The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Ver. 1. _The word of the Lord, &c._] _See Trapp on "_ Hos 1:1 _"_ To Micah the Morasthite] To distinguish him from Micaiah, the son of... [ Continue Reading ]
Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. Ver. 2. _Hear, all ye people_] He beginneth as Isaiah, in a lofty and stately style, pouring himself out in a golden flood of words (as Cicero speaketh of Aris... [ Continue Reading ]
For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. Ver. 3. _For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place_] That is, say they, out of Judea and his temple there, leaving it to the Chaldeans and Assyrians. See Ezekiel 3:12, and Chapt... [ Continue Reading ]
And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, [and] as the waters [that are] poured down a steep place. Ver. 4. _And the mountains shall be molten under him_] This is to the self same sense; though men swell, in their own eyes, to the size of s... [ Continue Reading ]
For the transgression of Jacob [is] all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What [is] the transgression of Jacob? [is it] not Samaria? and what [are] the high places of Judah? [are they] not Jerusalem? Ver. 5. _For the transgression of Jacob is all this_] Lest they should think, either t... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, [and] as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. Ver. 6. _Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field_] _i.e._ When stones are gathered out of a fi... [ Continue Reading ]
And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered [it] of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot. Ver. 7. _And all the graven images the... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._ Ver. 8. _Therefore I will wail and howl_] Good men are usually more deeply affected with the wretched estate of wicked persons than they themselves are. Thus Samuel mour... [ Continue Reading ]
For her wound [is] incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, [even] to Jerusalem. Ver. 9. _For her wound is incurable_] Or, she is grievously sick of her wounds; or, her wounds are full of anguish, neither is there any to pour in balm of Gilead, to allay it; any t... [ Continue Reading ]
Declare ye [it] not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. Ver. 10. _Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all_] _sc._ in their sight and hearing (though at home weep your fill, Mic 1:8), lest the daughters of those uncircumcised triumph, 2 Samuel 1:20; le... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 11. _Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir_] Or, thou that dwellest fairly, as it were in a city set with sapphires, see... [ Continue Reading ]
For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem. Ver. 12. _For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good_] Or, shall grieve for the good, viz. that he hath lost in the common calamity; grieve till he be heart sick, as Amos... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 13. _O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast_] To the camel or dromedary, saith Calvin, w... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib [shall be] a lie to the kings of Israel. Ver. 14. _Therefore shalt thou give presents, &c._] And so seek to make thee friends among the Philistines; but such carnal confederacies never prosper. The Greek Churches, A. D. 1438,... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel. Ver. 15. _Yet will I bring an heir unto thee_] Or, a possessor, who shall lay claim to thee, as by right of inheritance. This heir was the Assyrian, and those colonies brought by him into t... [ Continue Reading ]
Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. Ver. 16. _Make thee bald and poll thee_] _i.e._ Make most bitter lamentation. He alludes to a custom among the Easterlings, of tearing off the hair of their heads... [ Continue Reading ]