Micah 1:12
in Micah 1For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good, but calamity came down from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the inhabitant of Maroth waiteth anxiously for good, because evil is come down from Jehovah unto the gate of Jerusalem.
KJV
For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.
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This verse in Micah 1
Commentary
11 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
Do not tell it in Gath
on Micah 1:10-13
A run of lowland towns follows, likely along Sennacherib's route of 701 BC, each name played on in Hebrew for its fate. "Do not tell it in Gath" repeats David's lament over Saul at 2 Samuel 1:20, and Beth-leaphrah must "Roll in the dust". Lachish must harness its chariot horses.
This site's exposition
pined for good
Maroth means bitterness, and its people waited anxiously for good times that never came. The verse names the source of what came instead. The calamity came down from the LORD, and it reached the very gate of Jerusalem.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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
For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good,.... Or, "though they waited for good" (r); expected to have it, yet the reverse befell them: or "verily they were grieved for good" (s); for the good things they had lost, or were likely to lose; and which they had no more hope of, when they saw Jerusalem in distress.
The inhabitants of Maroth might well overlook their own particular grievances when they saw the holy city itself in danger, and might well overlook the Assyrian, that was the instrument, when they saw the evil coming from the Lord. Lachish was a city of Judah, which Sennacherib laid siege to, Isa. xxxvi.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the inhabitant of Maroth - (bitterness) waited carefully for good She waited carefully for the good which God gives, not for the Good which God is. She looked, longed for, good, as men do; but therewith her longing ended. She longed for it, amid her own evil, which brought God’s judgments upon her. Maroth is mentioned here only in Holy Scripture, and has not been identified. It too was probably selected for its meaning.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3184: “Maroth—or, the Disappointed” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
The village of the bitter spring, for that is probably the meaning of this name, Maroth, experienced a bitter disappointment. At the time when the Assyrians invaded the land, the inhabitants expected that deliverance would come to them from some quarter or other. From the context, I judge that they placed some sort of reliance upon the Philistines. They possibly had some hope that the king of Egypt would come up to attack Sennacherib.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This accords with the meaning of Maroth, "bitterness," to which allusion is made in "is grieved." But the antithesis favors English Version, "waited carefully (that is, anxiously) for good, but evil came down." from the Lord--not from chance. unto the gate of Jerusalem--after the other cities of Judah have been taken.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3184: “Maroth—or, the Disappointed” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
The village of the bitter spring, for that is probably the meaning of this name, Maroth, experienced a bitter disappointment. At the time when the Assyrians invaded the land, the inhabitants expected that deliverance would come to them from some quarter or other. From the context, I judge that they placed some sort of reliance upon the Philistines. They possibly had some hope that the king of Egypt would come up to attack Sennacherib. Evidently they looked for help everywhere except to God and, consequently, as no good came to them from the men upon whom they had relied, trial and overwhelming distress came to them from the hand of God. He was angry at their trust in men and their lack of trust in Himself and, therefore, He punished their unbelief by their total overthrow! The Assyrian swept over them and stopped not till he reached the gate of Jerusalem, where Hezekiah's faith in God made the enemy pause and retreat. The fact recorded in the text suggests to us, first, sad disappointments—"the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came." And secondly, strange appointments—evil came down from the Lord." When we have considered these two things, we will change the subject, altogether, and speak about expectations which will not end in disappointment. I. First, then, we are to think of SAD DISAPPOINTMENTS. "The inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came." Disappointments are often extremely painful at the time. Even in little things, we do not like to be disappointed. If our expectations are not realized, we feel as if a sharp thorn has pierced our flesh. But in great matters, disappointment is much more serious. In the case of the inhabitants of Maroth, it was fatal—they expected to be delivered from the Assyrians, but they were either slain on the spot, or carried away captive to Nineveh.
The inhabitant of Maroth - There was a city of a similar name in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:59.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For the one dwelling in disobedience hoped for good —For the one dwelling in tranquility and disobeying the word of the prophets hoped for good.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
| חָ֥לָֽה | chalah | she is in anguish | H2342 → | |
| לְט֖וֹב | letov | for good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת | yoshevet | [the] inhabitant[s] of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| מָר֑וֹת | marot | Maroth | H4796 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָ֤רַד | yarad | it has come down | H3381 → | |
| רָע֙ | ra' | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְשַׁ֖עַר | leshaar | to [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חָ֥לָֽהshe is in anguish
chalahH2342 →
לְט֖וֹבfor good
letovH2896 →538 times
יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת[the] inhabitant[s] of
yoshevetH3427 →1079 times
מָר֑וֹתMaroth
marotH4796 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָ֤רַדit has come down
yaradH3381 →
רָע֙calamity
ra'H7451 →662 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְשַׁ֖עַרto [the] gate of
leshaarH8179 →374 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 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
Job 30:26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 8:15
We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 8:15
Through
Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Zephaniah 1:16
a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.
- Isaiah 14:24–27
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- 2 Corinthians 5:11
Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
- Genesis 50:20
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- Isaiah 45:7
Through
Jeremiah 8:15We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:19
Have You rejected Judah completely? Do You despise Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We hoped for peace, but no good has come, and for the time of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 14:19
Through
Jeremiah 14:19Have You rejected Judah completely? Do You despise Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We hoped for peace, but no good has come, and for the time of…
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3
While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Micah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3184: “Maroth—or, the Disappointed” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.