Micah 1:8-16 – Mourning Over The Calamity Of Sin

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 14 July, 2024

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Introduction

In the first seven verses of Micah 1, God spoke, threatening cataclysmic judgment against Samaria and Judah for breaking covenant with Him and worshiping idols.
Now, in v.8, the first person changes. Micah responds to God with staggering grief in the realization that unless his country of Judea repents of its unfaithfulness to God, it will be overrun by foreign enemies just like his Israelite neighbors to the north in Samaria.
Mourning is the right and proper response when we realize we have sinned and are in big trouble. The right attitude is to mourn, not just because you’re in big trouble, but also because you have done wrong and you want to change.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Blessed are the ones who are lowly in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are the ones who mourn, because it is they who will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, because it is they who will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for it is they who will be satisfied.” (Matt. 5:3-6, NAW)

v. 8 Micah Goes Into Mourning

This attitude of mourning is reflected in Micah 1:8ff, as well as in many of the other prophets:
- Isaiah 13:6 “Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near; as calamity from the Almighty it will come!” (NAW)
- Jeremiah 4:8 “For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us.” (NKJV)
- Ezekiel 21:12 "Cry and wail, son of man; For it will be against My people, Against all the princes of Israel. Terrors including the sword will be against My people; Therefore strike your thigh.” (NKJV)
- Amos 8:3 “And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day," Says the Lord GOD-- "Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in silence." (NKJV)
- We even see it in the future book of Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” (ESV, cf. Mt. 24:30)
Notice the similarity to Isaiah 20:2-4 “at that time Yahweh spoke by the agency of Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, ‘Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your thong from your foot,’ and he did so, walking naked and barefoot¹. Then the LORD said, ‘Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.” (NAW)
- Now, it wasn’t the custom of mourners in Micah’s day to go around naked, instead they wore sackcloth and put ashes on their heads. What Isaiah and Micah were demonstrating was the tradition of stripping captives of war. Through Isaiah and Micah God provided two witnesses to warn the Jews of the Babylonian captivity that would come if they did not repent.
There is some debate as to whether the word at the end of v.8 should be “ostrich²” or “owl.” Ostriches are not native to the Middle East, so, even though they can make some noises that sound like quiet sobbing, I suspect owls and some of their quieter hooting sounds are what Micah is referring to.³
All this refers back to God’s pronouncement of judgment. “I will mourn and lament because my people’s sin has finally brought about God’s judgment.”

v. 9 Two Reasons For Mourning

First: because her plague/wound is incurable...
- The first occurrence in the Bible of this word for “blow/wound/plague” is Leviticus 26:21 “If y'all still walk defiantly in relation to me and y'all don't want to heed me, I will add seven more strokes upon y'all, corresponding to y'all’s sins.” (NAW)
- Deuteronomy 28:58-61 makes a parallel statement: “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting…. until you are destroyed.” (ESV, cf. 29:21ff)
- This is consistent with what the Bible generally reveals about God’s judgment:
  - Psalm 63:6-7 “They devise iniquities: ‘We have perfected a shrewd scheme.’ ... But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded.” (NKJV)
  - Isaiah 1:4-6 “Oh, nation of sinners, people heavy with iniquity, seed of evildoers, children of destroyers; they have forgotten Yahweh, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backwards. Over what will you be struck down again? Will you add to rebellion? Every head is sick, and every heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is nothing whole in it – cut and bruise and wound...” (NAW)
  - Jeremiah 30:11-15 “...I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished. For thus says the LORD: ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe... For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased. Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.” (NKJV)
  - This wound could well refer to the capture of Samaria which happened early in Micah’s ministry – it was a stroke of punishment from God designed to capture the attention of His unfaithful people and call them to repentance. (Joseph Kara, 1100 AD)
  - “There is indeed ‘balm in Gilead’ and a physician there; but they will not apply to the physician, nor apply the balm to themselves, and therefore the wound is incurable.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD
  - Isaiah 22:12-14 “And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, "Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death," says the Lord GOD of hosts.” (NAW, cf. Jeremiah 6:26)
- So what should we do when we see people being rebellious and God bringing judgment?
  - Mourn and confess sin: Jeremiah 14:17-20 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:`Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow. If I go out to the field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; And for the time of healing, and there was trouble. We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness And the iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You.” (NKJV)
  - Get out of Babylon: Revelation 18:4-8 “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities... repay her double according to her works… In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, “I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.” Therefore her plagues will come in one day-- death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.” (NKJV)
The second reason Micah mourns and laments is because a conqueror will “come to Judah, right up to the gate of Jerusalem!” The verbs change to masculine singular here, referring to the conqueror in v.15.
- Idolatry had corrupted Jerusalem, so God brought wave after wave of conquerors to the gates of Jerusalem during Micah’s lifetime until it was finally destroyed about 100 years after Micah died. First came the army of Damascus, Syria, then the army of Pekah, King of Israel⁴, then the army of Sennacherib from Assyria, and finally the army of Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon.

v. 10 Rolling in the Dust

Verse 10 is clearly an allusion to David’s song of mourning over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1:20, when he said, “Y'all, don't communicate with Gath; don't announce it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be happy – lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.” (NAW) We don’t want the enemies of God to gloat over the chastisement God brings upon His own people.
- But Micah changed David’s quote somewhat. The “streets of Ashkelon” in David’s song have been turned by Micah into “Beth-Leaphrah,” which means literally “house to dust.”
  - “Aphrah” is the same Hebrew word as “dust” at the end of this verse, so this is a play on words.
  - This passage lists the names of about a dozen cities, so perhaps Beth-le-Aphra was a town in Judea, but it isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.⁵.
  - Seeing as it is a play on words with the word for “dirt/dust,” I think it best to render it “House of Dust.”
- Considering the changes Micah has made to David’s original quote, and considering the fact that Gath was probably⁶ under Jewish control at the time (instead of under Philistine control 2 Chron. 26:6), and considering the differences in grammar between the first two verbs in v.10 and the last verb in v.10, I suspect that the verbs “tell” and “cry” are not commands like the command to “roll” is⁷; I think that “tell” and “weep” are are actually statements of fact – the Judeans are not talking about or mourning over their sin. In other words, Micah isn’t telling the Judeans not to mourn over their sin and God’s chastisement, rather he’s lamenting the fact that they haven’t been mourning over their sin and God’s chastisement like they should have been – they should be “rolling” in sackcloth and “ashes” to repent of their sin and seek God’s mercy instead⁸.
- “When God makes the house dust, it becomes us to humble ourselves under his mighty hand, and to put our mouths in the dust, thus accommodating ourselves to the providences that concern us.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD

