Micah 1 · Verse 10

Micah 1:10

Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
Micah 1:10, King James Version

Micah 1:10 in other translations

BSBDo not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
WEBDon’t tell it in Gath. Don’t weep at all. At Beth Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust.
ASVTell it not in Gath, weep not at all: at Beth-le-aphrah have I rolled myself in the dust.
YLTIn Gath tell ye not--in Acco weep not, In Beth-Aphrah, in dust roll thyself.
DARBYTell it not in Gath, weep not at all; at Beth-le-aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
BBEGive no word of it in Gath, let there be no weeping at all: at Beth-le-aphrah be rolling in the dust.
WebsterDeclare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

What does Micah 1:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. Declare ye it not at Gath--on the borders of Judea, one of the five cities of the Philistines, who would exult at the calamity of the Hebrews (2Sa 1:20). Gratify not those who exult over the falls of the Israel of God. weep ye not at all--Do not betray your inward sorrow by outward weeping, within the cognizance of the enemy, lest they should exult at it. Reland translates, "Weep not in Acco," that is, Ptolemais, now St. Jean d'Acre, near the foot of Mount Carmel; allotted to Asher, but never occupied by that tribe (Jud 1:31); Acco's inhabitants would, therefore, like Gath's, rejoice at Israel's disaster. Thus the parallelism is best carried out in all the three clauses of the verse, and there is a similar play on sounds in each, in the Hebrew Gath, resembling in sound the Hebrew for "declare"; Acco, resembling the Hebrew for "weep"; and Aphrah, meaning "dust." While the Hebrews were not to expose their misery to foreigners, they ought to bewail it in their own cities, for example, Aphrah or Ophrah (Jos 18:23; 1Sa 13:17), in the tribe of Benjamin. To "roll in the dust" marked deep sorrow (Jr 6:26; Eze 27:30).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 Declare ye it not at Gath - Do not let this prediction be known among the Philistines, else they will glory over you. House of Aphrah - Or, Beth-aphrah. This place is mentioned Jos 18:23, as in the tribe of Benjamin. There is a paronomasia, or play on words, here: בבית לעפרה עפר bebeith leaphrah aphar, "Roll thyself in the dust in the house of dust."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Micah 1:8-16

The prophet laments that Israel's case is desperate; but declare it not in Gath. Gratify not those that make merry with the sins or with the sorrows of God's Israel. Roll thyself in the dust, as mourners used to do; let every house in Jerusalem become a house of Aphrah, "a house of dust." When God makes the house dust it becomes us to humble ourselves to the dust under his mighty hand. Many places should share this…

Read the full comment on Micah 1:8-16 →

Micah 1:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בְּגַת֙be.Gatin GathH1661
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תַּגִּ֔ידוּta.Gi.duyou tellH5046
בָּכ֖וֹba.Khoat all <weep>H1058
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תִּבְכּ֑וּtiv.Kuyou weepH1058
בְּבֵ֣יתbe.Veitin BethH1036
לְעַפְרָ֔הle.'af.RahLeaphrahH1036
עָפָ֖ר'a.FardustH6083
הִתְפַּלָּֽשִׁי\׃hit.pa.la.she.tiroll yourselfH6428

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Micah 1:10

  • 2 Samuel 1:20

    Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

  • Jeremiah 6:26

    O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

  • Amos 6:10

    And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.

  • Amos 5:13

    Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

  • Job 2:8

    And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

  • Lamentations 3:29

    He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

  • Joshua 18:23

    And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Declare.
2Sa 1:20; Am 5:13; 6:10
Aphrah. i.e., dust.
Jos 18:23
Ophrah. roll.
Job 2:8; Jer 6:26; La 3:29

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Micah 1:9

    For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

  • Micah 1:10

    Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

  • Micah 1:11

    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.

Read all of Micah 1

Micah 1:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		No lo digáis en Gath, ni lloréis mucho: revuélcate en el polvo de Beth-le-aphrah.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ne le racontez pas dans Gath, ne versez point de pleurs. Dans Beth-Leaphra, roule-toi dans la poussière.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Berichtet es nicht in Gath, weinet nur nicht Zu Beth-Leaphra wälze ich mich im Staube.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		In Geth nolite annuntiare; lacrimis ne ploretis; in domo pulveris pulvere vos conspergite.