Micah 1:6-7

1:6 “I will turn Samaria ¹  into a heap of ruins in an open field –

vineyards will be planted there! ² 

I will tumble ³  the rubble of her stone walls ⁴  down into the valley,

and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. ⁵ 

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ⁶ 

I will make a waste heap ⁷  of all her images.

Since ⁸  she gathered the metal ⁹  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ¹⁰ 

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

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.

[1:6]  ⁵ 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.

[1:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁹ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.