v. 11 Feeling The Shame Of Sin

The indirect object of the first verb “go/pass/cross over” in this Hebrew verse is either ignored or translated “your way” in most English versions, even though the word “way” is not there in Hebrew. The Hebrew indirect object that is there consists of the preposition “to” and a plural pronoun which could mean “y’all” or “them,” so I think “cross over to them” makes the most sense. What I suspect this is describing is the defection of Jewish citizens over to the Assyrians – either forced or voluntarily⁹.
Next, let me note that the Hebrew word for “inhabitant/resident” is feminine and singular, so the addressee is depicted as a single woman, probably to paint a vivid picture of the vulnerability of these Jewish towns. That’s why I translated it “Miss Resident of Shaphir” and “Miss Resident of Tsonan.”
Like Beth Ophrah in v.10, the three towns in v.11 – Shaphir, Tsanan, and Beth Ezel (as well as Maroth in v.12) – are not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible¹⁰. Possibly they were all small towns within traveling distance from Moresheth Gath¹¹.
But Shaphir, which means “beautiful” in Hebrew, is going to be crushed with shame, because sin results in shame.
- Isaiah 42:17 "The ones who trust in the idols will be turned backwards and utterly put to shame - those who say to a cast image, 'You are our god!'” (NAW)
- Daniel 9:8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.” (NKJV)
- Ezekiel 16:2, 36-41 graphically describes the shame of how they would be treated by their conquerors: “...they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. They shall burn your houses with fire...” (NKJV, cf. 23:29ff, Jeremiah 7:16-19)
In the second half of v.11, the town of Beth Ezel (which is Hebrew for “the house around the corner”) has gone into mourning, and that resulted in them taking some sort of protection/support away from the town of Tsonan.¹²
- So perhaps Beth Ezel defected to the Assyrians instead of fighting together with Tsonan against the Assyrian army, or perhaps Beth Ezel was attacked first by the Assyrians, draining it of “menne, monye, and municions” so it couldn’t help defend Tsonan. (Gilby)
The picture I get when I read this verse is of communities in Judea that have been destabilized and looted by a foreign army, some of the inhabitants stripped naked and forced into being slaves for the foreigners, and those who are left are afraid to leave the rubble of their homes.
In the 7^th century B.C. King Sennacherib had sculptors carve a pictorial history of his siege of the Jewish city of Lakish, and he used those gypsum wall reliefs to decorate his palace in Nineveh.
- These carvings can be seen today at the British Museum, and they clearly show naked Jewish captives bowing before King Sennacherib in front of the conquered city of Lakish.
- It also depicts Jews walking out of the front gate of Lakish into the Assyrian army as the Assyrians complete the final phase of their siege.
- According to the relief-carvings, some of those Jews were allowed to depart in peace with their possessions on ox-carts while others were stripped naked and either impaled on posts, skinned alive, or beheaded, exactly as the prophets predicted.

v. 12 Loss And Displacement

The next town in v.12 pictures loss and displacement. It’s very name Maroth means “bitterness/sorrow” in Hebrew.
Micah says this town “waited/weakened/writhed/went into labor.”
- This verb is used mostly in the context of the labor of childbirth,
- but I think it’s describing here the panic of getting caught in the middle of a war,
- which is clearly the context the only other time this verb occurs in Micah: Micah 4:10 “Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, Like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, You shall dwell in the field, And to Babylon you shall go…” (NKJV)
- It is also used by Jeremiah and Joel to describe the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem¹³.
In that historical event – the conquering of Judea and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans a century after Micah’s prophecy – the residents of Micah’s hometown of Moresheth fled before the oncoming army into the walled city of Jerusalem and then endured the horrors of a siege as the enemy thronged about the gates of Jerusalem and battered its walls until they got in.¹⁴

v. 13 Dire Consequences Of Causing Others To Sin

v.13 mentions yet another community near Moresheth, this one well-known – the walled city of Lakish.
- The only other two mentions in the Bible of chariots being pulled by the swift animals in v.13 are in the context of carrying messages, not of conducting a war campaign. They are mentioned alongside horses in 1 Kings and Esther, but could potentially be some other beast of burden¹⁵.
- The general agreement of commentators is that this describes refugees fleeing from the Assyrian siege of Lakish¹⁶. (‎2 Chron. 32:9, Jer. 34:7)
- The stone carvings of the siege of Lakish in Sennacherib’s palace in Nineveh show pictures of Jewish refugees fleeing from the Assyrian siege with beasts of burden harnessed to carts on which they had loaded their possessions.
The focus in the second half of verse 13 is on the “sin” and “transgression” of Lakish which was a bad influence on the rest of Israel.
- The word “she” (or “you” if you’re reading an NIV or NLT) refers to Miss Resident of Lakish.
- Lakish was a Philistine city taken over by the Israelites. So perhaps there was Philistine idol-worship¹⁷ which remained in that city and which spread by messengers to other Israelite towns, making it a point of origin for many sinful acts of idolatry committed in Israel.
- Waltke, on the other hand suggested that what Lakish exported was a secularizing influence of trusting in military might instead of God.
- Either way, this could explain why we hear so little about Lakish in the Bible – there just weren’t any faithful people there to tell stories about.
Romans 1:18 reminds us that God still today holds “ungodliness/transgression/sin” accountable: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (NKJV)

v. 14 Loss of Control, Wealth, and Trust

The only other times in the Bible that this Hebrew word for “parting gifts” occur are to describe Zipporah when Moses sent her back to her relatives (Exod. 18:2) and to describe the town of Gezer which Pharoah gave to his daughter when she married Solomon (1 Ki. 9:16).
Verse 13 tells us that the inhabitant of Lakish had to give these gifts because Lakish spread sin throughout the nation of Israel. There is a variety of opinions among commentators about what exactly this means, but the general consensus is that it is some kind of tribute paid to their enemies.¹⁸
Every Bible translation up until the 1500’s translated Moresheth-Gath as “the possessor of Gath,” denoting a foreign king in Gath to whom Lakish would have to pay tribute. The next verse contains a word with the same root as the name Moresheth, but there it is translated “conqueror/one who possesses,” so that is just an extension of this theme¹⁹.
This gift-giving/payment of tribute is a negative consequence of Lakish having spread idolatry throughout Judea.
The other negative consequence is that “the houses of Akzib will become untrustworthy/ deceptive to the kings of Israel.”
- Achzib has been identified as a town about 3 miles NE of Moresheth-Gath, but it is important to realize that the word Achzib in Hebrew means “untrustworthy,”²⁰ so, like the “House of Dust” in v. 10, this is also a play on words where a town’s unsavory character is called out by its name.
- The Greek translation of this word in the Septuagint Old Testament is used in the Greek New Testament to describe the worship of Zeus²¹, Greek Philosophy²², Jewish mythology²³, and Materialism²⁴, all forms of idolatry in the New Testament, so this is consistent with the interpretation that the spread of idolatry from Lakish subverted other towns around where Micah lived, corrupting the whole national fabric of Israel
- As to this town being untrustworthy toward the king, we don’t have any record in the Bible of it, but there is a Jewish tradition that Achzib, even though it was a Judean town, joined with Israel under King Pekah when he invaded Judea and almost conquered it²⁵. (Cohen)
So, all that Lakish has to show for taking leadership in idol-worship is that it was conquered, its wealth was carted off to Assyria, and the towns it influenced are too corrupt to be trusted. What a hollow legacy, and yet this is the same legacy that 21^st century America appears poised to leave behind as well.

