Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t tell it in Gath. Don’t weep at all. At Beth Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust.
- BSB Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
- NKJV Tell it not in Gath, Weep not at all; In Beth Aphrah Roll yourself in the dust.
- NASB Do not tell it in Gath, Do not weep at all. At Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust in mourning.
- NLT Don’t tell our enemies in Gath; don’t weep at all. You people in Beth-leaphrah, roll in the dust to show your despair.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Micah begins a series of laments over Judah's towns, telling them not to broadcast the disaster to enemies but to mourn in the dust. It opens a poetic dirge using wordplay on town names.
Overview
Echoing David's lament ('Tell it not in Gath'), Micah grieves over the invasion sweeping through Judah's lowland villages. Many verses here pun on town names, so 'Beth Ophrah' (house of dust) fits 'rolling in the dust.' The passage personalizes judgment, naming the very communities Micah knew and loved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Sam 1:20Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
- Jer 6:26O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
- Amos 6:10And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.
- Josh 18:23And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,
- Lam 3:29He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
- Job 2:8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
- Amos 5:13Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Micah names the town — 'But you, Bethlehem... from you shall come forth one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old' — the birthplace of the eternal King.
How Micah 1:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.