to go (causatively · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
place
מִמְּקוֹמ֑וֹmi.me.ko.Mo
H4725
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
down
וְיָרַ֥דve.ya.Rad
H3381
to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
tread
וְדָרַ֖ךְve.da.Rakh
H1869
to tread · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
places
בָּ֥מֳתֵיba.mo.tei
H1116
an elevation · noun, common feminine plural construct
earth
אָֽרֶץ'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Amos 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness,…
Isaiah 26:21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her b…
Deuteronomy 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the roc…
Psalms 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Habakkuk 3:19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief sing…
Deuteronomy 33:29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!…
Job 40:12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
Isaiah 2:10-19 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Micah 1:1-7
Here is, I. A general account of this prophet and his prophecy, Mic 1:1. This is prefixed for the satisfaction of all that read and hear the prophecy of this book, who will give the more credit to it when they know the author and his authority. 1. The prophecy is the word of the Lord; it is a divine revelation. Note, What is written in the Bible, and what is preached by the ministers of Christ according to what is written there, must be heard and received, not as the word of dying men, which we may be judges of, but as the word of the living God, which we must be judged by, for so it is. This word of the Lord came to the prophet, came plainly, came powerfully, came in a preventing way, and h…
tread upon the high places of the earth--He shall destroy the fortified heights (compare Deu 32:13; Deu 33:29) [GROTIUS].
Adam Clarke on Micah 1:3
For, behold, the Lord cometh forth - See this clause, Amo 4:13 (note). He represents Jehovah as a mighty conqueror, issuing from his pavilion, stepping from mountain to mountain, which rush down and fill the valleys before him; a consuming fire accompanying him, that melts and confounds every hill and dale, and blends all in universal confusion. God is here represented as doing that himself which other conquerors do by the multitude of their hosts; levelling the mountains, filling some of the valleys, and digging for waters in others, and pouring them from hills and dales for the use of the conquering armies, by pipes and aqueducts.
And why is all this mighty movement? Mic 1:5. "For the tran…
For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place,.... Out of heaven, the place of the house of his Shechinah or Majesty, as the Targum; where his throne is prepared; where he keeps his court, and displays his glory; from whence he removes, not by local motion, since he is everywhere; but by some manifest exertion of his power, either on the behalf of his people, or in taking vengeance on his and their enemies; or on them sinning against him, in which sense it is probably to be understood. It signifies not change of place, but of his dispensations; going out of his former customary method into another; removing, as Jarchi has it, from the throne of mercies to the throne of judgment; doing not ac…
The Church Fathers
Now let us also consider Jesus' statement, "I have proceeded and come from God." It seems useful to me to juxtapose to these words the following words from Micah: "Hear my words, you people, and let the earth and all who are in it pay attention; and the Lord shall be among you for a witness, the Lord from his holy house. Therefore behold, the Lord proceeds from his place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains will be shaken under him, and the valleys will be dissolved like wax, before fire and like water tumbling down in a waterfall." Now consider whether the statement, "I have proceeded from God," is equivalent to the statement, "The Lord proceeds from his place," since, when the Son is in the Father, being in the form of God before he empties himself, God is his place, as it were.… Unless you understand that the Son is in the Father in a different way than he was before he proceeded from God, it will seem contradictory that he has both proceeded from God, and, after he has proceeded from God, is still in God.
"I have come down," he says, "that I may see." When responses are conveyed to Abraham, God is not said to come down, but to stand over him, as we expounded above: "three men stood," it says, "over him." But now, because the cause of sinners is being dealt with, God is said to come down. See that you do not perceive an ascent and descent of place. For frequently this is found in the divine letters, as in the prophet Micah: "behold," he says, "the Lord has gone out from his holy place and has come down and will tread upon the high places of the earth." God therefore is said to come down, when he deigns to have care of human frailty. Which is to be understood more especially of our Lord and Savior, who "did not deem it robbery to be equal to God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." He came down therefore. "For no one else has ascended into heaven, except him who came down from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven." For the Lord came down not only to care for, but also to bear, the things which are ours. "For he took the form of a servant," and although he himself is of invisible nature, as being equal to the Father, yet he took a visible appearance, "and was found in appearance as a man."
(Verse 3, sequence) Because behold the Lord will go out from his place, and he will come down and tread upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will be consumed beneath him, and the valleys will be split like wax before the fire, like waters flowing down a steep slope. Because of the wickedness of Jacob, all this, and because of the sins of the house of Israel. What wickedness of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what heights of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? LXX: Behold, the Lord will go out from his place, and he will come down, and he will ascend upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will tremble beneath him, and the valleys will wither like wax before the fire, and like water flowing down: because of the impiety of Jacob, all these things, and because of the sin of the house of Israel. What is the wickedness of the house of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? O Samaria and Jerusalem, listen, and carefully heed the Lord testifying against you from His temple, and proclaiming whatever He will do. Behold, the Lord will come out from His place. For He who is humble and kind, and whose nature is mercy, is forced for your sake to assume a role of cruelty that He does not possess. And he shall come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. The descent of God is, and his majesty runs down to lower things, to tread upon the earth, and to crush even the powerful. And they shall be consumed, he says, whether the mountains waste away, and the valleys beneath him, whom we understand to be the leaders and the people. And just as nearby fire does not sustain wax, and flowing water is carried headlong: so shall the pride of all the wicked, when the Lord comes, be dissolved and flow away. But all this will happen because of the sins of the ten tribes, which Jacob and Israel called, and because of the transgression of Judah; for in the ten tribes Samaria was the metropolis, and in the kingdom of Judah Jerusalem, idolatry was practiced: this is according to the literal sense. However, the Lord will come out from his place, whom we can understand as either the Son or all the saints. For the Son himself says: I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John 14:10). And of the saints: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Leviticus 26:12). Therefore,…
Micah 1:3-4
3. For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
3. Quia ecce Jehova egreditur e loco suo, et descendet, et calcabit super excelsa terrae:
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.
4. Et liquefient montes sub eo, et solventur (vel, dehiscent) valles; sicut cera a conspectu ignis, sicut aquae in locum inferiorem actae.
The Prophet pursues the same subject; and he dwells especially on this -- that God would be a witness against his people from his sanctuary. He therefore confirms this, when h…
The heading in Mic 1:1 has been explained in the introduction. Mic 1:2-4 form the introduction to the prophet's address. Mic 1:2. "Hear, all ye nations: observe, O earth, and that which fills it: and let the Lord Jehovah be a witness against you, the Lord out of His holy palace. Mic 1:3. For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth from His place, and cometh down, and marcheth over the high places of the earth. Mic 1:4. And the mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys split, like wax before the fire, like water poured out upon a slope." The introductory words, "Hear, ye nations all," are taken by Micah from his earlier namesake the son of Imlah (Kg1 22:28). As the latter, in his attack upon the f…
Tramples the heights implies a theophany, an appearance of the God who is behind the historical convulsions about to afflict Samaria (cp. Deut 33:29; Ps 108:13; Amos 4:13). God is sovereign over nations and nature. The Canaanite god Baal was also thought to be active in this manner—descriptions of God like this one emphasize that the Lord, not Baal, is truly sovereign.
Rashi on Micah 1:3
comes forth from His place—From the throne of mercy to the throne of justice.
and tread upon the high places of the earth—On the high and haughty hearted.