v. 15 Invasion and Displacement

The next town of Mareshah, in v.15, typifies the Invasion and Displacement that Judah would suffer as a result of its unrepentant sin.
The Hebrew and all the ancient versions in Greek and Syriac agree that it is “THE” possessor, not “a” possessor who would come. Sennacherib is a dead ringer for the fulfillment of this prophecy.
And, as God brings in “the one who will take possession of Mareshah,” the “glory of Israel” will go out to Adullam.
- Adullam, you may recall, was where David hid out from King Saul.
- After David’s time, King Rehoboam built fortifications around both Adullam and Maresha (2 Chron. 11:8).
- Then Maresha was attacked in Rehoboam’s successor’s reign by an army of a million Ethiopians, but King Asa trusted God and found deliverance even though his army was one third the size of the enemy’s (2 Chron. 14:9).
- Fast forward to late in Micah’s lifetime: the Assyrian army led by Sennacherib²⁶ attacked Lakish and Maresha²⁷, but this time the Israelites didn’t look to God for deliverance, so God let the Assyrians conquer and take possession of them (Maresha was only 2 ½ miles from Lakish, and Sennacherib boasted in his Annals²⁸ of conquering 46 towns in that area).
- He also claimed to have captured over 200,000 Israelites in that campaign, but surely there were those who escaped. (The “glory of Israel” does not occur as a phrase anywhere else in the Bible, but there are passages, especially in Isaiah²⁹, that suggest that the glory is the people.)
- So, putting it all together as best I can, I think Micah is saying that the enemy, after conquering Lakish, will take possession of nearby Maresha, and its fugitives will flee to the fortress at Adullam, 10 miles away³⁰.

v. 16 Baldness and Exile

v.16 returns to the theme of mourning³¹.
- Tearing out bald spots in your hair and using a sheep-shearing tool to cut your hair unevenly was a sign of mourning in Bible times, and remember that this is speaking of a woman here.
This is the only time that an “eagle” is portrayed as “bald” in the Bible. Here it may refer to the wider family or genus of raptors, of which some have bald-looking heads³².
The mention of “captivity/exile” here reminds us that Sennacherib's invasion in the year 701 is not where this prophecy ends, because he is not the one who carried Judea captive, rather, it was Nebuchadnezzar who pulled that off in 605 BC.
The principle of what happened is applicable in any age. When the people who are called by the name of Christ walk unfaithfully, God will prompt us to repent, and if we don’t heed His promptings, He will turn up the stress on us to break us out of our spiritual pride and rebellion and humble us to live in faithful reliance upon Him again.

Conclusion

God calls us to mourn over sin – over our idolatry of creating and looking at images, selfishly collecting people’s attention to ourselves, our preoccupation with buying more and more things, and our fixation on chasing after more and more intense experiences – everything we do that is not centered on trusting Jesus and finding our satisfaction in His love for us – including all our failures to be thankful to God and our failures to love others as He has loved us. This grieves God; it should grieve us too!
If you don’t mourn now, God will find a way to shake you out of your foolishness and make you go into mourning in earnest, just like He did to Israel. Better to repent before God has to do that. But even if you are so stubborn that you have to experience God’s painful chastisements before He gets through to you, you can still repent and weep over your sin even then – not merely over the painfulness of God’s chastisement but also over the wrongness of what you have done. “Better late than never!”
What does it look like to mourn over sin? Here are a few applications:
- It may take some resolve on your part. Notice that Micah had not personally experienced these judgments from God, yet he says in v.8, using the Hebrew cohortative grammar form, “Let me mourn… I want to mourn. I will mourn. I resolve to do this.”
- Time lingering in prayer, not in a hurry to do the next thing, not merely repeating memorized formulas or reading other people’s prayers, but taking the time to open your heart before God and talk about everything with Him. The depth of the poetry in Micah’s prophecy here indicates that he really put time and effort into it.
- Engage emotionally. When we mourn, we cry tears. Micah mentioned weeping, moaning, mourning, lament, howling, and wailing. This is not just some cerebral spiritual exercise. On the other hand, this isn’t a show for other people to notice, and it shouldn’t become a contest to see who can give the most impressive performance. It just needs to be genuine before God. And if you have a hard time feeling bad enough to cry over sin, ask God to recalibrate your emotions so that you can.
  - James 4:9-10 “ Let your laughter be changed into mourning and your joy into sadness. Let yourselves be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (NAW)
  - Joel 2:12-13 "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments.” (NKJV)
- Fasting – the imagery of going without clothing or without hair in Micah 1 is a picture of depriving yourself of something you would normally keep for your comfort and your attractive appearance. Is there something that you can deprive yourself of to picture your distress over your sin and the sins of your community or nation? Abstaining from certain foods or from all foods for a certain amount of time is a Biblical way to do that³³.
- Repudiating any bad examples you have set for others. The city of Lakish was a bad spiritual influence on its neighbors, so God brought severe judgment on that town. Jesus said it would be better to be thrown into the ocean with a millstone tied to you than to cause a little one to sin (Mt. 18:6). Are there any ways that you have steered other folks away from Jesus by your bad example? Could you go back to those people and apologize and point them in the right direction?
- Humble yourself.
  - Stripping naked, rolling in the dirt, tearing your hair out and wailing are generally not things you do if you want to be respectable. It requires a willingness to go contrary to your pride and lower yourself in the eyes of others.
  - In Jesus’ parable of the two men in the temple, it was the Pharisee whom God ignored who concerned himself in looking better than other people, and it was the tax collector who humbled himself by kneeling and weeping and beating his breast and asking for mercy for his sins that God saved.
  - What things can you do to humble yourself, fight against your pride, make others more important, and exalt God and His mercy?
"Blessed are the ones who are lowly in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are the ones who mourn, because it is they who will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, because it is they who will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for it is they who will be satisfied.” (Matt. 5:3-6, NAW)

