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[1:8]  ²³ tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “stripped.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is unclear. It may refer to walking barefoot (see 2 Sam 15:30) or to partially stripping oneself (see Job 12:17-19).

[1:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “naked.” This probably does not refer to complete nudity, but to stripping off one’s outer garments as an outward sign of the destitution felt by the mourner.

[1:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”

[1:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”

[1:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”

[1:8]  ²⁹ tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).