Samaria and Israel to Be Punished

1 The word of the Lord came to Micah. This was during the time of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. These men were kings of Judah. Micah was from Moresheth. Micah saw {these visions} about Samaria and Jerusalem. ²Listen, all of you people! Earth and everyone on it,* listen! My Master, the Lord will come from his holy temple.* My Master will come as a witness* against you. ³See, the Lord is coming out of his place. He is coming down to walk on the high places* of the earth. ⁴The mountains will melt under him like wax before a fire. The valleys will split open and flow like water down a steep hill. ⁵Why? Because of Jacob’s* sin. Because of the sins of the nation* of Israel.

Samaria, the Cause of Sin

What caused Jacob to sin? It was Samaria! Where is the high place* in Judah? It is Jerusalem! ⁶So I will change Samaria into a pile of rocks in the field, a place ready for planting grapes. I will push Samaria’s stones down into the valley, leaving nothing but the foundations! ⁷All her idols* will be broken into pieces. Her prostitute’s wages (idols) will be burned in fire. I will destroy all her statues {of false gods}. Why? Because Samaria got her riches by being unfaithful to me.* So those things will be taken by people that are not faithful to me.*

Micah’s Great Sadness

⁸I will be very sad about what will happen. I will go without shoes and clothes. I will cry like a dog.* I will mourn like a bird.* ⁹Samaria’s* wound can’t be healed. Her disease (sin) has spread to Judah. It has reached the city gate of my people. It has spread all the way to Jerusalem. ¹⁰Don’t tell it in Gath.* Don’t cry in Acco.* Roll yourself in the dust at Beth Ophrah.* ¹¹You people living in Shaphir,* pass on your way, naked and ashamed. People living in Zaanan* will not come out. The people in Beth Ezel* will cry, and take its support from you. ¹²People living in Maroth* become weak waiting for good {news to come}. Why? Because trouble has come down from the Lord to the city gate of Jerusalem. ¹³Lady of Lachish,* hitch (tie) a fast horse to the wagon.* Zion’s sins started in Lachish. Why? Because you follow in Israel’s sins.* ¹⁴So you must give goodbye gifts to Moresheth* in Gath. The houses in Aczib* will trick the kings of Israel. ¹⁵You people living in Mareshah,* I will bring a person against you. That person will take the things you own. The Glory of Israel (God) will come into Adullam.* ¹⁶So cut off your hair, make yourself bald.* Why? Because {you will cry for} the children you love. Make yourself bald like an eagle* {and show your sadness}. Why? Because your children will be taken away from you.

everyone on it Literally, “its fullness.” temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. witness A person that tells in court what he has seen or heard. high place(s) Here this might simply mean “hills” or it might be the places for worshiping God or false gods. These places were often on the hills and mountains. Jacob Israel was Jacob’s other name. (See Gen. 32:28.) Jacob is often used to mean Israel, the nation that descended from him. nation Literally, “house.” This might mean the royal family of that country. idols Statues of false gods that people worshiped. her riches … me Literally, “her wages were a prostitute’s wages.” will be … me Literally, “will return to prostitute’s wages.” dog Literally, “jackal,” a kind of wild dog. bird Literally, “ostrich,” a large bird. Samaria The capital of the northern ten-family group kingdom of Israel. Here it is often used to mean the northern kingdom itself. Gath This is a word play. This name means, “tell.” Acco This name means, “cry.” Beth Ophrah This name means, “House of Dust.” Shaphir This name means, “beautiful.” Zaanan This name means, “come out.” Beth Ezel This name means, “House of Support.” Maroth This name means, “bitter,” “angry,” or “sad.” Lachish This Hebrew word is like the word meaning, “horse.” wagon Or, “chariot,” a small wagon used in war. Israel’s sins That is, building places of worship other than the temple in Jerusalem. Archaeologists have discovered this “temple” and the memorial stones at Tel Lachish. Moresheth Micah’s hometown. Aczib This name means, “lie,” or “trick.” Mareshah The name means, “a person that takes things.” Adullam A cave in which David hid when he ran away from Saul (see 1 Sam. 22:1). cut … bald This showed a person made a special agreement with God, or that a person was very sad. eagle Or, “vulture.”

