New International Reader's Version

Micah 1:3-8 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

3. The Lord is about to come down from his home in heaven. He rules over the highest places on earth.

4. The mountains will melt under him like wax near a fire. The valleys will be broken apart by water rushing down a slope.

5. All of that will happen because Jacob's people have done what is wrong. The people of Israel have committed many sins. Who is to blame for the wrong things Jacob has done? Samaria! Who is to blame for the high places where Judah's people worship other gods? Jerusalem!

6. So the Lord says, "I will turn Samaria into a pile of trash. It will become a place for planting vineyards. I will dump its stones down into the valley. And I will destroy it down to its very foundations.

7. All of the statues of Samaria's gods will be broken to pieces. All of the gifts its people gave to temple prostitutes will be burned with fire. I will destroy all of the statues of its gods. Samaria collected gifts that were paid to temple prostitutes. So the Assyrians will use the gifts to pay their own temple prostitutes."

8. I will sob and cry because Samaria will be destroyed. I'll walk around barefoot. I won't have anything on but my underwear. I'll bark like a wild dog. I'll hoot like an owl.