Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Micah 1:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5For 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?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse states the cause of the theophany and names Samaria and Jerusalem as centers embodying Jacob and Judah's rebellion.
The earth is summoned so Judah cannot watch from a distance
This verse is one part of that explanation in Micah 1:2-7. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Micah 1:2-7
Read Micah 1:5 with 1:2-7. This verse states the cause of the theophany and names Samaria and Jerusalem as centers embodying Jacob and Judah's rebellion. 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 states the cause of the theophany and names Samaria and Jerusalem as centers embodying Jacob and Judah's rebellion.
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.
Follow the Context
- All peoples and the earth are summoned to hear the Lord GOD as witness.
- The LORD descends and the landscape melts and splits beneath the theophany.
- The reason is Jacob and Israel's rebellion, epitomized by Samaria and Jerusalem.
- Samaria's stones, foundations, images, and cult payments are exposed and destroyed.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“high places”
In plain language: cultic centers in the verse's accusation
states the cause of the theophany and names Samaria and Jerusalem as centers embodying Jacob and Judah's rebellion. The cosmic scene narrows to covenant communities, so sacred capitals are accountable rather than automatically protected.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The rhetorical questions do not authorize antisemitism or identify present Jerusalem as a target for readers.
What Remains True
The cosmic scene narrows to covenant communities, so sacred capitals are accountable rather than automatically protected.
How It Can Shape Life
- Ask how religious and civic centers embody wrongdoing while refusing contempt for their peoples.
Teach It Back
Explain how Micah 1:5 contributes to Micah 1:2-7. Show how the surrounding movement controls the verse, name the stated uncertainty, and identify what the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Micah 1:2-7 — The Divine Witness Descends against Samaria and JerusalemSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Translations vary over 'high places of Judah,' but the explicit Samaria-Jerusalem focus is secure.
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 ↗