Lament Over the Desolation of Judah's Towns
Micah 1:8-16
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Mic.1.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- אספדה: VERB,qal,impf,1,*,sg
- ואילילה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,*,sg
- אילכה: VERB,qal,impf,1,*,sg
- שולל: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- וערום: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- מספד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כתנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואבל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כבנות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יענה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 20:2-4 (structural): Isaiah enacts a prophetic sign by going naked and barefoot for years as a symbol of humiliation — closely paralleling Micah’s declaration “I will go stripped and naked” as a prophetic gesture of mourning and shame.
- Jeremiah 9:17-21 (thematic): Calls for loud lamentation, shaving/cutting for mourning and beating the breast over disaster; shares Micah’s theme of communal wailing and prescribed signs of grief.
- Psalm 102:6-7 (verbal): The psalmist likens himself to desert creatures (a pelican/ruinous owl) in a tone of desolation and lament, echoing Micah’s image of mourning like jackals and lamenting like ostriches.
- Isaiah 34:11-15 (allusion): Describes ruined lands inhabited by jackals, owls and ostriches as images of desolation; parallels Micah’s use of desert/scavenger imagery to express devastation and mourning.
- Joel 1:8 (thematic): Urgent call for daughters/Zion to lament (’Lament like a virgin clothed with sackcloth’), resonating with Micah’s declaration of public mourning and the motif of the daughters’ lament.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore I will wail and lament; I will go stripped and bare. I will make a mourning like the jackals and a lament like the ostriches.
- Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked. I will make a lament like jackals, and mourning like ostriches' daughters.
Mic.1.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אנושה: ADJ,f,sg
- מכותיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- באה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- עד: PREP
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- נגע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- שער: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- עד: PREP
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Nahum 3:19 (verbal): Uses near-identical language about an incurable wound/bruise (’no healing for your bruise; your wound is grievous’), parallel imagery of an irreversible judgment on a city.
- Jeremiah 30:12 (verbal): Jeremiah likewise speaks of Israel’s wound as incurable and grievous—same figurative wording applied to national affliction and divine chastisement.
- Isaiah 1:7 (thematic): Describes desolation and devastation reaching Judah and the gates of the people (Jerusalem), echoing Micah’s theme that the disaster extends into Judah and to the city’s gates.
- 2 Kings 25:4–10 (structural): Historical account of the Babylonian siege and breach of Jerusalem’s walls/gates and the city’s devastation, a concrete fulfillment/background for prophetic warnings that the calamity would reach Judah and Jerusalem.
Alternative generated candidates
- For grievous is her wound; it has come even to Judah—an affliction has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
- For grievous are her wounds; calamity has come to Judah, to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
Mic.1.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בגת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- תגידו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- בכו: PREP
- אל: NEG
- תבכו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- לעפרה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- התפלשי: VERB,hitp,impv,2,f,sg
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 1:20 (verbal): Contains the identical injunction 'Tell it not in Gath' (warning against announcing Israel's calamity where the Philistines might rejoice); a close verbal and situational parallel.
- Isaiah 47:1 (thematic): Uses the image of a defeated city 'sit in the dust' (humiliation and mourning of a fallen metropolis), echoing Micah's 'roll yourselves in the dust' as a sign of shame and lament.
- Lamentations 2:10 (thematic): Depicts elders sitting on the ground and keeping silence with dust and mourning—parallel mourning imagery (sitting/rolling in dust, silence, lament) for a devastated city.
- Zephaniah 2:4-7 (structural): A prophetic oracle naming Philistine cities (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, etc.) and announcing judgment—parallels Micah's address to Philistine towns and the motif of announcing disaster to neighboring cities.
Alternative generated candidates
- Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all. In the house of Aphrah roll yourself in the dust.
- Do not tell it in Gath; weep, O Beth‑Lephrah; roll yourselves in the dust.
Mic.1.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עברי: ADJ,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- שפיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עריה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3f
- בשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יצאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- צאנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מספד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האצל: PREP
- יקח: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- עמדתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Micah 1:10 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same oracle: both verses address individual towns (Gath, Shaphir, Zaanan, etc.) with commands or warnings and depict communal shame and impending desolation.
