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

2Listen, all you nations! Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! The sovereign Lord will testify against you; the Lord will accuse you from his majestic palace. 3Look, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place! He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! The mountains will disintegrate beneath him, and the valleys will be split in two. The mountains will melt like wax in a fire, the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. 5All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion and the sins of the nation of Israel. How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? They are right in Jerusalem! 6“I will turn Samaria into a heap of ruins in an open field – vineyards will be planted there! I will tumble the rubble of her stone walls down into the valley, and tear down her fortifications to their 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 5:4O Lord, when you departed from Seir, when you marched from Edom’s plains, the earth shook, the heavens poured down, the clouds poured down rain.
• Psalms 97:5The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole earth.
• Isaiah 64:1If only you would tear apart the sky and come down! The mountains would tremble before you!
• Amos 9:5The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. He touches the earth and it dissolves; all who live on it mourn. The whole earth rises like the River Nile, and then grows calm like the Nile in Egypt.
• Nahum 1:5The mountains tremble before him, the hills convulse; the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all its inhabitants are laid waste.
• Habakkuk 3:6He takes his battle position and shakes the earth; with a mere look he frightens the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrate; the primeval hills are flattened. He travels on the ancient roads.
• 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.
• Revelation 20:11Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.
• Zechariah 14:4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward.
• Psalms 68:2As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. As wax melts before fire, so the wicked are destroyed before 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