Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Micah 1:2 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 2. 2Hear, 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse summons all peoples and the whole earth to hear the Lord GOD as judicial witness.
Read It With
- Micah 1:2-7
Read Micah 1:2 with 1:2-7. This verse summons all peoples and the whole earth to hear the Lord GOD as judicial witness. The complete unit establishes this movement: Cosmic theophany narrows to the rebellions embodied in Samaria and Jerusalem, and Samaria's coming ruin warns Judah that sacred status and accumulated cult wealth do not shield a violent or divided society.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The wide summons prevents Judah from treating Samaria's fall as irrelevant, while the named capitals prevent universal imagery from floating free of historical accountability. Within that movement, this verse summons all peoples and the whole earth to hear the Lord GOD as judicial witness.
Read Micah 1:2–7 together
Why these verses belong together: Universal hearing, theophany, named capitals, and Samaria's ruin form one narrowing judgment movement.
Verse 2. 2 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.
Verse 3. 3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 5. 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?
Verse 6. 6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.
Verse 7. 7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“witness”
In plain language: judicial testimony against the hearers
summons all peoples and the whole earth to hear the Lord GOD as judicial witness. Universal accountability is introduced as a hearing before the divine witness, not as a license for one people to judge all others.
Why it matters: The wording identifies this verse's distinct contribution to the complete unit.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Universal accountability is introduced as a hearing before the divine witness, not as a license for one people to judge all others.
How It Can Shape Life
- Listen first for the concrete accusations that follow before applying the universal summons.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Micah 1:2-7 — The Divine Witness Descends against Samaria and JerusalemSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Micah 1:2-7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Micah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Mic.xml, 1:2-7
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Micah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Micah PDF, printed pp. 1740-1741, translation and notes on 1:2-7
Open source ↗