Micah 1:1

Introduction

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 

Micah 1:5-6

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 

Micah 1:9

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 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ² tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  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.

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[1:6]  ¹³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.

[1:6]  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.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “come to.”

[1:9]  ²² tn Or “reached.”

[1:9]  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.

[1:9]  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.