דְּבַר־ה' אֲשֶׁר הָיָה אֶל־מִיכָה הַמֹּרַשְׁתִּי בִּימֵי יוֹתָם אָחָז יְחִזְקִיָּה מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר־חָזָה עַל־שֹׁמְרוֹן וִירוּשָׁלִָם

This is the word of the Lord that was with Micah the Morashtite in the days of Yotam, Ahaz, and Yehizkiya, kings of Judah, which he envisioned concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:

שִׁמְעוּ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם! הַקְשִׁיבִי אֶרֶץ וּמְלֹאָהּ! וִיהִי אֲדֹנָי אֱלוֹהִים בָּכֶם לְעֵד אֲדֹנָי מֵהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ

Hear, all peoples; listen, earth and that which fills it; and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy Sanctuary.

כִּי־הִנֵּה ה' יֹצֵא מִמְּקוֹמוֹ וְיָרַד וְדָרַךְ עַל־בָּמֳתֵי אָרֶץ

For behold, the Lord emerges from His place in a revelation of His glory, and He will descend and tread on the heights of the earth.

ונָמַסּוּ הֶהָרִים תַּחְתָּיו וְהָעֲמָקִים יִתְבַּקָּעוּ כַּדּוֹנַג מִפְּנֵי הָאֵשׁ כְּמַיִם מֻגָּרִים בְּמוֹרָד

When He treads upon them, the mountains will melt under Him, each mountain in its place, and the valleys will burst like wax that melts before the fire, like water poured down a slope, leaving no trace.

בְּפֶשַׁע יַעֲקֹב כָּל־זֹאת וּבְ חַטֹּאות בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מִי פֶשַׁע יַעֲקֹב הֲלוֹא שֹׁמְרוֹן וּמִי בָּמוֹת יהוּדָה הֲלוֹא יְרוּשָׁלִָם

Due to the transgression of Jacob is all this to occur, and due also to the sins of the house of Israel. What is the embodiment of the transgression of Jacob? Is it not the city of Samaria, which, in addition to the many other sins committed there, is full of idolatry? What are the shrines of Judah? Are they not a representation of Jerusalem? Offerings were supposed to be given only in the Temple, yet Jerusalem was filled with other shrines used, illegitimately, for offerings to God. This was sinful, and the existence of these shrines was a disgrace upon Judah.

וְשַׂמְתִּי שֹׁמְרוֹן לְעִי הַשָּׂדֶה לְמַטָּעֵי כָרֶם וְהִגַּרְתִּי לַגַּי אֲבָנֶיהָ וִיסֹדֶיהָ אֲגַלֶּה

Therefore, I will render the populated Samaria into a mound of stones in the field, and into a place for the planting of vineyards; and I will pour down into the nearby valley its stones. When Samaria collapses, the stones of its walls and buildings will crumble and descend into the valley. And I will reveal its foundations, when it is all ruined.

וְכָל־פְּסִילֶיהָ יֻכַּתּוּ וְכָל־אֶתְנַנֶּיהָ יִשָּׂרְפוּ בָאֵשׁ וְכָל־עֲצַבֶּיהָ אָשִׂים שְׁמָמָה כִּי מֵאֶתְנַן זוֹנָה קִבָּצָה וְעַד אֶתְנַן זוֹנָה יָשׁוּבוּ

All its idols will be shattered, and all its prostitutes’ fees, referring to the gifts given in the city to idols, will be burned in fire, and all its images I will render desolation, as they, all its treasures, were collected from the fee of a prostitute, and they will revert to being the fee of a prostitute when they are destroyed. The city of Samaria is portrayed as a harlot, consorting with idols. The imagery of prostitution is meant to be taken literally; the prophet describes the city as full of both idolatry and licentiousness. The magnificent city of Samaria is built on degeneration and corruption, both religious and moral.

עַל־זֹאת אֶסְפְּדָה וְאֵילִילָה אֵילְכָה שׁוֹלָל וְעָרוֹם אֶעֱשֶׂה מִסְפֵּד כַּתַּנִּים וְאֵבֶל כִּבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה

The prophet recites a lamentation: For this, the destruction of Samaria, I will lament and wail, I will go stripped of possessions and sense and be naked in my great misery; I will make a lament like the jackals, and a mourning like eagle owls. These creatures issue protracted wails that sound like the drawn-out howls of deep mourning.

