¹The Lord spoke his word to Micah, who was from Moresheth, when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This is the vision that Micah saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.

The Capital Cities of Israel and Judah Destroyed

²Listen, all you people!

Pay attention, earth and all who are on it.

The Almighty Lord will be a witness against you.

The Lord will be a witness from his holy temple.

³The Lord is going to come from his place.

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

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

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

⁵All 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?

⁶So 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.

⁷All 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.

⁸I will mourn and cry because of this.

I will walk around barefoot and naked.

I will cry like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.

⁹Samaria’s wounds are incurable.

⸤The news about Samaria⸥ will come to Judah.

It will reach the gates of my people in Jerusalem.

¹⁰Don’t report it in Gath. Don’t cry there.

Roll in the dust of Beth Leaphrah.^a

¹¹Pass by, naked and ashamed, inhabitants of Shaphir.

Don’t come out, inhabitants of Zaanan.

Beth Ezel is in mourning.

It will take its support away from you.

¹²Wait anxiously for good, inhabitants of Maroth.

From the Lord disaster will come on the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³Harness the horses to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish.

You were the first to lead the people of Zion into sin.

The rebellious acts of Israel are found in you.

¹⁴That is why you will give farewell gifts to Moresheth Gath.

The town of Achzib will betray the kings of Israel.

¹⁵I will again bring a conqueror against the inhabitants of Mareshah.

The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.

¹⁶Shave your head in mourning for the children you love.

Make yourselves as bald as vultures

because your children will be taken from you into exile.

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Footnotes

a 1:10 Or “I rolled in the dust of Beth Leaphrah.”