Micah 1:8-16 – Side-by side comparison of versions^{^A}

Douay^B (Vulgate)	LXX^C	Brenton^D (Vaticanus)	KJV^E	NAW	Masoretic Hebrew^F
8 Therefore will I lament, and howl: I will go stript and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and a mourning like the ostriches.	8 Ἕνεκεν τούτου^G κόψ~~εται~~ καὶ θρηνήσει, πορεύσ~~εται~~ ἀνυπόδετος καὶ γυμνή, ποιήσ~~εται~~ κοπετὸν ὡς δρακόντων^H καὶ πένθος ὡς θυγατέρων σειρήνων^I·	8 Therefore shall ~~she~~ lament and wail, ~~she~~ shall go barefooted, and being naked ~~she~~ shall make lamentation as that of ~~serpents~~, and mourning as of the daughters of sirens.	8 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.	8 Let me mourn over this, and let me wail, and let me walk around stripped and naked. Let me make a mournful-sound like the jackals and a moaning like owls,	⁽ח) עַל זֹאת אֶסְפְּדָה^J וְאֵילִילָה אֵילְכָה שילל^K וְעָרוֹם אֶעֱשֶׂה מִסְפֵּד כַּתַּנִּים וְאֵבֶל כִּבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה^L.
9 Because her wound is desperate, because it is come even to Juda, it hath touched the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.	9 ὅτι κατεκράτησεν^M ἡ πληγὴ αὐτῆς, διότι ἦλθεν ἕως Ιουδα καὶ ἥψατο ἕως πύλης λαοῦ μου, ἕως Ιερουσαλημ.	9 For her plague has become grievous; for it has come even to Juda; and has reached to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.	9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.	9 because her plague is incurable, because he has come to Judah; he has reached to the gate of my people – unto Jerusalem!	(ט) כִּי אֲנוּשָׁה^N מַכּוֹתֶיהָ^O כִּי בָאָה^P עַד יְהוּדָה נָגַע עַד שַׁעַר^Q עַמִּי עַד יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם.
10 Declare ye it not in Geth, weep ye not with tears: in the house of Dust ~~sprinkle~~ yoursel~~ves~~ with dust.	10 οἱ ἐν Γεθ, μὴ μεγαλύνεσθε^R· [οἱ] ἐν^S Ακιμ, μὴ ~~ἀνοικοδομ~~~~εῖτε~~^T ἐξ οἴκου κατὰ γέλωτα^U, γῆν ~~κατα~~~~πάσασθε~~	10 Ye that are in Geth, exalt not yourselves, and [ye] Enakim, do not ~~rebuild~~ from the [ruins of] the house in derision: sprinkle dust	10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.	10 Y’all won’t communicate it in Gath. Y’all won’t weep at all. {Roll yourself} in dirt in the “House of Dirt!”	(י) בְּגַת^V אַל תַּגִּידוּ^W בָּכוֹ אַל תִּבְכּוּ בְּבֵית לְעַפְרָה^X עָפָר התפלשתי^Y
11 And pass away, O thou that dwellest in the beautiful place, covered with thy shame: she went not forth that dwelleth in the confines: the house adjoining shall receive mourning from you, which stood by herself.	[κατὰ] ~~γέλω~~τα ὑμῶν^Z. 11 κατοικοῦσα καλῶς^AA τὰς πόλεις αὐτῆς οὐκ ἐξῆλθεν κατοικοῦσα Σεννααν κόψασθαι οἶκον ἐχόμενον αὐτῆς, λήμψεται ἐξ ὑμῶν ~~πληγὴν~~ ~~ὀδύνης~~.	~~in the place of your laughter~~. 11 The inhabitant of Sennaar, fairly inhabiting her cities, came not forth to mournX for the house next to her: she shall receive of you the ~~stroke~~ ~~of grief~~.	11 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.	11 Cross over to them shamefully naked, Miss Resident of Shaphir. Don’t you go out, Miss Resident of Tsonan; the mourning of Beth-Ezel has taken its standing from y’all.	⁽יא) עִבְרִי^AB לָכֶם יוֹשֶׁבֶת שָׁפִיר^AC עֶרְיָה^AD בֹשֶׁת לֹא יָצְאָה יוֹשֶׁבֶת צַאֲנָן^AE מִסְפַּד בֵּית הָאֵצֶל^AF יִקַּח מִכֶּם ^AGעֶמְדָּתוֹ.
12 For she is become weak unto good that dwelleth in bitterness: for evil is come down from the Lord into the gate of Jerusalem.	12 τίς^AH ~~ἤρξατο~~^AI εἰς ἀγαθὰ κατοικούσῃ ὀδύνας; ὅτι κατέβη κακὰ παρὰ κυρίου ἐπὶ πύλας Ιερουσαλημ,	12 Who has ~~begun to act~~ for good [to] her that dwells in sorrow? for calamitie[s] have come down from the Lord upon the gate[s] of Jerusalem,	12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully^AJ for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.	12 When Miss Resident of Maroth went into labor for something good, that’s when something bad come down from Yahweh to the gates of Jerusalem.	⁽יב) כִּי^AK חָלָה לְטוֹב יוֹשֶׁבֶת מָרוֹת^AL כִּי יָרַד רָע מֵאֵת יְהוָה לְשַׁעַר^AM יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם.
13 A ~~tumult~~ of chariot[s] ~~hath~~ ~~aston~~~~ished~~ the inhabitants of Lachis: it is the beginning of sin to the daughter of Sion for in thee were found the crimes of Israel.	13 ψ~~όφος~~ ἁρμάτων ~~καὶ~~ ἱππευόντων. κατοικοῦσα Λαχις, ἀρχηγὸς ἁμαρτίας αὐτή ἐστιν τῇ θυγατρὶ Σιων, ὅτι ἐν σοὶ εὑρέθησαν ἀσέβειαι τοῦ Ισραηλ.	13 [even] a ~~sound~~ of chariot[s] ~~and~~ horsemen: the inhabitants of Lachis, she is the leader of sin to the daughter of Sion: for in thee were found the transgressions of Israel.	13 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.	13 Attach the chariot{s} to the steeds, Miss Resident of Lakish. She is the fountainhead of sin for the daughter of Zion, because in her were found the transgressions of Israel.	⁽יג) רְתֹם^AN הַמֶּרְכָּבָה לָרֶכֶשׁ^AO יוֹשֶׁבֶת ^APלָכִישׁ רֵאשִׁית חַטָּאת הִיא^AQ לְבַת צִיּוֹן כִּי בָךְ נִמְצְאוּ פִּשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
14 Therefore shall she send messengers to the inheritance of Geth: the houses of lying to deceive the kings of Israel.	14 διὰ τοῦτο δώσεις ἐξαποστελλομένους ἕως κληρονομίας Γεθ οἴκους ματαίους· εἰς κενὰ ἐγένετο τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν τοῦ Ισραηλ.	14 Therefore shall he^AR cause men to be sent forth as far as the inheritance of Geth, even vain houses; they are become vanity to the kings of Israel;	14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.	14 Therefore you will give send-offs to those who take possession of Gath; the houses of Akzib will become untrustworthy to the kings of Israel.	⁽יד) לָכֵן תִּתְּנִי^AS שִׁלּוּחִים^AT עַל מוֹרֶשֶׁת^AU גַּת בָּתֵּי אַכְזִיב^AV לְאַכְזָב לְמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
15 Yet will I bring an heir to thee that dwellest in Maresa: even to Odollam shall the glory of Israel come.	15 ἕως τοὺς κληρονόμ~~ους~~^AW ἀγάγω σοι, κατοικοῦσα ~~Λαχις~~ κληρονομία, ἕως Οδολλαμ ἥξει ἡ δόξα [τῆς θυγατρὸς]^AX Ισραηλ.	15 until they^AY bring the heir[s], O inhabitant of ~~Lachis~~: the inheritance shall reach to Odollam, even the glory [of the daughter] of Israel.	15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.	15 I will again bring the one who takes possession to you, Miss Resident of Mareshah; the glory of Israel will go up to Adullam.	⁽טו) עֹד^AZ ^BAהַיֹּרֵשׁ אָבִי לָךְ יוֹשֶׁבֶת מָרֵשָׁה עַד עֲדֻלָּם יָבוֹא כְּבוֹד יִשְׂרָאֵל^BB.
16 Make thee bald, and be polled for thy delicate children: enlarge thy baldness as the eagle: for they are carried into captivity from thee.	16 ξύρησαι καὶ κεῖραι ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα τὰ τρυφερά σου, ἐμπλάτυνον τὴν ~~χηρείαν~~^BC σου ὡς ἀετός, ὅτι ᾐχμαλωτεύθησαν ἀπὸ σοῦ.	16 Shave thine hair, and make thyself bald for thy delicate children; increase thy ~~widow~~~~hood~~ as an eagle; for thy people are gone into captivity from thee.	16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.	16 Tear out and cut off your hair over the children of your delight; enlarge your baldness like the vulture, for they will go into captivity away from you.	⁽טז) קָרְחִי^BD וָגֹזִּי^BE עַל בְּנֵי תַּעֲנוּגָיִךְ הַרְחִבִי קָרְחָתֵךְ כַּנֶּשֶׁר^BF כִּי גָלוּ מִמֵּךְ.

