Micah 1:3
in Micah 1For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
KJV
For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
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This verse in Micah 1
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFor, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place,.... Out of heaven, the place of the house of his Shechinah or Majesty, as the Targum; where his throne is prepared; where he keeps his court, and displays his glory; from whence he removes, not by local motion, since he is everywhere; but by some manifest exertion of his power, either on the behalf of his people, or in taking vengeance on his and their enemies; or on them sinning against him, in which sense it is probably to be understood.
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 Fathers3 voices
(Verse 3, sequence) Because behold the Lord will go out from his place, and he will come down and tread upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will be consumed beneath him, and the valleys will be split like wax before the fire, like waters flowing down a steep slope. Because of the wickedness of Jacob, all this, and because of the sins of the house of Israel. What wickedness of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what heights of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?
"I have descended," the text says, "to see." When responses are delivered to Abraham, God is not said to descend but to stand before him, as we explained above. "Three men," the text says, "stood before him." But now because sinners are involved, God is said to descend.Beware lest you think of ascending and descending spatially. For these metaphors are frequently found in the sacred literature, as in the prophet Micah. "Behold," Scripture says, "the Lord departed from his holy place and came down and will tread upon the high places of the earth." Therefore God is said to descend when he deigns to have concern for human frailty. This should be discerned especially of our Lord and Savior, who "thought it not robbery to be equal with God but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." Therefore he descended. For "no other has ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven." For the Lord descended not only to care for us but also to bear what things are ours. "For he took the form of a servant," and although he himself is invisible in nature, inasmuch as he is equal to the Father, nevertheless he took a visible appearance "and was found in appearance as a man."
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 20:152-56 · Written before 253.
proposed
Now let us also consider Jesus' statement, "I have proceeded and come from God." It seems useful to me to juxtapose to these words the following words from Micah: "Hear my words, you people, and let the earth and all who are in it pay attention; and the Lord shall be among you for a witness, the Lord from his holy house. Therefore behold, the Lord proceeds from his place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains will be shaken under him, and the valleys will be dissolved like wax, before fire and like water tumbling down in a waterfall." Now consider whether the statement, "I have proceeded from God," is equivalent to the statement, "The Lord proceeds from his place," since, when the Son is in the Father, being in the form of God before he empties himself, God is his place, as it were.… Unless you understand that the Son is in the Father in a different way than he was before he proceeded from God, it will seem contradictory that he has both proceeded from God, and, after he has proceeded from God, is still in God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) against those that turned a deaf ear to his oracles, wherein he witnessed to them, out of his holy temple at Jerusalem. A terrible prediction of destroying judgments which should come upon Judah and Israel, which had its accomplishment soon after in Israel, and at length in Judah; for it is foretold, 1.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
His place - Heaven, the place of his glorious throne. Come down - Shew, by the effects of his power, justice, and wisdom, that he is more eminently present there. Tread upon - Trample under foot all that is high, excellent, and matter of your glorying.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They boasted of themselves and their relation to God, as if that would secure them; but, though God never deceives the faith of the upright, he will disappoint the presumption of the hypocrites, for, behold, the Lord comes forth out of his place, quits his mercy-seat, where they thought they had him fast, and prepares his throne for judgment; his glory departs, for they drive it from them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For, behold, the Lord comth forth - that is, (as we now say,) “is coming forth.” Each day of judgment, and the last also, are ever drawing nigh, noiselessly as the nightfall, but unceasingly. “Out of His Place.” Dionysius: “God is hidden from us, except when He sheweth Himself by His Wisdom or Power of Justice or Grace, as Isaiah saith, ‘Verily, Thou art a God who hidest Thyself’ Isa 45:15.” He seemeth to be absent, when He doth not visibly work either in the heart within, or in judgments without; to the ungodly and unbelieving He is absent, “far above out of their sight” Psa 10:5, when He does not avenge their scoffs, their sins, their irreverence.
For, behold, the Lord cometh forth - See this clause, Amo 4:13 (note). He represents Jehovah as a mighty conqueror, issuing from his pavilion, stepping from mountain to mountain, which rush down and fill the valleys before him; a consuming fire accompanying him, that melts and confounds every hill and dale, and blends all in universal confusion. God is here represented as doing that himself which other conquerors do by the multitude of their hosts; levelling the mountains, filling some of the valleys, and digging for waters in others, and pouring them from hills and dales for the use of the conquering armies, by pipes and aqueducts. And why is all this mighty movement? Mic 1:5. “For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel.”
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יֹצֵ֣א | yotze' | [is] about to go forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמְּקוֹמ֑וֹ | mimekomo | from place his | H4725 → | |
| וְיָרַ֥ד | veyarad | and he will come down | H3381 → | |
| וְדָרַ֖ךְ | vedarakh | and he will tread | H1869 → | 62 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּ֥מֳתֵי | bamotei | [the] high places of | H1116 → | 102 times |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יֹצֵ֣א[is] about to go forth
yotze'H3318 →1067 times
מִמְּקוֹמ֑וֹfrom place his
mimekomoH4725 →
וְיָרַ֥דand he will come down
veyaradH3381 →
וְדָרַ֖ךְand he will tread
vedarakhH1869 →62 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּ֥מֳתֵי[the] high places of
bamoteiH1116 →102 times
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 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
Habakkuk 3:19GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 22:34
He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
- Psalms 18:33
He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
- Deuteronomy 32:13
He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
- 2 Samuel 22:34
Through
Psalms 115:3Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
it leads to
- Psalms 135:6
The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.
- Daniel 4:35
All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain…
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Psalms 135:6
Where this verse is studied
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Studies2
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About Micah
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 4:5 and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 20:152-56.