Micah 1:14
in Micah 1Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore shalt thou give a parting gift to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing unto the kings of Israel.
KJV
Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth–gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
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This verse in Micah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Vers. 10 seq.) In Geth, do not announce, do not weep with tears, sprinkle yourselves with dust in the house of dust: pass by, you inhabitants of Saphir (Beautiful), confused with disgrace, she who dwells in Sennan (Exit) has not come out. The lament of the house of Asel (Neighboring) will receive you: she who stood for herself, because she is weakened in good, she who dwells in Maroth (Bitterness): for evil descends from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.
This site's exposition
Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth
on Micah 1:14-15
Two more towns close the wordplay, Micah naming his own hometown in the string: Moresheth-gath is to give parting gifts, a dowry paid out as the town is lost, and Achzib, whose name means a lie or a deceitful brook, becomes a lie to the kings of Israel exactly as its name warned. Mareshah's name plays on heir or possessor, and an heir now comes to dispossess Mareshah in turn, a reversal of its own name's promise. The oracle ends at Adullam, the cave where David once hid from Saul, the glory of Israel now driven to hide in the same refuge, which the commentators read as a mark of how far the nation's glory has fallen.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Give presents - The inhabitants of Lachish courted the assistance of the Philistines against the Assyrian. Moresheth-gath - A known city of the Philistines, called Moresheth-gath, to distinguish it from a town of the same name in the tribe of Judah. Achzib - This was also a city of the Philistines.
) the houses of Achzib (a city which joined to Mareshah, or Moresheth, and is mentioned with it, Josh. xv. 44 ) shall be a lie to the kings of Israel; though they depend upon their strength, yet they shall fail them. Here there is an allusion to the name.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. 5 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?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Give presents to Moresheth-gath - Calmet says that Moresa or Morashti, and Achzib, were cities not far from Gath. It is possible that when Ahaz found himself pressed by Pekah, king of Israel, he might have sent to these places for succor, that by their assistance he might frustrate the hopes of the king of Israel; and this may be the meaning of “The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.” In these verses there are several instances of the paronomasia. See Mic 1:10, עפר aphar, dust, and עפרה aphrah, the name of the city.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath--that its inhabitants may send thee help. MAURER explains it, "thou shalt give a writing of renunciation to Moresheth-gath," that is, thou shalt renounce all claim to it, being compelled to yield it up to the foe. "Israel" in this verse is used for the kingdom of Judah, which was the chief representative of the whole nation of Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Therefore shalt thou give - (bridal) presents to Moresheth Gath Therefore! since Judah had so become a partaker of Israel’s sins, she had broken the covenant, whereby God had given her the land of the pagan, and she should part with it to aliens. The bridal presents, literally the dismissals, were the dowry 1Ki 9:16 with which the father sent away Jdg 12:9 his daughter, to belong to another, her lord or husband, never more to return. Moresheth, (literally, inheritance,) the inheritance which God gave her, was to be parted with; she was to be laden with gifts to the enemy. Judah should part with her, and her own treasure also. The houses of Achzib shall be a lie - Achzib, so called probably from a winter brook, achzab, was to become what its name imported, a resource which should fail just in the time of need, as the winter brooks in the drought of summer. “Wilt Thou be unto me as a failing brook, waters which are not sure?” Jer 15:18. This Achzib, which is recounted between Keilah and Mareshah Jos 15:44, was probably one of, the oldest towns of Palestine being mentioned in the history of the Patriarch Judah. After having survived about 1,000 years, it should, in time of need, fail. The kings of Israel are here the kings of Judah. When this prophecy was to be accomplished, the ten tribes would have ceased to have any political existence, the remnant in their own lanai would have no head to look to, except the line of David, whose good kings had a care for them. Micah then, having prophesied the utter destruction of Samaria, speaks in accordance with the state of things which he foresaw and foretold.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵן֙ | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תִּתְּנִ֣י | titeni | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| שִׁלּוּחִ֔ים | shiluchim | parting gifts | H7964 → | |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מוֹרֶ֣שֶׁת | moreshet | Moresheth | H4182 → | |
| גַּ֑ת | gat | Gath | H4182 → | |
| בָּתֵּ֤י | batei | [the] houses of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אַכְזִיב֙ | ʾakhziv | Aczib | H392 → | |
| לְאַכְזָ֔ב | leakhzav | [will become] <into> a deceitful thing | H391 → | |
| לְמַלְכֵ֖י | lemalkhei | to [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
לָכֵן֙<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
תִּתְּנִ֣יyou will give
titeniH5414 →2011 times
שִׁלּוּחִ֔יםparting gifts
shiluchimH7964 →
עַ֖לto
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
מוֹרֶ֣שֶׁתMoresheth
moreshetH4182 →
גַּ֑תGath
gatH4182 →
בָּתֵּ֤י[the] houses of
bateiH1004 →2046 times
אַכְזִיב֙Aczib
ʾakhzivH392 →
לְאַכְזָ֔ב[will become] <into> a deceitful thing
leakhzavH391 →
לְמַלְכֵ֖יto [the] kings of
lemalkheiH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 30:6This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 8:15
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
- Isaiah 46:1–2
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Deuteronomy 4:20
Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.
- Jeremiah 11:4
which I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey Me, and do everything I command you, and you will be My…
- Hosea 8:9–10
For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own. Ephraim has hired lovers.
- Deuteronomy 8:15
Through
2 Samuel 8:2David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one…
it leads to
- Numbers 24:17
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
- Psalms 60:8
Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
- Numbers 24:17
Through
2 Kings 16:8Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 12:17–18
At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 12:17–18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Micah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.