1The Word of Jehovah that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem: 2Hear, all you people. Take heed, O earth, and all the fullness of it. And let the Lord Jehovah be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. 3For behold, Jehovah is coming out of His place, and He will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4And the mountains shall melt under Him, and the valleys shall burst open, as wax before the fire, as waters poured out on a steep place. 5All this is against the transgression of Jacob, and against 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. 6Therefore I will make Samaria into a ruinous heap of the field, places for planting a vineyard. And I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover her foundations. 7And all her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her wages of harlotry shall be burned with fire. And I will make all her idols a desolation. For she gathered it from the wages of a harlot, and they shall return to the wages of a harlot. 8Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals, and mourning like the daughters of the owl. 9For her wounds are incurable; for it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem. 10Do not declare it in Gath; do not weep and wail. In Beth Aphrah roll and wallow in dust. 11Pass over, you inhabitant of Shaphir, having your shame naked. The inhabitant of Zaanan has not gone out; Beth Ezel mourns; its standing place is taken from you. 12For the inhabitant of Maroth waited anxiously for good, but evil came down from Jehovah to the gate of Jerusalem. 13O inhabitant of Lachish, harness the chariot to the swift steeds; she is the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. 14Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. 15Yet I will bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah. The glory of Israel shall come unto Adullam. 16Make yourself bald, and cut off your hair for your dainty children. Enlarge your baldness like the eagle, for they have gone from you into exile.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 GOD'S WRATH AGAINST SAMARIA AND JUDAH; THE FORMER IS TO BE OVERTHROWN; SUCH JUDGMENTS IN PROSPECT CALL FOR MOURNING. (Mic. 1:1-16)
all that therein is--Hebrew, "whatever fills it." Micaiah, son of Imlah, begins his prophecy similarly, "Hearken, O people, every one of you." Micah designedly uses the same preface, implying that his ministrations are a continuation of his predecessor's of the same name. Both probably had before their mind Moses' similar attestation of heaven and earth in a like case (
Δευτ. 31:28;
Δευτ. 32:1; compare
Ησ. 1:2).
God be witness against you--namely, that none of you can say, when the time of your punishment shall come, that you were not forewarned. The punishment denounced is stated in
Μιχ. 1:3, &c.
from his holy temple--that is, heaven (
1Βασ. 8:30;
Ψαλ. 11:4;
Ιων. 2:7; compare
Ρωμ. 1:18).
3 tread upon the high places of the earth--He shall destroy the fortified heights (compare
Δευτ. 32:13;
Δευτ. 33:29) [GROTIUS].
4 Imagery from earthquakes and volcanic agency, to describe the terrors which attend Jehovah's coming in judgment (compare
Κρ. 5:5). Neither men of high degree, as the mountains, nor men of low degree, as the valleys, can secure themselves or their land from the judgments of God.
as wax-- (
Ψαλ. 97:5; compare
Ησ. 64:1-
Ησ. 64:3). The third clause, "as wax," &c.; answers to the first in the parallelism, "the mountains shall be molten"; the fourth, "as the waters," &c.; to the second, "the valleys shall be cleft." As wax melts by fire, so the mountains before God, at His approach; and as waters poured down a steep cannot stand but are diffused abroad, so the valleys shall be cleft before Jehovah.
5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this--All these terrors attending Jehovah's coming are caused by the sins of Jacob or Israel, that is, the whole people.
What is the transgression of Jacob?--Taking up the question often in the mouths of the people when reproved, "What is our transgression?" (compare
Μαλ. 1:6-
Μαλ. 1:7), He answers, Is it not Samaria? Is not that city (the seat of the calf-worship) the cause of Jacob's apostasy (
1Βασ. 14:16;
1Βασ. 15:26,
1Βασ. 15:34;
1Βασ. 16:13,
1Βασ. 16:19,
1Βασ. 16:25,
1Βασ. 16:30)?
and what are the high places of Judah?--What city is the cause of the idolatries on the high places of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem (compare
2Βασ. 18:4)?
6 Samaria's punishment is mentioned first, as it was to fall before Jerusalem.
as an heap of the field-- (
Μιχ. 3:12). Such a heap of stones and rubbish as is gathered out of fields, to clear them (
Ωσ. 12:11). Palestine is of a soil abounding in stones, which are gathered out before the vines are planted (
Ησ. 5:2).
as plantings of a vineyard--as a place where vines are planted. Vineyards were cultivated on the sides of hills exposed to the sun. The hill on which Samaria was built by Omri, had been, doubtless, planted with vines originally; now it is to be reduced again to its original state (
1Βασ. 16:24).
pour down--dash down the stones of the city into the valley beneath. A graphic picture of the present appearance of the ruins, which is as though "the buildings of the ancient city had been thrown down from the brow of the hill" [Scottish Mission of Inquiry, pp. 293,294].
discover the foundations--destroy it so utterly as to lay bare its foundations (
Ιεζ. 13:14). Samaria was destroyed by Shalmaneser.