1‎ יָחֵֽף - a synonym for Micah’s word for “barefoot.”

2Gilby, Calvin, Owen, and Keil followed by the Geneva, NASB and ESV advocated for “Ostrich,” while the KJV, followed by Henry, the NIV, NET, and NLT advocated for “owl.”

3These animals are creatures of the wilderness (cf. ‎ Job 30:29, Isa. 34:13, 43:20, ‎Jer. 50:39 & Lam. 4:3), so they add to the connotation of loneliness and desolation.

42 Chronicles 28:1-6 “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD, as his father David had done. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals. He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. Therefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.” (NKJV)

5Anthony Gilby equated it with “Ophir ... in the tribe of Beniamin one of the hyghe cities of Iuda.”

6If the prophecy came after 711 BC, it would have been under Assyrian control.

7“tell” and “cry” are second person masculine and plural, and not in imperative form, whereas “roll” (in the Qere) is third person, feminine, singular and imperative, as is “go” at the beginning of v.11.

8Matthew Henry made another plausible interpretation: “One would not, if it could be helped, gratify those that make themselves and their companions merry with the sins or with the sorrows of God's Israel. David was silent, and stifled his griefs, “when the wicked were before” him, Psalm 39:1.”

9Metsudath David came to the same conclusion, as did Keil “stripped into captivity.”

10“...whence it is conjectured that they are names put upon them by the prophet, the signification of which might either indicate or aggravate the miseries coming upon them.” ~M. Henry (Keil also made much of this.)
Gilby in 1551 AD explained: “The bewtiful Saphir was smitten wyth shame. Zaenan whiche was not alwaye readye before tyme to go forthe against the enemy, and therof hadde the name, dare not now go forthe to lament her neighboures of Bethhaezel... The ryche cytye of Maroth also dothe mourne for her ryches”

11for instance, there is a Zanoah about 8 miles northeast of Moresheth which might be the same as Zanan (And Joshua 15:37 mentions a Zenan (spelled צנן instead of Micah’s צאנן) in proximity to Lakish.), but the others have become lost to anyone’s memory.

12Or, according to the ancient Greek and Aramaic Bibles, Beth Ezel “took the hit” for Tsonan. Calvin and Matthew Henry suggested that it meant that the enemy (which caused Beth Ezel to mourn) would “station” its army in Tsonan, but the verse ends with “from you,” not “in/among you.”

13Jeremiah 4:19 “O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.”
Joel 2:1-6 “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming... A people come, great and strong… A fire devours before them... And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color.” (NKJV)

14Jeremiah 1:14-16 “Then the LORD said to me: ‘Out of the north [both Assyria and Babylon conquered the Promised Land from the North] calamity shall break forth On all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling All the families of the kingdoms of the north,’ says the LORD; ‘They shall come and each one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah. I will utter My judgments Against them concerning all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken Me, Burned incense to other gods, And worshiped the works of their own hands.” (NKJV, fulfilled in Lam. 4:12)
Ezekiel 21:21-22 "For the king of Babylon stands… In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall.” (NKJV, cf. Obadiah 1:11)

15Calvin translated it “dromedary.”

16e.g. Gilby, Calvin, Henry, Keil, Cohen, and Waltke “harness your war chariots to your race horses (for the fastest evacuation possible).” Waltke also noted that Lakish may have been one of Solomon’s horse and chariot centers (1 Ki. 10:26).

17Kimchi, Malbim, Gilby, Calvin, Henry, and Keil agreed that this speaks of idolatry, but they saw Lakish as a conduit, not of Philistine idolatry, but of Northern Israelite idolatry into Judea.

18Kimchi, Gilby, and Calvin essentially agreed that this is speaking of paying “tribute” to foreigners. Waltke also agreed but saw it more closely related to wedding language: “the rulers of Jerusalem will have to give a dowry (i.e., a tribute), along with the bride (i.e., the loss of Moresheth Gath).” Matthew Henry suggested a variation on this where the inhabitants of Lakish sent messengers with gifts asking the town of Gath to help them out against the Assyrians. Keil’s interpretation that Jerusalem would renounce Moresheth-Gath because of its idolatry changes the subject (which is Lakish, not Jerusalem) and invents a story which is not in the Bible.

19See also Jeremiah 49:1, where the same root clearly indicates foreign invasion and control of a place.

