Micah 1:2
in Micah 1Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear, ye peoples, all of you; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord Jehovah be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
KJV
Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
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This verse in Micah 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHear, all ye people,.... Or, "the people, all of them" (m); not all the nations of the world, but the nations of Israel, so called from their several tribes; though some (n) think the rest of the inhabitants of the earth are meant: thee are the same words which are used by Micaiah the prophet in the times of Ahab, long before this time, from whom they might be borrowed, 1Ki 22:
This site's exposition
Hear, all ye people
on Micah 1:2-4
The prophecy opens as a courtroom summons addressed to the whole earth, not Israel alone: hear, all ye people, hearken, O earth, with the Lord himself the witness against his own covenant people from his holy temple. Verses 3 and 4 answer with theophany, the Lord coming forth from his place and treading the high places of the earth while the mountains melt like wax before fire, imagery the commentators trace to Sinai's own descent and to later theophanies such as Habakkuk 3's. The scale is deliberately cosmic, framing what follows, judgment on two small kingdoms, as an act with universal witnesses.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 2.) Hear, all people, and let the earth and its fullness attend, and may the Lord God be a witness to you, the Lord from his holy temple. LXX: Hear, all people, and let the earth and all who are in it listen, and may the Lord God be a testimony to you, the Lord from his holy house. Because according to the narrative the meaning is clear, I leave it to the discernment of the wise reader.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
O earth - This seems to be an appeal to the senseless creatures, or a summons to bring them in evidences for God against those kingdoms. Therein - Animate or inanimate creatures, all that are on the earth.
The earth is called upon, with all that therein is, to hear what the prophet has to say: Hearken, O earth! The earth shall be made to shake under the stroke and weight of the judgments coming; sooner will the earth hear than this stupid senseless people; but God will be heard when he pleads.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Hear, all ye people - The very commencement of this prophecy supposes preceding exhortations and predictions. Hearken, O earth - ארץ arets, here, should be translated land, the country of the Hebrews being only intended. And let the Lord God be Witness - Let him who has sent me with this message be witness that I have delivered it faithfully; and be a witness against you, if you take not the warning. The Lord from his holy temple - The place where he still remains as your King, and your Judge; and where you profess to pay your devotions.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
all that therein is--Hebrew, "whatever fills it." Micaiah, son of Imlah, our prophet's namesake, begins his prophecy similarly, "Hearken, O people, every one of you." Micah designedly uses the same preface, implying that his ministrations are a continuation of his predecessor's of the same name.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hear, all ye people - Literally, “hear, ye peoples, all of them.” Some 140, or 150 years had flowed by, since Micaiah, son of Imlah, had closed his prophecy in these words. And now they burst out anew. From age to age the word of God holds its course, ever receiving new fulfillments, never dying out, until the end shall come. The signal fulfillment of the prophecy, to which the former Micalah had called attention in these words, was an earnest of the fulfillment of this present message of God. Hearken, O earth, and all that therein is - The “peoples” or “nations” are never Judah and Israel only: the earth and the fullness thereof is the well-known title of the whole earth and all its inhabitants. Moses Deu 32:1, Asaph Psa 50:7, Isaiah Isa 1:2, call heaven and earth as witnesses against God’s people. Jeremiah, Jer 6:19 as Micah here, summons the nations and the earth. The contest between good and evil, sin and holiness, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, everwhere, but most chiefly where God’s Presence is nearest, is “a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men” 1Co 4:9. The nations are witnesses of God against His own people, so that these should not say, that it was for want of faithfulness or justice or power Exo 32:12; Num 14:16; Jos 7:8-9, but in His righteous judgment, that He cast off whom He had chosen. So shall the Day of Judgment “reveal His righteousness” Rom 2:5. “Hearken, O earth.” The lifeless earth Psa 114:7; Psa 97:5 trembles “at the Presence of God,” and so reproaches the dullness of man. By it he summons man to listen with great reverence to the Voice of God. And let the Lord God be witness against you - Not in words, but in deeds ye shall know, that I speak not of myself but God in me, when, what I declare, He shall by His Presence fulfill. […]
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁמְעוּ֙ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| עַמִּ֣ים | ʾamim | O peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כֻּלָּ֔ם | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַקְשִׁ֖יבִי | hakshivi | pay attention | H7181 → | |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | O earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּמְלֹאָ֑הּ | umeloah | and what fills it | H4393 → | |
| וִיהִי֩ | vihi | so may he become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֨י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | |
| יְהוִ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | |
| בָּכֶם֙ | bakhem | in you | ||
| לְעֵ֔ד | leed | <into> a witness | H5707 → | |
| אֲדֹנָ֖י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | |
| מֵהֵיכַ֥ל | meheikhal | from [the] temple of | H1964 → | |
| קָדְשֽׁוֹ׃ | kadesho | holiness his | H6944 → |
שִׁמְעוּ֙hear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
עַמִּ֣יםO peoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
כֻּלָּ֔םall of them
kulamH3605 →5413 times
הַקְשִׁ֖יבִיpay attention
hakshiviH7181 →
אֶ֣רֶץO earth
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
וּמְלֹאָ֑הּand what fills it
umeloahH4393 →
וִיהִי֩so may he become
vihiH1961 →3559 times
אֲדֹנָ֨י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →
יְהוִ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →
בָּכֶם֙in you
bakhem
לְעֵ֔ד<into> a witness
leedH5707 →
אֲדֹנָ֖י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →
מֵהֵיכַ֥לfrom [the] temple of
meheikhalH1964 →
קָדְשֽׁוֹ׃holiness his
kadeshoH6944 →
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
Jonah 2:7As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:6
In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 18:6
Through
Psalms 11:4The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
it leads to
- Psalms 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
- Psalms 2:4
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.
- Habakkuk 2:20
But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- Psalms 103:19
Through
Isaiah 1:2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
- Deuteronomy 4:26
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it,…
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Through
Revelation 3:22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
it leads to
- Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
- Revelation 2:7
Where this verse is studied
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About Micah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; 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.