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The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.
And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped ° and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.
For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

Introduction to Micah

Micah was a prophet from southwestern Judah whose prophecy nevertheless dealt also with the northern kingdom, Israel, and its capital in Samaria. He was a contemporary of Isaiah and included some of the same prophecies (Micah 4:1-3; compare Isaiah 2:2-4). In fact, in his younger days Micah may have been a disciple of Isaiah. His name meant “Who is like Jehovah?”

He wrote his prophecy while Israel was still in the land, but only shortly before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Israel (Micah 1:1,6). There are indications in later chapters that he continued his ministry in Judah after seeing the fulfillment of his prophecy of Samaria’s destruction.

He also prophesied the eventual Babylonian captivity of Judah (Micah 4:10), even though that prophecy would not be fulfilled until over a century later. It is noteworthy that Jeremiah, the last prophet of Judah before the exile, quoted Micah’s prophecy in his own prophecy some 120 years later (Jeremiah 26:18, citing Micah 3:12). According to Jeremiah, this prophecy was made at the time good king Hezekiah reigned in Jerusalem.

Although Micah preached against the wickedness of both Israel and Judah, he also prophesied the ultimate victory of God and His people through the coming Messiah. His book includes the wonderful prediction of Messiah’s human birth in Bethlehem, a prophecy eventually to be fulfilled over seven hundred years later. He also recognized the eternal deity of the Messiah (Micah 5:2).


1:1 Micah. Micah (a name meaning “Who is like Jehovah?”) was a contemporary of Isaiah in Judah, and some of his prophecies reflect the influence of Isaiah’s Messianic writings.


1:1 Samaria and Jerusalem. Although Micah lived in Judah, coming from a small town south of Jerusalem, his prophecy was directed to both Samaria and Jerusalem (capitals of the northern and southern kingdoms, respectively), and centered particularly upon the coming invasion of Israel by Assyria, which in turn was a precursive foreshadowing of the judgments of the last days.


1:6 heap of the field. This prophecy was fulfilled when the Assyrians besieged Samaria for three years, finally defeating King Hoshea and his forces, and carrying them away to Assyria (II Kings 17:6). Since this event took place during the reign of Ahaz in Judah, the prophecy itself was evidently given during the previous reign of Jotham. Samaria, built to a state of opulence by Omri and Ahab and the capital of Israel, was completely demolished by the Assyrian armies of Sargon. It stood on a hill, but its building stones were thrown down into the valley, just as prophesied, and its entire area eventually cultivated with vineyards, olive trees and fig trees.


1:9 come unto Judah. Micah could also foresee the future time when the same Assyrian invaders would come to the very “gate of my people, even to Jerusalem” during the later reign of Hezekiah (II Kings 18:17).


1:16 poll. That is, “cut off the hair.”


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