God will destroy the city of Samaria
1 This is the message that the Lord gave to Micah, who was born in Moresheth. Micah told this message to the people when Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah ruled Judah as kings. God showed Micah what would happen to the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem.
1:1When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as the Hebrew name ‘Yahweh’. It is God's own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there. 1:1Samaria was the capital city of Israel, the kingdom in the north. Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah, the kingdom in the south. The temple of God was in Jerusalem.
2 Hear this, all you people of the world!
Listen carefully, everyone who lives on the earth!
The Lord God will speak against you.
From his home in heaven he will accuse you.
3 Look! The Lord is leaving his home!
He is coming down to march across the earth's high mountains.
4 The mountains will melt under his feet,
like wax melts near a fire.
The valleys will break apart.
Rocks will pour down the hills like water.
5 All these things will happen
because Jacob's descendants have refused to obey God.
Yes, it is because of the sins of Israel's people.
1:5Israel's people are the descendants of Jacob. God gave Jacob a new name, Israel.
Who has caused Israel's people to turn against God?
It is their leaders in the city of Samaria!
Where are the places that Judah's people worship false gods?
They are in the city of Jerusalem!
6 So the Lord says:
‘I will destroy Samaria
so that it becomes a heap of stones in a field.
People will plant vineyards there!
I will throw the stones from the city walls down into the valley.
I will completely destroy all the buildings.
7 I will break all Samaria's idols into pieces.
Fire will destroy all the gifts that the people offered to their false gods.
I will destroy all the images of the gods that they worshipped.
Samaria's people paid prostitutes at those places.
Now enemies will come and they will take away this money.
They will use the money to pay prostitutes in other places.’
