1. The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morashtite, who prophesied concerning Samaria and Jerusalem in the reigns of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.
2. Listen, all you peoples, Give heed, O earth, and all it holds; And let my Lord GOD be your accuser -- My Lord from His holy abode.
3. For lo! the LORD Is coming forth from His dwelling-place, He will come down and stride Upon the heights of the earth.
4. The mountains shall melt under Him And the valleys burst open -- Like wax before fire, Like water cascading down a slope.
5. All this is for the transgression of Jacob, And for the sins of the House of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob But Samaria, And what the shrines of Judah But Jerusalem?
6. So I will turn Samaria Into a ruin in open country, Into ground for planting vineyards; For I will tumble her stones into the valley And lay her foundations bare.
7. All her sculptured images shall be smashed, And all her harlot's wealth be burned, And I will make a waste heap of all her idols, For they were amassed from fees for harlotry, And they shall become harlots' fees again.
8. Because of this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked! I will lament as sadly as the jackals, As mournfully as the ostriches.
9. For her wound is incurable, It has reached Judah, It has spread to the gate of my people, To Jerusalem.
10. Tell it not in Gath, Refrain from weeping; In Beth-leaphrah, Strew dust over your [head].
11. Pass on, inhabitants of Shaphir! Did not the inhabitants of Zaanan Have to go forth naked in shame? There is lamentation in Beth-ezel -- It will withdraw its support from you.
12. Though the inhabitants of Maroth Hoped for good, Yet disaster from the LORD descended Upon the gate of Jerusalem.
13. Hitch the steeds to the chariot, Inhabitant of Lachish! It is the beginning Of Fair Zion's guilt; Israel's transgressions Can be traced to you!
14. Truly, you must give a farewell gift To Moresheth-gath. The houses of Achzib are To the kings of Israel Like a spring that fails.
15. A dispossessor will I bring to you Who dwell in Mareshah; At Adullam the glory Of Israel shall set.
16. Shear off your hair and make yourself bald For the children you once delighted in; Make yourself as bald as a vulture, For they have been banished from you.
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