The Meaning of Micah 1:5 Explained

Micah 1:5

KJV: For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

YLT: For the transgression of Jacob is all this, And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what the high places of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

Darby: For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. Whence is the transgression of Jacob? is it not from Samaria? And whence are the high places of Judah? are they not from Jerusalem?

ASV: For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

Discover Micah 1:5

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Micah 1:5?

MEANING: What does Micah 1:5 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Micah 1:5 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Micah 1:5?

What is the context of Micah 1:5?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For the transgression of Jacob [is] all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What [is] the transgression of Jacob? [is it] not Samaria? and what [are] the high places of Judah? [are they] not Jerusalem?

What does Micah 1:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord"s intervention was due to the Israelites" sins and rebellion against their sovereign lord. Samaria personified the rebellion of the Israelites, and Jerusalem had become a high place for idolatry rather than for holy worship. These capital cities had become leaders in wickedness rather than in holiness.

Micah liked to use "Jacob" as a title for all Israel ( Micah 2:7; Micah 2:12; Micah 3:1; Micah 3:8-9; Micah 4:2; Micah 5:7-8), though he also used it to describe the Northern Kingdom (here) and the patriarch Jacob ( Micah 7:20). This name recalls the rebelliousness that marked the patriarch for most of his early life and that had subsequently marked his descendants. Micah used the name "Israel" to describe both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms. Several of the prophets referred to the Southern Kingdom as "Israel," especially after the fall of Samaria in722 B.C, because that kingdom represented the true Israel under the Davidic kings and the Aaronic priesthood. They referred to the Northern Kingdom as "Israel" in contrast to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Context Summary

Micah 1:1-16 - God's Witness Against His Chosen

Micah was contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea. Jeremiah quotes from him. Compare Micah 3:12 and Jeremiah 26:18.

In Micah 1:1-4 the prophet summons the nations to behold the just punishment which Jehovah would mete out to His faithless people. Micah 1:5-6 portray the desolation of Samaria. Destruction would settle on the homes and fields of men, and the prospect of this so affected the prophet that he divested himself of outer garment and sandals, that his disheveled condition might depict the calamities that he announced. Micah 1:10-16 make clear that Judah also would suffer similar chastisements. Aphrah and Shaphir would be hurried into captivity. So universal would be the calamity that Zaanan would not come to bewail with the neighboring city of Bethezel.

The prophets were true patriots and they felt that all good citizens should lament with them, Micah 1:16, in the hope of averting impending judgments. Are we feeling the sins and sorrows of our time, as Jesus felt those of Jerusalem, when He wept over the city? [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 1

¹ The time when Micah prophesied
² He shows the wrath of God against Jacob for idolatry
¹⁰ He exhorts to mourning

What do the individual words in Micah 1:5 mean?

For the transgression of Jacob all this [is] and for the sins of the house of Israel Who [is] the transgression of Jacob is [it] not Samaria and who [are] the high places of Judah Are [they] not Jerusalem

בְּפֶ֤שַׁע יַֽעֲקֹב֙ כָּל־ זֹ֔את וּבְחַטֹּ֖אות בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִֽי־ פֶ֣שַׁע ؟ יַעֲקֹ֗ב הֲלוֹא֙ ؟ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן וּמִי֙ בָּמ֣וֹת ؟ יְהוּדָ֔ה הֲל֖וֹא ؟ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם

בְּפֶ֤שַׁע	For the transgression
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct Root: פֶּשַׁע Sense: transgression, rebellion.
יַֽעֲקֹב֙	of Jacob
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יַעֲקֹב Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
זֹ֔את	this [is]
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular Root: זׄאת Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
וּבְחַטֹּ֖אות	and for the sins
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct Root: חַטָּאָה Sense: sin, sinful.
בֵּ֣ית	of the house
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בַּיִת Sense: house.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל	of Israel
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
מִֽי־	Who [is]
Parse: Interrogative Root: מִי Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
פֶ֣שַׁע	the transgression
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: פֶּשַׁע Sense: transgression, rebellion.
؟ יַעֲקֹ֗ב	of Jacob
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יַעֲקֹב Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
הֲלוֹא֙	is [it] not
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle Root: הֲלֹא Sense: not, no.
؟ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן	Samaria
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: שֹׁמְרֹון Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
וּמִי֙	and who [are]
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative Root: מִי Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
בָּמ֣וֹת	the high places
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct Root: בָּמָה Sense: high place, ridge, height, bamah (technical name for cultic platform).
؟ יְהוּדָ֔ה	of Judah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יְהוּדָה Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
הֲל֖וֹא	Are [they] not
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle Root: הֲלֹא Sense: not, no.
؟ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם	Jerusalem
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.

What are the major concepts related to Micah 1:5?

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Similar Scriptures for Micah 1:5

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		Jeremiah 2:19 [4]
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