- Micah 1:6 (thematic): Earlier in the chapter the prophet announces judgment on cities, mountains and palaces; echoes the same theme of divine attack and loss that underlies the summons to the inhabitants of Shaphir and neighboring towns.
- Isaiah 3:26 (thematic): Isaiah’s depiction of a city’s gates lamenting and the city being made desolate parallels Micah’s portrayal of towns exposed to shame and dispossession in the face of judgment.
- Joel 1:11–12 (thematic): Joel’s call for farmers and vinedressers to be ashamed and lament because the harvest is gone mirrors Micah’s motif of communal bereavement and the seizure or loss of a town’s resources/standing (cf. 'will take from you…')
- Amos 5:2 (thematic): Amos’s lament over the fallen 'virgin Israel' (the city/people laid waste) resonates with Micah’s announcement of towns rendered powerless and shamed, emphasizing prophetic lament over civic destruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- Pass on, O inhabitant of Shaphir; the proud city has been put to shame. The inhabitant of Zaanan shall not come out; Beth-ezel will take from you its standing.
- Pass on your way, O inhabitant of Shaphir; the inhabitant of Zaanan will not come out. Beth‑Ezel laments—its support is taken from you.
Mic.1.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- חלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לטוב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- מרות: NOUN,f,pl,prop
- כי: CONJ
- ירד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מאת: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לשער: PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Amos 5:18-20 (thematic): People expect the Day of the LORD (a hoped-for good), but it becomes darkness and judgment—parallel theme of anticipated good overturned by divine disaster.
- Isaiah 5:7 (verbal): The vineyard/people look for justice/good but instead find blood and an outcry—similar contrast between expectation of good and the arrival of evil.
- Lamentations 3:38 (verbal): Explicit statement that both good and evil come from the mouth of the Most High echoes Micah’s language that evil came down from the LORD.
- Zephaniah 1:14-16 (structural): Announcement of the near ‘day of the LORD’ bringing terror and destruction to the city resonates with Micah’s report of calamity reaching Jerusalem’s gates.
Alternative generated candidates
- For it lies sick through defiance; she sits in insolence—evil has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.
- For the inhabitant of Maroth is sick at heart; for disaster has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.
Mic.1.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רתם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המרכבה: DET+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לרכש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- לכיש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ראשית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חטאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- לבת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נמצאו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,pl
- פשעי: NOUN,m,sg,suff,1,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Mic.1:6-7 (verbal): Immediate context — same summons to gird chariots/leave Laish/Gath and the declaration that the 'head of Zion' is laid bare; continues the imagery and accusation of Israel's sin.
- Nahum 2:3-4 (thematic): Uses chariot and cavalry imagery for an approaching assault ('chariots shall rage in the streets') paralleling Micah's mobilization of chariots and horses for judgment.
- Isaiah 3:8-9 (thematic): Isaiah pronounces judgment on Jerusalem and exposes the people's guilt; like Micah, it mixes taunt‑like address to the cities with an indictment of Zion's leaders and sins.
- Ezekiel 22:27 (allusion): Ezekiel accuses the city’s leaders and inhabitants of corruption discovered 'in you,' echoing Micah’s formula that the transgression/iniquity of Israel is found in Zion.
- Lamentations 1:8 (thematic): Portrays Jerusalem's humbled and exposed state because of its sins ('Jerusalem has grievously sinned'), resonating with Micah's image of Zion laid bare due to Israel's transgression.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hitch the chariot to the spoil, O inhabitant of Lachish; the chief is first in sin—O daughter of Zion, for in you the transgressions of Israel were found.
- Yoke the chariot to the swift horse, O inhabitant of Lachish; you were the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion—for in you were found the transgressions of Israel.
Mic.1.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- תתני: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- שלוחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- מורשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גת: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- בתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- אכזיב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאכזב: VERB,qal,inf
- למלכי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Micah 1:6-7 (structural): Immediate context of the oracle: the prophet pronounces judgment on Gath and nearby towns; 1:14 continues the same unit by naming Moresheth‑Gath and Achzib as objects of ruin.
- Zephaniah 2:4-7 (thematic): Prophecy against the Philistine cities (Gath, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron) announcing humiliation and loss of territory—parallels Micah’s denunciation of Gath/Moresheth‑Gath and the downfall of Philistine towns.
