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

6So I will turn Samaria into a pile of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will roll its stones down into a valley and expose its foundations. 7All its idols will be smashed to pieces. All its wages for being a prostitute will be burned. All its statues will be turned into a pile of rubble. Samaria collected its wages for being a prostitute. That money will again pay for prostitutes. I will mourn and cry because of this. I will walk around barefoot and naked. I will cry like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich. 9Samaria’s wounds are incurable. ⌞The news about Samaria⌟ will come to Judah. It will reach the gates of my people in Jerusalem. 10Don’t report it in Gath. Don’t cry there. Roll in the dust of 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 16:9I will cry for the grapevines of Sibmah as Jazer cries for them. I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh. The shouts of joy for your ripened fruits and your harvest will be silenced.
• Isaiah 21:3That is why my body is full of trembling. Pain grips me like the pain of childbirth. I’m disturbed by what I hear. I’m terrified by what I see.
• Isaiah 22:4That is why I say, “Turn away from me so that I can cry bitterly. Don’t try to comfort me because of the destruction brought on my people.”
• Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can’t keep quiet because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
• Jeremiah 9:1“I wish that my head were ⌞filled with⌟ water and my eyes were a fountain of tears so that I could cry day and night for my dear people who have been killed.
• Jeremiah 48:36“That is why I moan for Moab like a flute. I sound like a flute for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they gained has disappeared.
• Isaiah 20:2At that time the Lord told Isaiah, son of Amoz, “Take off the sackcloth that you are wearing, and take off your sandals!” Isaiah did this and walked around barefoot and naked.
• Job 30:29I’m a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
• Psalms 102:6I am like a desert owl, like an owl living in 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