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Calamity in Israel and Judah

¹ The ^(C1)word of ^(F1)Yahweh which came to ^(C2)Micah of Moresheth in the days of ^(C3)Jotham, ^(C4)Ahaz, and ^(C5)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he beheld concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

² Hear, O peoples, all of ^(F1)you;
^(C1)Give heed, O earth, as well as its fullness,
And let Lord Yahweh be a ^(C2)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.

³ For behold, Yahweh is ^(C1)going forth from His place.
He will come down and ^(C2)tread on the high places of the ^(F1)earth.

^4 (C1)The mountains will melt under Him,
And the valleys will be split,
Like wax before the fire,
Like water poured down a steep place.

⁵ All this is for the transgression of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the ^(C1)transgression of Jacob?
Is it not ^(C2)Samaria?
What is the ^(C3)high ^(F1)place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?

⁶ So I will make Samaria a ^(C1)heap of ruins in the field,
^(C2)Planting places for a vineyard.
And I will ^(C3)pour her stones down into the valley
And will ^(C4)lay bare her foundations.

⁷ And all of her ^(C1)graven images will be smashed,
And all of her earnings will be burned with fire
And all of her idols I will make desolate,
For she collected them from a ^(C2)harlot's earnings,
And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.

⁸ Because of this I must lament and wail;
I must go ^(C1)barefoot and naked;
I must make a lament like the ^(C2)jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches.

⁹ For her ^(F1)(C1)wound is incurable,
For ^(C2)it has come to Judah;
It has reached the ^(C3)gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.

^10 (C1)Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all.
At ^(F1)Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.

^11 (F1)Pass on by, inhabitant of ^(F2)Shaphir, in ^(C1)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of ^(F3)(C2)Zaanan does not go out.
The lamentation of ^(F4)Beth-ezel: "He will take from you its ^(F5)support."

¹² For the inhabitant of ^(F1)Maroth
Writhes ^(C1)in waiting for good
Because a ^(F2)calamity has come down from Yahweh
To the ^(C2)gate of Jerusalem.

¹³ Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
O inhabitant of ^(C1)Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the daughter of Zion—
Because in you were found
The ^(C2)transgressions of Israel.

¹⁴ Therefore you will give parting ^(C1)gifts
On behalf of ^(F1)Moresheth-gath;
The houses of ^(F2)(C2)Achzib will become a ^(C3)deception
To the kings of Israel.

¹⁵ Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of ^(F1)(C1)Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will enter ^(C2)Adullam.

¹⁶ Make yourself ^(C1)bald and cut off your hair,
Because of the children of your delight;
Extend your baldness like the eagle,
For they will ^(C2)go from you into exile.