The word of the Lord that camea to Micahb the Moreshitec—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham,d Ahaz,e and Hezekiah,f kings of Judah.

COMING JUDGMENT ON ISRAEL

2 Listen, all you peoples;g

pay attention, earthA and everyone in it!h

The Lord God will be a witness against you,i

the Lord, from his holy temple.j

3 Look, the Lord is leaving his placek

and coming down to trample

the heightsB of the earth.l

4 The mountains will melt beneath him,

and the valleys will split apart,

like wax near a fire,m

like water cascading down a mountainside.

5 All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion

and the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the rebellion of Jacob?

Isn’t it Samaria?n

And what is the high place of Judah?o

Isn’t it Jerusalem?

6 Therefore, I will make Samaria

a heap of ruinsp in the countryside,

a planting areaq for a vineyard.

I will roll her stonesr into the valley

and expose her foundations.s

7 All her carved images will be smashedt to pieces;

all her wagesu will be burned in the fire,

and I will destroy all her idols.

Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,v

they will be used again for a prostitute.

MICAH’S LAMENT

8 Because of this I will lament and wail;

I will walk barefoot and naked.w

I will howl like the jackalsx

and mourn like ostriches.C

9 For her wound is incurabley

and has reached even Judah;z

it has approached my people’s city gate,aa

as far as Jerusalem.