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 will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the countryside, a planting area for a vineyard. I will roll her stones into the valley and expose her foundations. 7All her carved images will be smashed to pieces; all her wages will be burned in the fire, and I will destroy all her idols. Since she collected the wages of a prostitute, they will be used again for a prostitute. Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like the jackals and mourn like ostriches. 9For her wound is incurable and has reached even Judah; it has approached my people’s city gate, as far as Jerusalem. 10Don’t announce it in Gath, don’t weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.

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 16:9So I join with Jazer to weep for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.
• Isaiah 21:3Therefore I am filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. I am too perplexed to hear, too dismayed to see.
• Isaiah 22:4Therefore I said, “Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly! Do not try to comfort me about the destruction of my dear people.”
• Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in agony! Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds; I cannot be silent. For you, my soul, have heard the sound of the ram’s horn — the shout of battle.
• Jeremiah 9:1If my head were a flowing spring, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people.
• Jeremiah 48:36Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.
• Isaiah 20:2during that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth from your waist and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did that, going stripped and barefoot —
• Job 30:29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
• Psalms 102:6I am like an eagle owl, like a little owl among the ruins.

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