Micah 1:4

Micah 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.

Context of Micah 1:4

2Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen closely, O earth and all that is in it, And let the Lord God be witness [giving a testimony of the judgment] against you, The Lord from His holy temple [in the heavens]. 3For behold, the Lord is coming down from His place He shall come down and tread [in judgment] on the high places of the earth. The mountains shall melt under Him And the valleys shall be split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place. 5All this is because of the rebellion and apostasy of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom). What is the rebellion and apostasy of Jacob? Is it not [the abandonment of God in order to worship the idols of] Samaria? What are the high places [of idolatry] in Judah (the Southern Kingdom)? Are they not Jerusalem [the capital and center of corruption]? 6Therefore I [the Lord] shall make Samaria a heap of ruins [and of stones and arable land] in the open country, A place for planting vineyards; And I will pour her stones down into the ravine And lay bare her foundations.

Micah 1:4 word by word

וְנָמַ֤סּוּ הֶֽהָרִים֙ תַּחְתָּ֔יו וְהָעֲמָקִ֖ים יִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּ כַּדּוֹנַג֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הָאֵ֔שׁ כְּמַ֖יִם מֻגָּרִ֥ים בְּמוֹרָֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• shall be moltenמָסַסmâsas · to meltH4549
• under him, and the valleysעֵ֫מֶק‛êmeq · valleyH6010
• shall be cleftבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
• as waxדּוֹנַגdônag · waxH1749
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• as the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• pouredנָגַרnâgar · to pourH5064
• down a steep placeמוֹרָדmôrâd · descentH4174

Cross-references for Micah 1:4

• Judges 5:4Lord, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, Yes, the clouds dripped water.
• Psalms 97:5The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
• Isaiah 64:1Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence—
• Amos 9:5The Lord God of hosts [the Omnipotent Ruler], It is He who touches the earth [in judgment] and it melts, And all who dwell on it mourn [in despair and fear], And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
• Nahum 1:5The mountains quake before Him And the hills melt away; Indeed the earth is shaken by His presence— Yes, the world and all that dwell in it.
• Habakkuk 3:6He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations, Yes, the eternal mountains were shattered, The ancient hills bowed low and collapsed. His ways are eternal.
• 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish with a [mighty and thunderous] roar, and the [material] elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are on it will be burned up.
• Revelation 20:11And I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them [for this heaven and earth are passing away].
• Zechariah 14:4In that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from the east to the west by a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south.
• Psalms 68:2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked and guilty perish before [the presence of] God.

Commentaries on Micah 1:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And the mountains shall be molten under Him - It has been thought that this is imagery, taken from volcanic eruptions; but, although there is a very remarkable volcanic district just outside of Gilead, it is not thought to have been active at times so late as these; nor were the people to whom the words were said, familiar with it. Fire, the real agent at the end of the world, is, meanwhile, the symbol of God‘s anger, as being the most terrible of His…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The strong and seemingly unmovable mountains will melt in the presence of the Lord (see Psalm 97:5). Nothing can stand against him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Imagery from earthquakes and volcanic agency, to describe the terrors which attend Jehovah's coming in judgment (compare Jud 5:5). Neither men of high degree, as the mountains, nor men of low degree, as the valleys, can secure themselves or their land from the judgments of God. as wax--(Psa 97:5; compare Is 64:1-3). The third clause, "as wax," &c., answers to the first in the parallelism, "the mountains shall be molten"; the fourth, "as the waters,"…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 1:4

• Idolatry
• Mountain
• Volcanoes
• Wax

In the dictionaries

• Heir
• Lie
• Roll
• Wail
• Wax
• Bush, Burning
• Micah (2)
• Lord Yahweh, Yahweh God

Commentaries on Micah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings