Jonah 4 - Micah 2
Expanded Bible
God’s Mercy Makes Jonah Angry
4 But this made Jonah very unhappy, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “When I was still in my own country ·this is [L isn’t this…?] what I said would happen, and that is why I quickly ran away to Tarshish [1:3]. I knew that you are a God who is ·kind [gracious] and ·shows mercy [compassionate]. ·You don’t become angry quickly […slow to anger], and you ·have great love [abound in lovingkindness/mercy; Ex. 34:6–7]. I knew you would ·choose not to cause [relent from doing] harm. 3 So now I ask you, Lord, please ·kill me [take my life]. It is better for me to die than to live.”
4 Then the Lord said, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah went out and sat down east of the city. There he made a shelter for himself and sat in the shade, waiting to see what would happen to the city. 6 The Lord made a ·plant [gourd] grow quickly up over Jonah, which gave him shade and ·helped him to be more comfortable [eased his discomfort]. Jonah was very pleased to have the ·plant [gourd]. 7 But the next day when the sun rose, God sent a worm to attack the ·plant [gourd] so that it ·died [dried up; withered].
8 As the sun rose higher in the sky, God sent a very hot east wind to blow, and the sun ·became so hot [beat down] on Jonah’s head that he became ·very weak [faint] and wished he were dead. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry about the ·plant [gourd]?”
Jonah answered, “It is right for me to be angry! I am so angry I could die!”
10 And the Lord said, “You ·are so concerned [have pity] for that ·plant [gourd] even though you did nothing to make it grow. It appeared ·one day [overnight], and ·the next day [overnight] it died. 11 Then shouldn’t I ·show concern [have pity] for the great city Nineveh, which has more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know ·right from wrong [L their right hand from their left], and ·many animals [much cattle], too?”
Samaria and Israel to Be Punished
1 During the time that Jotham [C ruled 758–743 bc], Ahaz [C ruled 743–727 bc], and Hezekiah [C ruled 727–698 bc] were kings of Judah, the word of the Lord came to Micah, who was from Moresheth [C a town in southern Judah]. He saw these visions about Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear this, all you ·nations [peoples];
listen, earth and all you who live on it.
The Lord God will ·be a witness [bring charges] against you,
the Lord from his Holy Temple.
3 See, the Lord is coming out of his place;
he is coming down to ·walk on [tread upon] the ·tops of the mountains [heights of the earth].
4 The mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will ·crack open [split apart],
like wax near a fire,
like water running down a hillside.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s ·sin [rebellion; transgression],
because of the sins of the ·nation [L house] of Israel.
What is ·the place of Jacob’s sin [L Jacob’s trangression]?
Isn’t it Samaria [C the capital of the northern empire]?
What is Judah’s ·place of idol worship [L high place; C a pagan worship site]?
Isn’t it Jerusalem [C Judah’s sin made the temple in Jerusalem no better than a pagan temple]?
The Lord Speaks
6 “So I will make Samaria a ·pile [heap] of ruins in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones down into the valley
and ·strip her down to [lay bare; uncover] her foundations.
7 All her ·idols [carved images] will be broken into pieces;
all the ·gifts to her idols [L prostitute’s wages] will be burned with fire.
I will ·destroy [make desolate] all her idols,
and because Samaria ·earned her money [or gathered these things] by ·being unfaithful to me [prostituting herself],
·this money will be carried off by others who are not faithful to me [L to the pay of the prostitute they will return; C Samaria’s wealth earned through idolatry would now go to the pagan temples of Assyria—one prostitute’s wages going to another].”
Micah’s Great Sadness
8 I will ·moan and cry [mourn and wail] because of this evil,
going around barefoot and naked.
I will ·cry loudly [wail] like ·the wild dogs [jackals]
and ·make sad sounds [moan] like the ·owls [or ostriches] do,
9 because Samaria’s wound ·cannot be healed [is incurable].
It ·will spread [or has spread] to Judah;
it ·will reach [or has reached] the city gate of my people [C where the city’s affairs were conducted],
all the way to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath [C sounds like Hebrew for “tell”; Gath and the cities in this list were in Assyria’s path of destruction in 701 bc].
Don’t cry ·in Acco [or at all; C the Hebrew for “cry” sounds like Acco].
Roll in the dust
at Beth Ophrah [C “house of dust”].