The Evil Plans of People

2 Trouble will come to people that make plans to sin. Those people lie on their beds making their evil plans Then when the morning light comes, they do the bad things they planned. Why? Simply because they have the power to do what they want. ²They want fields, so they take them. They want houses, so they take them. They cheat a man and take his house. They cheat a man and take his land from him.

The Lord’s Plans to Punish the People

³That is why the Lord says these things. “Look, I am planning trouble against this family. You will not be able to save yourselves.* You will stop being proud. Why? Because bad times are coming. ⁴Then people will sing songs about you. People will sing this sad song: ‘We are ruined! The Lord took away our land. And gave it to other people. Yes, he took my land away from me. The Lord has divided our fields {among our enemies}. ⁵So we will not be able to measure the land and divide it among the Lord’s people.’”

Micah Is Asked Not to Preach

⁶People say, “Don’t preach to us. Don’t say those bad things about us. Nothing bad will happen to us.” ⁷But people of Jacob,* I must say these things. The Lord is losing his patience because of the bad things you did. If you people lived right, then I could say nice words to you. ⁸But to my people, they are like an enemy. You steal the clothes right off the backs of people walking by. Those people think they are safe. But you {take things from them} like they are prisoners of war.* ⁹You have taken nice houses away from the women of my people. You have taken my wealth away from their small children forever. ¹⁰Get up and leave! This will not be your place of rest. Why? Because you ruined this place! You made it unclean, so it will be destroyed! It will be a terrible destruction! ¹¹{These people don’t want to listen to me.} But if a man came telling lies then they would accept him. They would accept a false prophet if he comes and says, “There will be good times in the future, with plenty of wine and beer.”

The Lord Will Bring His People Together

¹²Yes, people of Jacob,* I will bring all of you together. I will bring together all the survivors* of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the sheep pen, like a flock in its pasture. Then the place will be filled with the noise of many people. ¹³Then the “Crasher” will push through and walk to the front of his people. They will break through the gates and leave {that city}. They will leave with their King marching before them with the Lord at the front of his people.

save yourselves Literally, “take your necks off it.” Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28. Those people … war. Or, “Those people think they are safe, returning from war.” Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28. survivors People that escape some accident or war.

The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil

3 Then I said, “Hear now, leaders of Jacob,* and officers of the nation* of Israel. You should know what justice is! ²But you hate good and love evil! You tear the skin off the people. You tear the flesh off their bones! ³You are destroying my people!* You take their skin off them, and break their bones. You chop their bones up like {meat} to put in the pot! ⁴So, you might pray to the Lord, but he will not answer you. No, the Lord will hide his face from you. Why? Because you do evil things!”

False Prophets

⁵Some false prophets are telling lies to the Lord’s people. The Lord says this about those prophets: “These prophets are led by their stomachs! The prophets promise peace for people who give them food. But they promise war against people who won’t give them food. ⁶That is why it is like night for you. That is why you don’t have visions.* You can’t see what will happen in the future, so it is like darkness to you. The sun has gone down on the prophets. They can’t see what will happen in the future, so it is like darkness to them. ⁷The seers* are ashamed. The fortune tellers* are embarrassed. They won’t say anything because God will not speak to them!

Micah Is an Honest Prophet of God

⁸But the Lord’s Spirit has filled me with power, goodness, and strength. Why? So I can tell Jacob* about his crimes, and so I can tell Israel* about his sins!”

