Mic 1 | ESV | STEP | The 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 .

1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah ^aof Moresheth ^bin the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw ^cconcerning ^dSamaria and Jerusalem.

The Coming Destruction

2 ^eHear, you peoples, all of you; ^{▼▼Hebrew all of them}
^gpay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and ^hlet the Lord God be a witness against you,
ⁱthe Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold, ^jthe Lord is coming out of ^khis place,
and will come down and ^ltread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And ^mthe mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for ⁿthe transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
^oWhat is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not ^pSamaria?
And what is ^qthe high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make ^rSamaria ^sa heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones ^tinto the valley
and ^uuncover her foundations.
7 All ^vher carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
^wall her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste,
for from ^xthe fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
8 ^yFor this I will lament and wail;
I will go ^zstripped and naked;
I will make lamentation ^aalike the jackals,
and mourning ^ablike the ostriches.
9 ^acFor her wound is incurable,
and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.
10 ^adTell it not in ^aeGath;
weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
^afroll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way,
inhabitants of Shaphir,
^agin nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come out;
the lamentation of Beth-ezel
shall take away from you its standing place.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
wait anxiously for good,
because disaster has come down ^ahfrom the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of ^aiLachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
^ajthe transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts ^{▼▼Or give dowry}
to ^alMoresheth-gath;
the houses of ^amAchzib shall be a deceitful thing
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring ^ana conqueror to you,
inhabitants of ^aoMareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to ^apAdullam.
16 ^aqMake yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
for the children of your delight;
^armake yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they shall go from you into exile.