כִּי אֲנוּשָׁה מַכּוֹתֶיהָ כִּי־בָאָה עַד־יְהוּדָה נָגַע עַד־שַׁעַר עַמִּי עַד־יְרוּשָׁלִָם

For its, Samaria’s, wounds are mortal, for it, the wound, came until Judah; it, the destruction, reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.

בְּגַת אַל־תַּגִּידוּ בָּכוֹ אַל־תִּבְכּוּ בְּבֵית לְעַפְרָה עָפָר הִתְפַּלָּשִׁי

In the Philistine city of Gat do not tell news of this disaster, so that our enemies do not rejoice at our downfall. A similar expression appears in David’s lament for Saul. Do not weep; roll about in the dust at Beit LeAfra. It will be impossible to even cry or wail over the troubles; people will have strength only to sit on the ground in silent mourning.

עִבְרִי לָכֶם יוֹשֶׁבֶת שָׁפִיר עֶרְיָה־בֹשֶׁת לֹא יָצְאָה יוֹשֶׁבֶת צַאֲנָן מִסְפַּד בֵּית הָאֵצֶל יִקַּח מִכֶּם עֶמְדָּתוֹ

Pass on, inhabitant of Shafir, with nakedness exposed; Shafir has been disgraced. Alternatively, its inhabitants will be exiled naked. The inhabitant of Tzaanan did not go out to participate in the lament of the adjacent city Beit HaEtzel, perhaps out of selfishness, or because Tzaanan was besieged, or because its inhabitants were in hiding. Nevertheless, your security will be taken from you by the enemy who will destroy these places and send their inhabitants into exile. Some contend that Beit HaEtzel is not the name of a place, but is referring to the house of [beit] the nobles [atzilim], and the verse means that the inhabitants of Tzaanan will not escape, and the sufferings that will be inflicted upon the nobles will remove their standing and lofty status.

כִּי־חָלָה לְטוֹב יוֹשֶׁבֶת מָרוֹת כִּי־יָרַד רָע מֵאֵת ה' לְשַׁעַר יְרוּשָׁלִָם

For the inhabitant of the city of Marot hoped for the best, but to no avail, as harm came down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.

רְתֹם הַמֶּרְכָּבָה לָרֶכֶשׁ יוֹשֶׁבֶת לָכִיש רֵאשִׁית חַטָּאת הִיא לְבַת־צִיּוֹן כִּי־בָךְ נִמְצְאוּ פִּשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

In order to flee, hitch the chariot to the swift steeds, inhabitant of Lakhish, a fortified city in Judah that was also conquered by the king of Assyria. It, Lakhish, was the beginning of sin for the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel. The corrupt deeds of the Kingdom of Israel were initially adopted by Judah in Lakhish.

לָכֵן תִּתְּנִי שִׁלּוּחִים עַל מוֹרֶשֶׁת גַּת בָּתֵּי אַכְזִיב לְאַכְזָב לְמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

Therefore, send tribute, or a tax, to Moreshet Gat; the houses of the city of Akhziv will be a falsity for the kings of Israel. Upon the downfall of the kings of Israel, it will become clear that it was impossible to rely on that city and its supposed security.

עֹד הַיֹּרֵשׁ אָבִיא לָךְ יוֹשֶׁבֶת מָרֵשָׁה עַד־עֲדֻלָּם יָבוֹא כְּבוֹד יִשְׂרָאֵל

I will yet bring to you a dispossessor, your conqueror, inhabitant of Maresha. If Micah himself was indeed from Maresha, then he is speaking here of Judean cities in the vicinity of his birthplace. The glory of Israel will come as far as, it will sink, in Adulam.

קָרְחִי וָגֹזִּי עַל־בְּנֵי תַּעֲנוּגָיִךְ הַרְחִבִי קָרְחָתֵךְ כַּנֶּשֶׁר כִּי־גָלוּ מִמֵּךְ

Daughter of Zion, make yourself bald and shear your hair, remove the hair on your head as a sign of mourning, for the children of your delight; for the refined ones that once lived among you. This should not be merely a small, symbolic mark; rather, broaden your baldness like that of the vulture, for they, all the refined people, are exiled from you.