Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Micah 1:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse turns announcement into Micah's embodied wailing, stripping, and animal-like mourning.
Micah answers ruin with a body that mourns
This verse is one part of that explanation in Micah 1:8-16. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Micah 1:8-16
Read Micah 1:8 with 1:8-16. This verse turns announcement into Micah's embodied wailing, stripping, and animal-like mourning. The complete unit establishes this movement: Micah does not celebrate Samaria's fall or Judah's danger: he mourns as invasion, shame, dispossession, and exile sweep the towns around his homeland toward Jerusalem.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Lament makes clear that judgment is a human catastrophe, not a spectacle; the threatened rural towns also prepare the book's concern for land and elite exploitation. Within that movement, this verse turns announcement into Micah's embodied wailing, stripping, and animal-like mourning.
Read Micah 1:8–16 together
Why these verses belong together: The prophet's lament and linked town-name wordplays trace disaster through the Shephelah to exile.
Verse 8. 8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
Verse 9. 9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
Verse 10. 10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
Verse 11. 11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing.
Verse 12. 12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.
Verse 13. 13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
Verse 14. 14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
Verse 15. 15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
Verse 16. 16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“dragons and owls”
In plain language: older KJV animal terms likely referring to jackals and ostriches
turns announcement into Micah's embodied wailing, stripping, and animal-like mourning. The prophet grieves judgment rather than celebrating the suffering of Samaria or Judah.
Why it matters: The wording identifies this verse's distinct contribution to the complete unit.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
The prophet grieves judgment rather than celebrating the suffering of Samaria or Judah.
How It Can Shape Life
- Let public truth-telling include lament for people who bear the consequences of collective failure.
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 1:8-16 — Micah Laments as Disaster Moves through the ShephelahSources 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 1:8-16, 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, 1:8-16
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. 1741-1742, translation and notes on 1:8-16
Open source ↗