Micah 1:8

Micah 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals And a mourning like the ostriches,

Context of Micah 1:8

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. 7All her idols shall be broken in pieces, All her earnings [from her idolatry] shall be burned with fire, And all her images I shall make desolate; For from the earnings of a prostitute she collected them, And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return. Because of this I [Micah] must lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) and wail, I must go barefoot and naked [without outer garments as if robbed]; I must wail like the jackals And lament [with a loud, mournful cry] like the ostriches. 9For Samaria’s wound is incurable, For it has come to Judah; The enemy has reached the gate of my people, Even to Jerusalem. 10Announce it not in Gath [in Philistia], Weep not at all [and in this way betray your grief to Gentiles]; In Beth-le-aphrah (House of Dust) roll in the dust [among your own people].

Micah 1:8 word by word

עַל־זֹאת֙ אֶסְפְּדָ֣ה וְאֵילִ֔ילָה אֵילְכָ֥ה שׁוֹלָ֖ל וְעָר֑וֹם אֶעֱשֶׂ֤ה מִסְפֵּד֙ כַּתַּנִּ֔ים וְאֵ֖בֶל כִּבְנ֥וֹת יַעֲנָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore I will wailסָפַדsâphad · to mournH5594
• and howlיָלַלyâlal · to wailH3213
• I will goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• strippedשׁוֹלָלshôlâl shêylâl · barefootH7758
• and nakedעָרוֹם‛ârôm ‛ârôm · nakedH6174
• I will makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• a wailingמִסְפֵּדmispêd · mourningH4553
• like the dragonsתַּןtannîyn tannîym · jackalH8577
• and mourningאֵ֫בֶל'êbel · mourningH60
• as the owlsיַעֲנָהya‛ănâh · ostrichH3284
• as the owlsבַּתbath · daughterH1323

Cross-references for Micah 1:8

• Isaiah 16:9Therefore I (Isaiah) will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vines of Sibmah. I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; For the war-cry [of the enemy] has fallen on your summer fruits and your harvest.
• Isaiah 21:3Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth; I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.
• Isaiah 22:4Therefore I say, “Look away from me; Let me weep bitterly. Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
• Jeremiah 4:19My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart is pounding and throbbing within me; I cannot be silent, For you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.
• Jeremiah 9:1Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
• Jeremiah 48:36“Therefore My heart moans and sighs for Moab like flutes, and My heart moans and sighs like flutes for the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth); therefore [the remnant of] the abundant riches they gained has perished.
• Isaiah 20:2at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot.
• Job 30:29I am a brother to [howling] jackals, And a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].
• Psalms 102:6I am like a [mournful] vulture of the wilderness; I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.

Commentaries on Micah 1:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8I will make a wailing like the dragons - Newcome translates: - I will make a wailing like the foxes, (or jackals), And mourning like the daughters of the ostrich. This beast, the jackal or shiagal, we have often met with in the prophets. Travellers inform us that its howlings by night are most lamentable; and as to the ostrich, it is remarkable for its fearful shrieking and agonizing groanings after night. Dr. Shaw says he has often heard them groan as if…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Therefore I will - Therefore I would Wail - (properly, beat, that is, on the breast). And howl - “Let me alone,” he would say, “that I may vent my sorrow in all ways of expressing sorrow, beating on the breast and wailing, using all acts and sounds of grief.” It is as we would say, “Let me mourn on,” a mourning inexhaustible, because the woe too and the cause of grief was unceasing. The prophet becomes in words, probably in acts too, an image of his…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-16Verses 8-16 The prophet laments that Israel's case is desperate; but declare it not in Gath. Gratify not those that make merry with the sins or with the sorrows of God's Israel. Roll thyself in the dust, as mourners used to do; let every house in Jerusalem become a house of Aphrah, "a house of dust." When God makes the house dust it becomes us to humble ourselves to the dust under his mighty hand. Many places should share this mourning. The names have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-16In response to the Lord’s predicted judgment, Micah walked barefoot and naked to show mourning (see Isaiah 20:2; Lamentations 2:10; Ezekiel 24:17). This act vividly showed what would happen to Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah). They would lose their wealth, power, and population. A jackal and an owl make sad sounds and live in deserted wilderness areas (see Isaiah 34:13; Jeremiah 50:39).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Therefore I will wail--The prophet first shows how the coming judgment affects himself, in order that he might affect the minds of his countrymen similarly. stripped--that is, of shoes, or sandals, as the Septuagint translates. Otherwise "naked" would be a tautology. naked--"Naked" means divested of the upper garment (Is 20:2). "Naked and barefoot," the sign of mourning (2Sa 15:30). The prophet's upper garment was usually rough and coarse-haired (2Ki…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 1:8

• Dragon
• Idolatry
• Ostriches
• Owl

In the dictionaries

• Dragon
• Heir
• Lie
• Naked
• Owl
• Roll
• Wail
• Barefoot
• Micah (2)
• Naked; Nakedness

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