Micah 1:3-5

1:3 Look, ¹  the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!

He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! ² 

1:4 The mountains will disintegrate ³  beneath him,

and the valleys will be split in two. ⁴ 

The mountains will melt ⁵  like wax in a fire,

the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. 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 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).

[1:3]  ² tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ³ tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.

[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!”