| English Standard 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, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and 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, and will come down and tread upon 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! |
| 4And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, 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 is the high place of Judah? Is it 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! |
| 6Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and 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, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return. | 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." |
| 8For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and 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 wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached 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-le-aphrah roll yourselves 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 on your way, inhabitants of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitants of Zaanan do not come out; the lamentation of Beth-ezel shall take away from you its standing place. | 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 inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good, because disaster has come 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. |
| 13Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel. | 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 parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing 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 again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants 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 yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile. | 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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