- Jeremiah 47:1-7 (thematic): Yahweh’s oracle against the Philistines at the coast (Gaza/Ashkelon/Ekron), foretelling devastation and loss of power—echoes Micah’s theme of towns given over and disgraced.
- 2 Samuel 1:20 (allusion): David’s lament lists Philistine towns (“Tell it not in Gath…”) and presumes the humiliation of Philistia; reflects the prophetic motif of Gath’s disgrace found in Micah 1:14.
- Joshua 19:29 (structural): Lists Achzib among the towns of the Israelite allotments, identifying the place Micah names; connects the prophetic denunciation to the known geographic/political entity Achzib.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore give tribute to the commander of Gath; the houses of Achzib shall deceive the kings of Israel.
- Therefore I will set a watch against the heritage of Gath; I will make the houses of Achzib a deception to the kings of Israel.
Mic.1.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- הירש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- מרשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- עדלם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כבוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 22:1 (allusion): Adullam is the cave where David gathered a band of followers — an old image of refuge and the nascent Davidic ‘heir’/remnant that echoes Micah’s ‘glory of Israel…unto Adullam.’
- 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (thematic): God’s promise to establish an everlasting house for David — resonates with Micah’s declaration ‘I will bring an heir unto thee,’ linking judgment with hope for a Davidic successor.
- Micah 5:2 (structural): Internal parallel within Micah: the later oracle predicts a ruler from Bethlehem (a coming leader/heir), reinforcing the book’s motif of a future Davidic figure and restored ‘glory.’
- Isaiah 11:1 (thematic): The imagery of a shoot/descendant from Jesse (a promised ideal ruler) parallels Micah’s promise of an heir and the restoration of Israel’s glory in a Davidic successor.
Alternative generated candidates
- Up to Maroth you sit in sorrow; O inhabitant of Adullam, gird yourself—until when? The glory of Israel has departed from you.
- O inhabitant of Mareshah, pass on; the day will come when the glory of Israel goes into exile.
Mic.1.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קרחי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- וגזי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- על: PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- תענוגיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2,m,sg
- הרחבי: VERB,hiph,imp,2,f,sg
- קרחתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2,m,sg
- כנשר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- גלו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 15:2-3 (verbal): Uses the same mourning imagery—heads made bald and beards shorn—as a public sign of grief over the loss of children and ruin (Moab's lament).
- Jeremiah 48:37 (verbal): Describes baldness and shaving as expressions of mourning for the destruction of Moab, echoing Micah's command to shave/bald oneself for lost 'children of delight.'
- Isaiah 3:24 (thematic): Portrays baldness and other marks of humiliation and mourning replacing former beauty, paralleling Micah's image of shameful baldness after catastrophe.
- Ezekiel 7:18 (thematic): Speaks of sackcloth, horror, and baldness as consequences of coming judgment—shares the motif of forced mourning and public shame present in Micah 1:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- Make yourselves bald and shave off your hair for the children of your delight; widen your baldness like an eagle, for they have gone from you.
- Shave yourselves and make yourselves bald for the sons of your delight; widen your baldness like an eagle, for they have gone from you.
Therefore I will wail and lament; I will go about stripped and barefoot. I will make a dirge like jackals’ and a mourning like ostriches’ brood.
For the wound is grievous—indeed it has come to Judah; it has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
Gath—do not proclaim it! Weep not at all. Beth‑le‑Aphrah—roll yourself in the dust.
Pass on, O inhabitant of Shaphir; the lovely town shall be put to shame. Inhabitant of Zaanan, mourn; the house of Achzib will take from you your support.
O inhabitant of Maroth, distressed for good; for disaster has gone down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.
Harness the chariot to the steeds, O inhabitant of Lachish; the beginning of sin was found in the daughter of Zion—because in you were found the transgressions of Israel.
Therefore you shall give your wealth as a heritage to Gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deception to the kings of Israel.
Until you go into exile, O inhabitant of Mareshah; to Adullam shall come the glory of Israel.
Make yourselves bald and shave for the sons of your pleasure; enlarge your baldness like the vulture, for they are gone from you.