1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to 1 Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message 2 during the reigns of 3 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to 4 Samaria 5 and Jerusalem. 6
1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 7 the sins of the nation 8 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 9
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 10
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 11
They are right in Jerusalem! 12
1:6 “I will turn Samaria 13 into a heap of ruins in an open field –
vineyards will be planted there! 14
I will tumble 15 the rubble of her stone walls 16 down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. 17
1:9 For Samaria’s 18 disease 19 is incurable.
It has infected 20 Judah;
it has spread to 21 the leadership 22 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 23
1 tn Heb “The word of the
2 tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”
5 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “house.”
9 tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”
10 tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.
11 tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”
12 tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”
13 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
14 tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”
15 tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”
16 tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.
17 tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.
19 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
21 tn Heb “come to.”
22 tn Or “reached.”
23 tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.
24 tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.