The Leaders of Israel Are to Blame

⁹Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel, listen to me! You hate the right way of living! If something is straight, then you make it crooked! ¹⁰You build Zion* by murdering people.* You build Jerusalem by cheating people! ¹¹The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes to help them decide who wins in court. The priests in Jerusalem must be paid before they will teach the people. People must pay the prophets before they will look into the future. And then those leaders expect the Lord to help them. They say, “The Lord lives here with us. So nothing bad will happen to us.” ¹²{Leaders,} because of you, Zion* will be destroyed. It will become a plowed field. Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks. Temple Mount will be an empty hill* overgrown with bushes.

Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28. nation Literally, “house.” This might mean the royal family of that country. You are destroying my people Literally, “They eat the flesh of my people.” vision(s) Like a dream. God used visions to teach prophets what they should say to the people. seers Another name for prophets. fortune tellers People that try to use magic to learn what will happen in the future. Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28. Israel Another name for Jacob. Here it means the people of Israel. Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on. Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem. murdering people Literally, “bloodshed.” empty hill Or, “high place,” a term usually used for local shrines (places for worship) where people often worshiped idols.

The Law Will Come from Jerusalem

4 In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s temple* will be on the highest of all mountains. It will be raised higher than the hills. There will be a steady stream of people going there. ²People from many nations will go there. They will say, “Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain. Let’s go to the temple of the God of Jacob. Then God will teach us his way of living. And we will follow him.” The teachings from God —the Lord’s message—will begin in Jerusalem on Mount Zion* and go out {to all the world}. ³Then God will be a judge for the people of many nations. God will end the arguments for many* people in faraway countries. Those people will stop using their weapons for fighting. They will make plows from their swords. And they will use their spears as tools for cutting plants. People will stop fighting other people. People will never again train for war. ⁴Each person will sit under his own grapevine and fig tree. No person will make {them} afraid! Why? Because the Lord All-Powerful said it would happen like that! ⁵All the people {from other nations} follow their own gods. But we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever!*

The Kingdom to Be Brought Back

⁶The Lord says, “{Jerusalem} was hurt and crippled. {Jerusalem} was thrown away. {Jerusalem} was hurt and punished. But I will bring her back {to me}. ⁷The people of that ‘crippled’ city will become the survivors.* The people of that city were forced to leave. But I will make them into a strong nation.” The Lord will be their king. He will rule from Mount Zion* forever. ⁸And you, Tower of Flocks,* your time will come. Ophel, hill of Zion, you will again be the seat of government. Yes, the kingdom will be in Jerusalem like it was in the past.”

Why Must the Israelites Go to Babylon?

⁹Now, why are you crying so loud? Is your king gone? Have you lost your leader? You are suffering like a woman that is giving birth. ¹⁰Daughter of Zion,* feel the pain. Give birth to your “baby.” You must go out of this city (Jerusalem). You will live in the field. I mean, you will go to Babylon. But you will be saved from that place. The Lord will go there and rescue you. He will take you away from your enemies.

The Lord Will Destroy the Other Nations

¹¹Many nations have come to fight against you. They say, “Look, there is Zion!* Let’s attack her!” ¹²{Those people have their plans.} But they don’t know what the Lord is planning. The Lord brought those people here {for a special purpose}. Those people will be {crushed} like grain on a threshing floor.*

Israel Will Defeat Its Enemies

¹³“Daughter of Zion,* get up and crush those people! {I will make you very strong.} It will be like you have horns of iron, and hooves* of bronze. You will beat many people into small pieces. You will give their wealth to the Lord. You will give their treasure to the Lord of all the earth.”

temple A special building for worshiping God. God commanded the Jews to worship him at the temple in Jerusalem. Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on. Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem. many Or, “powerful.” All the people … ever Or, “All the nations will walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, forever and ever!” survivors People that escape some accident or war. Tower of Flocks Or, “Migdal Eder.” This probably means a part of Jerusalem. The leaders would be like shepherds in a tower watching their sheep. Daughter of Zion Another name for Jerusalem. threshing floor A place where grain is beaten or walked on to remove the hulls from the grain. hooves The hard part of a horse’s foot.