| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 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. | 1The LORD gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem. Grief over Samaria and Jerusalem |
| 2Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple. | 2Attention! Let all the people of the world listen! Let the earth and everything in it hear. The Sovereign LORD is making accusations against you; the Lord speaks from his holy Temple. |
| 3For behold, the LORD is coming out of His place; He will come down And tread on the high places of the earth. | 3Look! The LORD is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth. |
| 4The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place. | 4The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water pouring down a hill. |
| 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 are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem? | 5And why is this happening? Because of the rebellion of Israel — yes, the sins of the whole nation. Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion? Samaria, its capital city! Where is the center of idolatry in Judah? In Jerusalem, its capital! |
| 6“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, Places for planting a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the valley, And I will uncover her foundations. | 6“So I, the LORD, will make the city of Samaria a heap of ruins. Her streets will be plowed up for planting vineyards. I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below, exposing her foundations. |
| 7All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, And all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; All her idols I will lay desolate, For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot, And they shall return to the pay of a harlot.” | 7All her carved images will be smashed. All her sacred treasures will be burned. These things were bought with the money earned by her prostitution, and they will now be carried away to pay prostitutes elsewhere.” |
| 8Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals And a mourning like the ostriches, | 8Therefore, I will mourn and lament. I will walk around barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. |
| 9For her wounds are incurable. For it has come to Judah; It has come to the gate of My people— To Jerusalem. | 9For my people’s wound is too deep to heal. It has reached into Judah, even to the gates of Jerusalem. |
| 10Tell it not in Gath, Weep not at all; In Beth Aphrah Roll yourself in the dust. | 10Don’t tell our enemies in Gath ; don’t weep at all. You people in Beth-leaphrah, roll in the dust to show your despair. |
| 11Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir; The inhabitant of Zaanan does not go out. Beth Ezel mourns; Its place to stand is taken away from you. | 11You people in Shaphir, go as captives into exile—naked and ashamed. The people of Zaanan dare not come outside their walls. The people of Beth-ezel mourn, for their house has no support. |
| 12For the inhabitant of Maroth pined for good, But disaster came down from the LORD To the gate of Jerusalem. | 12The people of Maroth anxiously wait for relief, but only bitterness awaits them as the LORD’s judgment reaches even to the gates of Jerusalem. |
| 13O inhabitant of Lachish, Harness the chariot to the swift steeds (She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion), For the transgressions of Israel were found in you. | 13Harness your chariot horses and flee, you people of Lachish. You were the first city in Judah to follow Israel in her rebellion, and you led Jerusalem into sin. |
| 14Therefore you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath; The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. | 14Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath ; there is no hope of saving it. The town of Aczib has deceived the kings of Israel. |
| 15I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah; The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam. | 15O people of Mareshah, I will bring a conqueror to capture your town. And the leaders of Israel will go to Adullam. |
| 16Make yourself bald and cut off your hair, Because of your precious children; Enlarge your baldness like an eagle, For they shall go from you into captivity. | 16Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow, for the children you love will be snatched away. Make yourselves as bald as a vulture, for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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