20Jeremiah 15:18 “Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable לֹ֥א נֶאֱמָֽנוּ?” (NASB)

21Acts 14:13-15 “Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them’” NKJV

221 Cor. 15:19-20 “for the wisdom of this world is stupid according to God, for it has been written, ‘The one who catches the wise in his own craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the deliberations of the wise, that they are empty.’” NAW

23Titus 3:9 “But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.” NKJV, cf. Eph. 5:6 and Colossians 2:8

241 Peter 1:18 “knowing that it was not using perishable things – silver or gold – that y'all were ransomed out of your empty lifestyle passed along from forefathers” NAW

25Calvin suggested the opposite, that “the kings of Israel had recourse to the aid of this people, and were not assisted.”
Waltke envisioned it in terms of loss of taxes: “Achzib will betray the expectations of Israel’s rulers of financial gain from the workshops at Achzib, brought about by its fall and the deportation of its productive inhabitants.”

26This was also essentially the interpretation of this verse by Rashi, Gilby, Calvin, Henry, and Waltke, although not all mentioned Sennacherib by name.

27which is perhaps why the word “again” is used here. The KJV translates it “yet,” the NASB translates it “moreover,” and the NIV drops it out, but it is Hebrew word for “again.” Keil suggested instead that the “again” refers to the first “heir” being the Israelites and the second heir being Assyria.

28https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/images/archive/highlights/D.%20020529_A2793_011_3Qtr.jpg

29Isa. 4:2 & 17:3, cf. Prov. 14:28 “In a multitude of people is a king's honor [הדרת]…,” also 1 Sam. 4:21c)

30Cohen, citing Daath Mikra generally agreed with this assessment.

31Cf. Isaiah 3:16-26 “Yahweh says: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty... therefore the Lord will scab the scalp of the daughters of Zion, and Yahweh will lay bare their private parts... Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of curly hair-do's, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle. And her gates shall lament and mourn…” Isaiah 22:12-14 “...in that day the Lord Yahweh of Hosts called for: tears and for mourning, and for baldness and for wearing sackcloth...” (NAW) Ezekiel 7:8-24 “Now upon you I will soon pour out My fury, And spend My anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations… 15 The sword is outside, And the pestilence and famine within. Whoever is in the field Will die by the sword; And whoever is in the city, Famine and pestilence will devour him. Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains Like doves of the valleys, All of them mourning, Each for his iniquity... Shame will be on every face, Baldness on all their heads… Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them In the day of the wrath of the LORD... I will give it as plunder Into the hands of strangers, And to the wicked of the earth as spoil... Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, And they will possess their houses…” (NKJV)

32Anthony Gilby (1551 AD) offered the following alternative interpretation “as the Egle in extreme age, doth cast al her fayre fethers and loseth them.” Calvin followed that interpretation 8 years later in his commentary. Keil dismissed them out-of-hand, asserting, “not the true eagle, but the vulture, which was also commonly classed in the eagle family… probably the carrion vulture, vultur percnopterus L…” (Nowack instead postulated the bald vulture Gyps fulvus.)

33Matt. 6:17, Mark 9:29, Acts 10:30, 13:2-3, 14:23, 1 Cor. 7:5, 2 Cor. 6:5 & 11:27

AMy original chart includes the following copyrighted English versions: NASB, NIV, ESV, Bauscher’s version of the Peshitta, and Cathcart’s version of the Targums, but I remove these columns from my public, non-copyrighted edition of this chart so as not to infringe on their copyrights. NAW is my translation. When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use ~~strikeout~~. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing Micah 1 are 4Q82 containing parts of verses 7-15 and dated between 30-1 BC, The Nahal Hever Greek scroll, containing parts of vs. 1-8 and dated around 25BC and the Wadi Muraba’at Scroll, containing parts of verses 1-16 and dated around 135 AD. There is also a 1QpMic, but it must be more recently-doscovered and I do not have access to it. Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX/Vulgate/Peshitta with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.

BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword.

C“Septuagint” Greek Old Testament, edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935. As published on E-Sword.

DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%94_%D7%90/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com

GNahal Hever reads with the synonymous phrase δια τουτο “on account of this.”

Hcf. Aquila: σειρηνων “sirens” (which would comport with “jackals” as howling creatures). Symmachus instead rendered “lions” λεοντων. The LXX “dragons” is the word used for the “dragon” in the N.T. book of Revelation.

IThis is the literal translation of the Hebrew, followed also by Peshitta. Aquila and Symmachus’ Greek translations as well as the Vulgate and English translations used dynamic equivalence: στρουθοκαμηλων “camel-bird” (i.e. ostrich).

JThe he suffixes are cohortatives “Let me _____.” They express resolution (Waltke).

KOnly here and Job 12:17-19, where it is translated “spoiled^KJV/barefoot^NASB/plundered^NKJV/stripped^NIV.” Qere and multiple manuscripts read: שׁוֹלָל, but there is no difference in meaning between the two Hebrew spellings. Calvin and Keil opted for “spoiled,” Keil arguing that it “does not mean ‘barefooted’ ...for which there was already יחף in the language (2 Sam. xv.30...)”

Lcf. ‎ Job 30:29, Isa. 34:13, 43:20, ‎Jer. 50:39 & Lam. 4:3, which also speak of jackals and ostriches/owls (all in the context of wilderness).

MSymmachus and Theodotion rendered this word as βιαια (“violent”).

NOnly here and Job 34:6; Isa. 17:11; and Jer. 15:18; 17:9, 16; 30:12, 15.
The only occurrence of “her plague[s]” refers to God’s judgments upon Babylon in Jer. 50:13.

OWaltke , folling Elliger, makes a curious case for separating the “Yah” from “Maccot” so as to result in “blows of the LORD” but Yah is not used anywhere else in Micah or any of the Minor Prophets.

PThe Perfect tense verbs here are “prophetic perfects,” denoting, not past events but events which are sure to happen. Also note that these verbs are masculine, denoting, not the feminine “stroke” but the masuline “conqueror” of v.15.

QThe only other occurrence of the verb ng’ with “gates” is Psalm 107:18b “they drew near to the gates of death.” The only occurrences of “gate of my people” are Ruth 3:11 and Obad. 1:13. The initial fulfillment of this prophecy was that the Assyrians indeed “contacted” the gates of Jerusalem but did not breach them, which is exactly how Micah puts it! (Waltke)

RThis agrees with the Peshitta, but Aquila and Symmachus rendered it αναγγειλητε (“announce”), which agrees with the MT, Targums, and Vulgate. BHS plausibly suggests that the LXX and Syriac misread תַּגִּידוּ as תַּגִּילוּ.

SThe first letter of the Hebrew word for “weep” appears to have been interpreted as the Hebrew preposition “in” (which is the same letter), and that threw off the interpretation of the LXX. Then Brenton read the Greek words for “in” and “Akim” as though there were no space inbetween, thus getting “Enakim” (suggesting the Canaanite giants mentioned in Deuteronomy and Joshua), throwing it even further off.

T“build a house” but this is an outlier among the manuscripts and versions. Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion all translated this word instead from the root κλαω (“weep”).