7 all the hires--the wealth which Israel boasted of receiving from her idols as the "rewards" or "hire" for worshipping them (
Ωσ. 2:5,
Ωσ. 2:12).
idols . . . will I . . . desolate--that is, give them up to the foe to strip off the silver and gold with which they are overlaid.
she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot--Israel gathered (made for herself) her idols from the gold and silver received from false gods, as she thought, the "hire" of her worshipping them; and they shall again become what they had been before, the hire of spiritual harlotry, that is, the prosperity of the foe, who also being worshippers of idols will ascribe the acquisition to their idols [MAURER]. GROTIUS explains it, The offerings sent to Israel's temple by the Assyrians, whose idolatry Israel adopted, shall go back to the Assyrians, her teachers in idolatry, as the hire or fee for having taught it. The image of a harlot's hire for the supposed temporal reward of spiritual fornication, is more common in Scripture (
Ωσ. 9:1).
8 Therefore I will wail--The prophet first shows how the coming judgment affects himself, in order that he might affect the minds of his countrymen similarly.
stripped--that is, of shoes, or sandals, as the Septuagint translates. Otherwise "naked" would be a tautology.
naked--"Naked" means divested of the upper garment (
Ησ. 20:2). "Naked and barefoot," the sign of mourning (
2Σαμ. 15:30). The prophet's upper garment was usually rough and coarse-haired (
2Βασ. 1:8;
Ζαχ. 13:4).
like the dragons--so JEROME. Rather, "the wild dogs," jackals or wolves, which wail like an infant when in distress or alone [MAURER]. (See on
Ιώβ 30:29).
owls--rather, "ostriches," which give a shrill and long-drawn, sigh-like cry, especially at night.
9 wound . . . incurable--Her case, politically and morally, is desperate (
Ιερ. 8:22).
it is come--the wound, or impending calamity (compare
Ησ. 10:28).
he is come . . . even to Jerusalem--The evil is no longer limited to Israel. The prophet foresees Sennacherib coming even "to the gate" of the principal city. The use of "it" and "he" is appropriately distinct. "It," the calamity, "came unto" Judah, many of the inhabitants of which suffered, but did not reach the citizens of Jerusalem, "the gate" of which the foe ("he") "came unto," but did not enter (
Ησ. 36:1;
Ησ. 37:33-
Ησ. 37:37).
10 Declare ye it not at Gath--on the borders of Judea, one of the five cities of the Philistines, who would exult at the calamity of the Hebrews (
2Σαμ. 1:20). Gratify not those who exult over the falls of the Israel of God.
weep ye not at all--Do not betray your inward sorrow by outward weeping, within the cognizance of the enemy, lest they should exult at it. RELAND translates, "Weep not in Acco," that is, Ptolemais, now St. Jean d'Acre, near the foot of Mount Carmel; allotted to Asher, but never occupied by that tribe (
Κρ. 1:31); Acco's inhabitants would, therefore, like Gath's, rejoice at Israel's disaster. Thus the parallelism is best carried out in all the three clauses of the verse, and there is a similar play on sounds in each, in the Hebrew Gath, resembling in sound the Hebrew for "declare"; Acco, resembling the Hebrew for "weep"; and Aphrah, meaning "dust." While the Hebrews were not to expose their misery to foreigners, they ought to bewail it in their own cities, for example, Aphrah or Ophrah (
Ιησ. 18:23;
1Σαμ. 13:17), in the tribe of Benjamin. To "roll in the dust" marked deep sorrow (
Ιερ. 6:26;
Ιεζ. 27:30).
11 Pass ye away--that is, Thou shall go into captivity.
inhabitant of Saphir--a village amidst the hills of Judah, between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon, called so, from the Hebrew word for "beauty." Though thy name be "beauty," which heretofore was thy characteristic, thou shalt have thy "shame" made "naked." This city shall be dismantled of its walls, which are the garments, as it were, of cities; its citizens also shall be hurried into captivity, with persons exposed (
Ησ. 47:3;
Ιεζ. 16:37;
Ωσ. 2:10).
the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth--Its inhabitants did not come forth to console the people of Beth-ezel in their mourning, because the calamity was universal; none was exempt from it (compare
Ιερ. 6:25). "Zaanan" is the same as Zenan, in Judah (
Ιησ. 15:37), meaning the "place of flocks." The form of the name used is made like the Hebrew for "came forth." Though in name seeming to imply that thou dost come forth, thou "camest not forth."
