Micah 1:3–7

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;

he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.

4 The mountains melt beneath him

and the valleys split apart,

like wax before the fire,

like water rushing down a slope.

5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,

because of the sins of the people of Israel.

What is Jacob’s transgression?

Is it not Samaria?

What is Judah’s high place?

Is it not Jerusalem?

6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,

a place for planting vineyards.

I will pour her stones into the valley

and lay bare her foundations.

7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;

all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;

I will destroy all her images.

Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,

as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

3 For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place,

and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 And the 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 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?

6 Therefore 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.

7 All 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.

3 For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place,

And will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 And the mountains shall be molten under him,

And the valleys shall be cleft,

As wax before the fire,

And as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this,

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?

6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field,

And as plantings of a vineyard:

And I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley,

And I will discover the foundations thereof.

7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces,

And all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire,

And all the idols thereof will I lay desolate:

For she gathered it of the hire of an harlot,

And they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

3 Look! The Lord is coming!

He leaves his throne in heaven

and tramples the heights of the earth.

4 The mountains melt beneath his feet

and flow into the valleys

like wax in a fire,

like water pouring down a hill.

5 And 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 “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.

7 All 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.”

3 For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place;

He will come down

And tread on the high places of the earth.

4 The mountains will melt under Him,

And the valleys will split

Like wax before the fire,

Like waters poured down a steep place.

5 All 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?

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.

7 All 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.”

3 See, the Lord is coming out of his place;

he is coming down to walk on the tops of the mountains.

4 The mountains will melt under him,

and the valleys will crack open,

like wax near a fire,

like water running down a hillside.

5 All this is because of Jacob’s sin,

because of the sins of the nation of Israel.

What is the place of Jacob’s sin?

Isn’t it Samaria?

What is Judah’s place of idol worship?

Isn’t it Jerusalem?

6 “So I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country,

a place for planting vineyards.

I will pour her stones down into the valley

and strip her down to her foundations.

7 All her idols will be broken into pieces;

all the gifts to her idols will be burned with fire.

I will destroy all her idols,

and because Samaria earned her money by being unfaithful to me,

this money will be carried off by others who are not faithful to me.”

3 For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place. 5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, 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? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria as a heap of the field, and as places for planting vineyards; and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will uncover the foundations thereof. 7 And all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her hires shall be burned with fire, and all her idols will I lay desolate; for of the hire of a harlot hath she gathered them, and unto the hire of a harlot shall they return.

3 For behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters poured down a steep place. 5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. Whence is the transgression of Jacob? is it not from Samaria? And whence are the high places of Judah? are they not from Jerusalem? 6 Therefore will I make Samaria as a heap of the field, as plantings of a vineyard; and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will lay bare the foundations thereof. 7 And all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her harlot-gifts shall be burned with fire, and all her idols will I make a desolation; for of the hire of a harlot hath she gathered them, and to a harlot’s hire shall they return.

3 The Lord is going to come from his place. 

He is going to come down and step on the worship places of the earth. 

4 Mountains will melt under him like wax near a fire. 

Valleys will split apart like water pouring down a steep hill. 

5 All this is because of Jacob’s crime and Israel’s sin. 

What is Jacob’s crime? Isn’t it Samaria? 

What is Judah’s worship place? Isn’t it Jerusalem? 

6 So I will turn Samaria into a pile of rubble, 

a place for planting vineyards. 

I will roll its stones down into a valley and expose its foundations. 

7 All its idols will be smashed to pieces. 

All its wages for being a prostitute will be burned. 

All its statues will be turned into a pile of rubble. 

Samaria collected its wages for being a prostitute. 

That money will again pay for prostitutes. 

3 Look, the Lord is leaving His place

and coming down to trample

the heights of the earth.

4 The mountains will melt beneath Him,

and the valleys will split apart,

like wax near a fire,

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?

And what is the high place of Judah?

Isn’t it Jerusalem?

6 Therefore, I will make Samaria

a heap of ruins in the countryside,

a planting area for a vineyard.

I will roll her stones into the valley

and expose her foundations.

7 All her carved images will be smashed to pieces;

all her wages will be burned in the fire,

and I will destroy all her idols.

Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,

they will be used again for a prostitute.

3 For the Lord is coming out of his place

and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 Then the mountains will melt under him,

and the valleys will burst open

like wax near the fire,

like waters poured down a slope.

5 All 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?

6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country,

a place for planting vineyards.

I will pour down her stones into the valley

and uncover her foundations.

7 All her images shall be beaten to pieces,

all her wages shall be burned with fire,

and all her idols I will lay waste;

for as the wages of a prostitute she gathered them,

and as the wages of a prostitute they shall again be used.

3 For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place,

and he will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 The mountains will melt under him

and the valleys will burst open,

like wax before the fire,

like water rushing down a slope.

5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob,

and for the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the rebellion of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

And what are the high places of Judah?

Are they not Jerusalem?

6 So I will make Samaria as a heap of rubble in the field,

a place for planting a vineyard.

And I will pour down her stones into the valley

and uncover her foundations.

7 Then all her idols will be broken in pieces,

and all her prostitution wages will be burned in the fire,

and all her idols I will make a desolation,

For from the wage of a prostitute she gathered them,

and to the wage of a prostitute they will return.

3 The Lord is about to come down

from his home in heaven.

He rules over the highest places on earth.

4 The mountains will melt under him

like wax near a fire.

The valleys will be broken apart

by water rushing down a slope.

5 All of that will happen because

Jacob’s people have done what is wrong.

The people of Israel

have committed many sins.

Who is to blame

for the wrong things Jacob has done?

Samaria!

Who is to blame for the high places

where Judah’s people worship other gods?

Jerusalem!

6 So the Lord says,

“I will turn Samaria into a pile of trash.

It will become a place for planting vineyards.

I will dump its stones down into the valley.

And I will destroy it

down to its very foundations.

7 All of the statues of Samaria’s gods

will be broken to pieces.

All of the gifts its people gave to temple prostitutes

will be burned with fire.

I will destroy all of the statues of its gods.

Samaria collected gifts that were paid to temple prostitutes.

So the Assyrians will use the gifts

to pay their own temple prostitutes.”

3 For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place.

He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.

4 The mountains will melt under Him

And the valleys will be split,

Like wax before the fire,

Like water poured down a steep place.

5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob

And for the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the rebellion of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

What is the high place of Judah?

Is it not Jerusalem?

6 For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country,

Planting places for a vineyard.

I will pour her stones down into the valley

And will lay bare her foundations.

7 All of her idols will be smashed,

All of her earnings will be burned with fire

And all of her images I will make desolate,

For she collected them from a harlot’s earnings,

And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.