ULike other Greek versions, the LXX tried to translate this proper noun rather than transliterate it as a place name. Aquilla rendered it “house of dust,” Symmachus a “libation saucer,” and Theodotion “house on the brow.”

VWadi Mubbarrat DSS agrees with MT, but there is another DSS, 1QpMic, with an alternate reading bgwdl… which could be the source of the LXX and Peshitta “do not rejoice.”

WAllusion to 2 Samuel 1:20 אַל־תַּגִּ֣ידוּ בְגַ֔ת אַֽל־תְּבַשְּׂר֖וּ בְּחוּצֹ֣ת אַשְׁקְל֑וֹן פֶּן־תִּשְׂמַ֙חְנָה֙ בְּנ֣וֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים פֶּֽן־תַּעֲלֹ֖זְנָה בְּנ֥וֹת הָעֲרֵלִֽים׃
The third Hebrew word in 2 Sam. has been moved to an emphatic position at the start of the sentence in Micah, and “streets of Ashkelon” becomes “house of dust” – “aphar” being the same Hebrew word as “dirt/dust” at the end of the verse in Micah. Considering the changes, I am left to wonder if the verbs “tell...cry” should be translated volitionally instead of jussively. This would also remove the difficulty of coming up with an explanation for why Micah would issue masculine plural commands in the first half of the verse while issuing feminine singular commands at the end of this verse and the beginning of the next to ostensibly the same audience. I have not found any commentator with this opinion, however.
“[I]n the approaching catastrophe Judah is also to lose its king (cf. Mic. 4:9), so that David is to experience the fate of Saul (Hengstenberg)” ~Keil

XSeeing as there is no other mention of this place anywhere else in scripture, and seeing as it is a play on words with the word for “dirt/dust,” I think it best to translate rather than transliterate this word. However, BibleWorks Map locates a city by this name the same distance in the opposite direction as Gath from Moresheth, and it is in a series of city names in this passage. Keil notes that there are 10 cities (if you don’t count Gath or Jerusalem) signifying “completeness” of judgment, and that, since the “gates of Jerusalem” are inbetween the first and second five cities, it must be a listing north to south with Jerusalem in the middle, but this doesn’t seem to fit the maps.

YThe MT is first person singular Perfect “I rolled,” but the DSS and the Qere read הִתְפַּלָּשִׁי (singular feminine imperative “Roll yourself” – Interesting that before the discovery of the DSS, the KJV followed the Qere instead of the Kethib or the ancient versions). BHS noted that a substitution of vav for yod as the final letter would create the word “sprinkle” used by the Vulgate and Septuagint. It is odd, however for Micah to shift from masculine plural (“tell… weep”) to feminine singular (“roll”) in this verse, but the next imperative (“cross over”) is also feminine singular. Daath Mikra suggested there is a play on words between this and the word for “Philistine.”

ZAquilla (διερχεσθε εαυτοις) and Symmachus (διαβαινετε υμιν) “go through yourselves” translated more in line with the MT.

AAΑquilla and Symmachus support the LXX, but Theodotion supports the MT with αισχυνομενα αισχθνη. It is hard to see how the Greek versions got “inhabiting fairly” out of the Hebrew boshet, but it is easy to see how the Hebrew ‘ariyah could be mistaken for “her cities.”

ABThe Peshitta appears to have misread the Hebrew עבר as עבד, changing the meaning from “pass over” to “serve,” and LXX reads as “laugh,” but Aquilla, Symmachus, Vulgate, and Targums all understood it as the MT and English versions do. The second person singular feminine form of this verb is hard to reconcile with the second person plural indirect object “to y’all” (although Calvin found a Hebrew manuscript with feminine singular לך)ת so I am tentatively suggesting that the pronoun could be a form of the third person masculine plural instead, with the preposition “to” indicating a transfer into slavery to that third party. John Owen of Thrussington commented, “Then as to the peculiar form of לכם or לך after an imperative, we have similar instances; see Genesis 12:1 (לך־לך “go, you”); Jeremiah 5:5 (אלכה־לי “let me go myself”); [he also mentions Hosea 7:12, but that does not contain this figure of speech]. It is an emphatic mode of speaking. The sentence here may be thus expressed, ‘Pass thou over, yea, thou, O inhabitant of Sap.’” [I would note, however, that his examples are all joined by hyphens whereas this is not, and they are of the same number as the verb whereas this is not.] Of this same puzzle, Keil asserted, “The plural לָכֶם is to be accounted for from the fact that yōshebheth is the population.” Waltke, while not agreeing with my interpretation, nevertheless commented, “grammatical discord both in gender and number is acceptable Hebrew style.”

ACLXX & Vulgate attempted to translate this word (“good/beautiful”), not recognizing it as a proper name for a place as the Peshitta and Targums did. Cohen equated it with “modern Suafir, a few miles southeast of Ashdod.”

ADThere is no “and” between “shame” and “naked.” Keil commented, “עֶרְיָה־בֹשֶׁת... stripping which is shame, shame-nakedness = ignominious stripping. ”

AEKimchi (followed by Keil) noted word-play between “yatsa/go forth” and “Tsaanan;” Calvin and some others thought it was a play on “ts’an/migrate.”

AFEastern versions (Targum and Peshitta) appear to have recognized this as a proper noun for a place (Beth Etzel) while Western versions (Vulgate and LXX) translated it instead (“house next/adjoining”). Targum actually goes both ways, interpreting it as the adjoining properties that Isaiah spoke of the wealthy accumulating in Judea.

AGHapex Legomenon. Peshitta and LXX interpreted this as “plague/stroke,” but Vulgate, Targums, and English versions interpreted it as “standing.” The 3ms suffix refers to the masculine singular “mourning.” Cohen, citing Kimchi “[The enemy] will take from you [the reward for] … persisting in the siege.” Calvin agreed and interpreted “take” as “learn/follow the example,” but this seems to go too far beyond the literal meaning of לקח, and gives far more power and leadership to an obscure town than seems warranted.
Keil reports Hitzig and Caspari suggesting, “The distress into which the enemy staying there has plunged Beth-Haezel, will make it impossible for you to stop there,” then Keil seems to agree with Hengstenberg on “will not allow you the stopping of the lamentation,” but it’s not “your stopping” it’s “it’s standing” which will be taken from you.
Waltke suggested “Whereas the inhabitants of Zaanan did not come forth to help the inhabitants of Shaphir, Beth-haezel offers no defense either because its mourning inhabitants have been deported.”