Beth-ezel--perhaps Azal (
Ζαχ. 14:5), near Jerusalem. It means a "house on the side," or "near." Though so near, as its name implies, to Zaanan, Beth-ezel received no succor or sympathy from Zaanan.
he shall receive of you his standing--"he," that is, the foe; "his standing," that is, his sustenance [PISCATOR]. Or, "he shall be caused a delay by you, Zaanan." He shall be brought to a stand for a time in besieging you; hence it is said just before, "Zaanan came not forth," that is, shut herself up within her walls to withstand a siege. But it was only for a time. She, too, fell like Beth-ezel before her [VATABLUS]. MAURER construes thus: "The inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth; the mourning of Beth-ezel takes away from you her shelter." Though Beth-ezel be at your side (that is, near), according to her name, yet as she also mourns under the oppression of the foe, she cannot give you shelter, or be at your side as a helper (as her name might lead you to expect), if you come forth and be intercepted by him from returning to Zaanan.
12 Maroth--possibly the same as Maarath (
Ιησ. 15:59). Perhaps a different town, lying between the previously mentioned towns and the capital, and one of those plundered by Rab-shakeh on his way to it.
waited carefully for good--that is, for better fortune, but in vain [CALVIN]. GESENIUS translates, "is grieved for her goods," "taken away" from her. This accords with the meaning of Maroth, "bitterness," to which allusion is made in "is grieved." But the antithesis favors English Version, "waited carefully (that is, anxiously) for good, but evil came down."
from the Lord--not from chance.
unto the gate of Jerusalem--after the other cities of Judah have been taken.
13 "Bind the chariot to the swift steed," in order by a hasty flight to escape the invading foe. Compare Note, see on
Ησ. 36:2, on "Lachish," at which Sennacherib fixed his headquarters (
2Βασ. 18:14,
2Βασ. 18:17;
Ιερ. 34:7).
she is the beginning of the sin to . . . Zion--Lachish was the first of the cities of Judah, according to this passage, to introduce the worship of false gods, imitating what Jeroboam had introduced in Israel. As lying near the border of the north kingdom, Lachish was first to be infected by its idolatry, which thence spread to Jerusalem.
14 shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath--that its inhabitants may send thee help. MAURER explains it, "thou shalt give a writing of renunciation to Moresheth-gath," that is, thou shalt renounce all claim to it, being compelled to yield it up to the foe. "Thou," that is, Judah. "Israel" in this verse is used for the kingdom of Judah, which was the chief representative of the whole nation of Israel. Moresheth-gath is so called because it had fallen for a time under the power of the neighboring Philistines of Gath. It was the native town of Micah (
Μιχ. 1:1).
Achzib--meaning "lying." Achzib, as its name implies, shall prove a "lie to . . . Israel," that is, shall disappoint Israel's hopes of succor from her (compare
Ιώβ 6:15-
Ιώβ 6:20;
Ιερ. 15:18). Achzib was in Judah between Keilah and Mareshah (
Ιησ. 15:44). Perhaps the same as Chezib (
Γέν. 38:5).
15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee--rather, "the heir." As thou art now occupied by possessors who expelled the former inhabitants, so will I bring "yet" again the new possessor, namely, the Assyrian foe. Other heirs will supplant us in every inheritance but that of heaven. There is a play upon the meaning of Mareshah, "an inheritance": there shall come the new heir of the inheritance.
Adullam the glory of Israel--so called as being superior in situation; when it and the neighboring cities fell, Israel's glory was gone. MAURER, as the Margin, translates, "the glory of Israel" (her chief citizens: answering to "thy delicate children,"
Μιχ. 1:16) "shall come in flight to Adullam." English Version better preserves the parallelism, "the heir" in the first clause answering to "he" in the second.
16 Make thee bald, &c.--a token of deep mourning (
Εσδ. 9:3;
Ιώβ 1:20). Mourn, O land, for thy darling children.
poll--shave off thy hair.
enlarge thy baldness--Mourn grievously. The land is compared to a mother weeping for her children.
as the eagle--the bald eagle, or the dark-winged vulture. In the moulting season all eagles are comparatively bald (compare
Ψαλ. 103:5).
