For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good, but calamity came down from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good, because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
- KJV For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.
- NKJV For the inhabitant of Maroth pined for good, But disaster came down from the Lord To the gate of Jerusalem.
- NASB For the inhabitant of Maroth Waits for something good, Because a disaster has come down from the Lord To the gate of Jerusalem.
- NLT The people of Maroth anxiously wait for relief, but only bitterness awaits them as the Lord’s judgment reaches even to the gates of Jerusalem.
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
Maroth hopes anxiously for relief, but disaster has come from the LORD even to Jerusalem's gate. It stresses that the calamity is God's own doing.
Overview
The town of Maroth ('bitterness') waits in vain for good while evil descends from Yahweh Himself. Micah is clear that the invading army is an instrument of divine judgment, not mere geopolitics. The advance reaching Jerusalem's gate underscores how near the threat comes to the heart of Judah.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 14:19Have You rejected Judah completely? Do You despise Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We hoped for peace, but no good has come, and for the time of healing, but there was only terror.
- Mic 1:9For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself.
- Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
- Isa 59:9–11Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
- Isa 45:7I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Jer 8:15We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.
- Job 30:26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
- 1 Sam 4:13When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
- Ruth 1:20“Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.
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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 1:12 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.