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.
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)Therefore, I will mourn and lament. I will walk around barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.

Context of Micah 1:8

6“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations. 7All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.” 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. 9For Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself. 10Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all. In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust.

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 weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vines of Sibmah. Heshbon and Elealeh, I drench you with tears! The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit and over your harvests have been stilled.
• Isaiah 21:3At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
• Isaiah 22:4Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.”
• Jeremiah 4:19Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.
• Jeremiah 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
• Jeremiah 48:36“So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe; it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone.
• Isaiah 20:2at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.
• Job 30:29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.
• Psalms 102:6I am like a desert owl, like an 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