AHAquilla and Symmachus translated closer to the MT with ‘οτι

AIAquilla= ηρρωστησεν (“he answered”?), Symmachus = ενoμισεν (“he established”), Τheodotian = αναμενουσα (“having waited”)

AJNKJV = pined for

AKThe two verbs (“writhed” and “came down”) are both prophetic Perfects, and the conjunctions that introduce the first and second half of the verse are identical. Most versions translate the “evil coming down” as happening before “waiting for good” (although the King James and Geneva Bibles translated the “anxious waiting for good” as happening first, followed by the disappointing “calamity coming down”), but I suggest that both could have happened at the same time, since both verbs are in the same tense and both introduced by the same conjunction, a conjunction which can be translated temporally, as in: “when she went into labor for what is good, that’s when what is evil came down.” No other commentator I read suggested this, however. Waltke instead broke up the symmetry of the two conjunctions by translating them “surely… but no,” commenting, that the “good” hoped for “is a metonymy for military aid, probably from Jerusalem; instead the Assyrian army marched right up to the gates of Jerusalem.” Others suggested other possible meanings for “good.” I don’t see why it can’t be left with a general meaning of “good.”

ALAll the ancient versions (with the exception of Symmachus) translated this word (“bitterness/sorrow”) rather than interpreting it as a place name like the standard English versions (and Symmachus) did.

AMSince the LXX, Peshitta, and Targums read plural “gates,” and since the first letter of the next word in the MT is a yod which, if it were the last letter of this word would make it plural, the BHS editors suggested reading this word as plural.

ANHapex Legomena. It is curious that all the Latin and Greek versions read this word as “sound/tumult/noise” (perhaps considering רתם related to רעם “thunder”).

AOThis word only occurs two other places in the HOT: 1 Ki. 5:8; Est. 8:10-14 – in both cases in parallel with “horses.” In Esther, they were used to bear messages, so perhaps that is the turn of meaning rather than war chariots. Lexicographers are not agreed on its root meaning: “relay” (Strong), “collect” (BDB), “team of horses” (Holladay). Cohen noted a play on words between “Lakish” and “larechesh/steeds.”

APDSS 4Q82 added a second -ל (“to/for”) to the beginning of “Lachish,” but the ancient versions do not indicate that they saw a prepositional prefix on this word. Indeed, it would be strange for a preposition to exist here since the previous word “inhabitant” is in construct form (“inhabitant of”). Wadi Murabbaat is illegible at this point, so we have no other DSS available for comparison.

AQThe feminine singular pronoun could refer to the feminine singular “resident of Lakish” or the fem. sing. “chariot,” but since every ancient version rendered “chariot” plural, that narrows it down to Miss Lachish.

ARLXX is correct as a 2s verb (“you”) but the Vaticanus (which Brenton followed) dropped the final sigma, changing it to third singular (“he”).

ASVulgate interpreted this as 3fs “she will give,” which is a possible alternate. The Greek Vaticanus reads “he will send.” DSS 4Q82 adds ן- as a suffix (which would be hard to assign any meaning to), but Wadi Murabbaat matches the MT.

ATThe root of this word is “to send,” so it is interpreted variously as persons sent as messengers (Vulgate, LXX), things sent as gifts (Aquilla, Symmachus, Theodotian, Targum, English versions), as something which accompanies a sending (NASB, NIV, ESV = “parting gifts”), or as the sending away of offenses (Peshitta = “forgiveness”). The only other times this word appears in the HOT are to describe Zipporah when Moses sent her back to her relatives (Exod. 18:2) and the town of Gezer which Pharoah gave to his daughter when she married Solomon (1 Ki. 9:16). The LXX Greek word is often used of persons “sent out” in the GNT (viz. Acts 7:12; 9:30; 11:22; 12:11; 17:14; 22:21; Gal. 4:4, 6).

AUThe ancient versions all interpreted this word as “inheritance/possessors” rather than as a place name like the English versions “Moreshath.”

AVTargum and Symmachus transliterated this as a place name like the English versions (and Symmachus) did, but the Vulgate, LXX, Aquilla, Theodotian, and Peshitta all translated it (“vanity/falsehood/emptiness”). It’s a play on words, as the rest of the verse bears out. The name of the place is descriptive of its own vain/false/empty character, which the Targum explains as idolatry. This is the same city mentioned in Josh. 15:44, but the other two mentions of a town by this name in the Bible in Josh. 19:29 & Jdg. 1:31 are speaking of another town far to the north. The only other occurrence of this adjective is in Jeremiah 15:18, where is is in parallel with “not trustworthy” (לֹ֥א נֶאֱמָֽנוּ): “Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?” (NASB) The LXX Greek word is used in the GNT to describe the worship of Zeus (Acts 14:13-15), Greek Philosophy (1 Cor. 15:19-20), Jewish mythology (Titus 3:9, cf. Eph. 5:6 and Col. 2:8) and Materialism (1 Peter 1:18)

AWAquilla corrected to the singular “heir” in the MT.

AXSymmachus corrected “Lachish” to “Maresa” and omitted “daughter of,” bringing the Greek into conformance with the MT.

AYThe LXX is true to the MT with “I will bring on you,” so the change to “they will bring” must be either a mistake by Brenton or a mistake in the Vaticanus which he translated from.

AZThe “again” could refer to the fact that the Ethopian army came against it earlier, during Asa’s reign, so the Assyrian campaign would be a second one for them.

BAThe LXX, Peshitta, Targums, and NASB are true to the MT – it is “THE” possessor, not “a” possessor. Later, Jesus is presented as the heir (Matt. 21:38; Lk. 20:14) and the inheritance (Eph. 1:14, 18; Col. 3:24; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:4)

BBOn the “Glory of Israel” cf. 1 Samuel 4:21 “Then she named the boy Ichabod, saying, ‘Glory is removed from Israel,’ concerning the ark of God being taken - and concerning her father-in-law and her husband.” Isaiah 4:2 “In that day the branch of Yahweh shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the majesty and honor of the survivors of Israel.” and Isaiah 17:3 “And each will disappear: - the fortress from Ephraim, - and the kingdom from Damascus; - and the remnant of Syria. They will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares Yahweh of Hosts.” (NAW) Calvin took an odd position that “glory of Israel” was “in apposition” to “Adullam” – the one standing for the other, hence he translated it “He [the possessor] shall come to Adullam, the glory of Israel.” But there is no evidence that Adullam was considered glorious, and the interpretation of refugees from Lakish trekking 10 miles to the next fortified city makes more sense.

BCAquilla, Symmachus, and Theodotian all corrected this word to “baldness” (φαλακρωσιν).

BDThis root only here and Lev. 21:5 (“tear out bald spots”); Jer. 16:6, & Ezek. 27:31; 29:18, in each case a sign of morning.

BEUsually used of sheep-shearing, but a sign of mourning in Job 1:20 and Jeremiah 7:29.

BFThis is the only time that an eagle is portrayed as bald in the Bible. Perhaps it can refer to the wider class of raptors, of which some have bald-looking heads.