11 Pass on your way, naked and ashamed,
you who live in Shaphir [C “beautiful” or “pleasant”].
Those who live in Zaanan [C sounds like Hebrew for “come out”]
won’t come out.
The people in Beth Ezel [C “house of nearness”] ·will cry [are in mourning],
but they will not give you any support.
12 Those who live in Maroth [C sounds like Hebrew for “sad” or “miserable”]
·will be anxious [hope] for good news to come,
because ·trouble [disaster] ·will [or has] come from the Lord,
all the way to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You people living in Lachish [C a large town in Judah; Lachish sounds like the Hebrew for “horse” or “steed”],
harness the fastest ·horses [steeds] to the chariot.
·Jerusalem’s [L Daughter of Zion’s; C the location of the Temple] sins ·started in [began with] you;
yes, Israel’s ·sins [transgressions; rebellion] were found in you.
14 So you must give ·farewell gifts [a dowry]
to Moresheth in Gath.
The houses in Aczib [C “deception”] ·will be false help
to [or have deceived/betrayed] the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring against you people who will ·take [possess; conquer] your land,
you who live in Mareshah [C sounds like Hebrew for “conqueror”].
The ·glory [or nobles; leaders] of Israel
will go in to Adullam [C perhaps to hide in its caves].
16 ·Cut off your hair [Shave your head; Make yourself bald; C a sign of mourning or sadness]
for the children ·you love [in whom you delight].
Make yourself bald like the eagle,
because your children will be taken away ·to a foreign land [in exile/captivity].
The Evil Plans of People
2 ·How terrible it will be for people [L Woe to those] who plan wickedness,
who lie on their beds and make evil plans.
When the morning light comes, they do what they planned,
because they have the power to do so.
2 They ·want [covet] fields, so they take them;
they ·want [covet] houses, so they ·take them away [seize them].
They ·cheat [defraud; oppress] people to get their houses;
they rob them even of their ·property [inheritance].
3 That is why the Lord says:
“Look, I am planning ·trouble [disaster] against such people,
·and you won’t be able to save yourselves [L from which you cannot remove your necks; C like a yoke].
You will no longer walk ·proudly [arrogantly],
because it will be a ·terrible time [time of calamity/catastrophe/evil].
4 ·At that time [L In that day] people will ·make fun of [ridicule; sing a taunt against] you
and ·sing this sad song [L lament with a lamentation] about you:
‘We are completely ·ruined [destroyed];
the Lord has taken away my people’s ·land [possession; inheritance].
Yes, he has taken it away from me
and divided our fields among ·our enemies [renegades; or the traitors]!’”
5 So you will have no one from the Lord’s ·people [assembly]
to throw lots to divide the land.
Micah Is Asked Not to Prophesy
6 The ·prophets [or preachers] say, “Don’t ·prophesy [or preach] to us!
Don’t ·prophesy [preach] about these things!
·Nothing to make us feel bad will happen [L Disgrace/Humiliation will not overtake us]!”
7 But I must say this, ·people [L house] of Jacob:
·The Lord is becoming angry [or Does not the Lord grow impatient…?] about what you have done.
·My words are welcome [or Are not my words good…?]
to the person who ·does what is right [L walks uprightly].
8 But ·you are fighting against my people like an enemy [or my people have risen up against me as an enemy].
You ·take the coats [strip off the rich robe] from people who pass by peacefully;
·you plan war [or …like men returning from war].
9 You have ·forced [cast out; evicted] the women of my people
from their ·nice [pleasant] houses;
you have taken my glory
from their children forever.
10 ·Get up [Arise] and leave.
This is not your place of rest anymore.
You have made this place ·unclean [defiled],
and it is doomed to destruction.
11 ·But you people want a false prophet
who will tell you nothing but lies
[L If a man, coming as wind/spirit and lies,
should lie to you…].
You want one who ·promises to prophesy good things for you
if you give him wine and beer [or will prophesy wine and beer for you].
He’s just the prophet for you.
The Lord Promises to Rescue His People
12 “Yes, ·people of Jacob [L Jacob], I will ·bring [assemble] all of you together;
I will bring together ·all those left alive in [the remnant of] Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will be filled with ·many people [or a noisy crowd].
13 Someone will ·open the way [break out] and ·lead the people out [L go up before them].
The people will break through the gate and ·leave the city where they were held captive [L go out].
Their king will ·go out in front of [pass through before] them,
and the Lord will lead them.”
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