Catholic Commentary on Micah 1

“All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel.” (Micah 1:5)

The Book of Micah

Micah of Moresheth prophesied in Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, roughly 735-700 BC, making him a contemporary of Isaiah. He represents the rural poor against the urban elites of Jerusalem and Samaria. His book alternates between judgment (chapters 1-3, 6-7) and hope (chapters 4-5), and contains two of the most celebrated passages in the Old Testament: the Messianic birth in Bethlehem (5:2) and the summary of the covenant (6:8).

The book opens with the LORD coming from his holy temple, the mountains melting before him like wax. All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? And what is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem? Micah laments for his people: I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.

The Catechism draws from Micah's lament the model of the pastor who identifies with the suffering of the people rather than standing apart from it (CCC 2584).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, Micah heard the judgment and went barefoot and naked, howling and moaning. The prophet did not deliver the divine verdict with clinical detachment; he felt the weight of what he was commissioned to say. Authentic proclamation is always costly to the one who proclaims it. The word that costs nothing to speak may cost nothing because it is not the prophetic word.

Prayer

Lord God, give your messengers the mourning of Micah: the love that feels the weight of the word they are sent to deliver. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Micah
1
Judgment to Come
(Isaiah 7:17-25)
1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah-what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:
 
2 Hear, O peoples, all of you;
listen, O earth, and everyone in it!
May the Lord GOD bear witness against you,
the Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, the LORD comes forth
from His dwelling place;
He will come down and tread
on the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains will melt beneath Him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
 
5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what is the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
 
6 Therefore I will make Samaria
a heap of rubble in the open field,
a planting area for a vineyard.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and expose her foundations.
7 All 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 on a prostitute.
Weeping and Mourning
 
8 Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal * 1:8 Or a serpent or a dragon
and mourn like an ostrich.† 1:8 Literally like daughters of an ostrich or like daughters of an owl
9 For her wound is incurable;
it has reached even Judah;
it has approached the gate of my people,
as far as Jerusalem itself.
 
10 Do not tell it in Gath;‡ 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell. do not weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.§ 1:10 Beth-Leaphrah means house of dust.
11 Depart in shameful nakedness,
O dwellers of Shaphir.* 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
The dwellers of Zaanan † 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
will not come out.
Beth-ezel ‡ 1:11 Beth-ezel means adjoining house. is in mourning;
its support is taken from you.
12 For the dwellers of Maroth § 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter. pined for good,
but calamity came down from the LORD,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
 
13 Harness your chariot horses,
O dweller of Lachish.* 1:13 Lachish sounds like the Hebrew term for team of horses.
You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore, send farewell gifts † 1:14 Or give dowry to Moresheth-gath;‡ 1:14 Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew for gift or dowry.
the houses of Achzib § 1:14 Achzib means deception. will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror against you,
O dweller of Mareshah.* 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.
The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
16 Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair
in mourning for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they will go from you into exile.

*1:8 1:8 Or a serpent or a dragon

†1:8 1:8 Literally like daughters of an ostrich or like daughters of an owl

‡1:10 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.

§1:10 1:10 Beth-Leaphrah means house of dust.

*1:11 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.

†1:11 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.

‡1:11 1:11 Beth-ezel means adjoining house.

§1:12 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.

*1:13 1:13 Lachish sounds like the Hebrew term for team of horses.

†1:14 1:14 Or give dowry

‡1:14 1:14 Moresheth sounds like the Hebrew for gift or dowry.

§1:14 1:14 Achzib means deception.

*1:15 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.

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