^26:19King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah did not put him to death, did they? Did not Hezekiah show reverence for the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor?³⁷ Did not³⁸ the Lord forgo destroying them³⁹ as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves.”⁴⁰

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Footnotes

31 Micah from Moresheth was a contemporary of Isaiah (compare Mic 1:1 with Isa 1:1) from the country town of Moresheth in the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. The prophecy referred to is found in Mic 3:12. This is the only time in the OT where an OT prophet is quoted verbatim and identified.
32 Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729–715 b.c. and sole ruler from 715–686 b.c. His father was a wicked king who was responsible for the incursions of the Assyrians (2 Kgs 16; 2 Chr 28). Hezekiah was a godly king, noted for his religious reforms and for his faith in the Lord in the face of the Assyrian threat (2 Kgs 18–19; 2 Chr 32:1–23). The deliverance of Jerusalem in response to his prayers of faith (2 Kgs 19:14–19, 29–36) was undoubtedly well-known to the people of Jerusalem and Judah and may have been one of the prime reasons for their misplaced trust in the inviolability of Zion/Jerusalem (see Ps 46, 76) though the people of Micah’s day already believed it too (Mic 3:11).
33 Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this title for God see the study note on .
34 Zion was first of all the citadel that David captured (2 Sam 5:6–10), then the city of David and the enclosed temple area, then the whole city of Jerusalem. It is often in poetic parallelism with Jerusalem as it is here (see, e.g., Ps 76:2; Amos 1:2).
35 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
36 There is irony involved in this statement. The text reads literally “high places of a forest/thicket.” The “high places” were the illicit places of worship that Jerusalem was supposed to replace. Because of their sin, Jerusalem would be like one of the pagan places of worship with no place left sacrosanct. It would even be overgrown with trees and bushes. So much for its inviolability!
37 This Hebrew idiom (חָלָה פָּנִים, khalah panim) is often explained in terms of “stroking” or “patting the face” of someone, seeking to gain his favor. It is never used in a literal sense and is found in contexts of prayer (Exod 32:11; Ps 119:158), worship (Zech 8:21–22), humble submission (2 Chr 3:12), or amendment of behavior (Dan 9:13). All were true to one extent or another of Hezekiah.
38 The he interrogative (הַ)with the negative governs all three of the verbs, the perfect and the two vav (ו) consecutive imperfects that follow it. The next clause has disjunctive word order and introduces a contrast. The question expects a positive answer.
39 For the translation of the terms involved here see the translator’s note on .
40 Or “great harm to ourselves.” The word “disaster” (or “harm”) is the same one that has been translated “destroying” in the preceding line and in vv. 3 and 13.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“ ‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“ ‘Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’

“Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says:

Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become ruins,

and the temple’s mountain will be a high thicket.’

Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah put him to death? Did not the king fear the Lord and plead for the Lord’s favor, and did not the Lord relent concerning the disaster he had pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”

NLTNew Living Translation

They said, “Remember when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah,

‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:

Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;

Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!

A thicket will grow on the heights

where the Temple now stands.’

But did King Hezekiah and the people kill him for saying this? No, they turned from their sins and worshiped the Lord. They begged him for mercy. Then the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had pronounced against them. So we are about to do ourselves great harm.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Micah the Morashtite was prophesying in the days of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and he said to all the people of Judah, saying:

‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts:

“Zion will be plowed as a field,

and Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the temple as high places of wood.” ’

Did Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and all Judah actually put him to death? Was he not in fear of Yahweh? And he entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster that he had spoken against them. But we are about to do great disaster to ourselves.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

Zion shall be plowed like a field,

And Jerusalem shall become heaps,

And the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

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