Bible Strands
Micah 1:2
Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through the prophet Micah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, addressing all nations and the earth as He prepares to judge Samaria and Jerusalem.
The words — The Hebrew imperative שִׁמְעוּ (shim.'U) commands "hear" or "listen," paired with עַמִּים ('a.Mim) meaning "peoples," establishing a universal summons. The term אֲדֹנָי ('a.do.Nai) identifies the judging speaker as "the Lord."
The thread — This courtroom summons echoes the witness calls in Isaiah 1:2 and Psalm 49:1, while the reference to the Lord in His holy temple aligns with the imagery in Psalm 11:4.
Why it lands — The text demands that every nation and inhabitant of the earth acknowledge the Lord as a legal witness against their actions. It requires the reader to recognize that divine judgment originates from God's heavenly throne before it manifests on earth.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 11:4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
- Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
- Psalms 49:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
- Psalms 50:7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.
- Jeremiah 22:29 O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
- Jonah 2:7 As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple.
- Micah 6:1 Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
- Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Mark 7:14 Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: