The Meaning of Micah 1:11 Explained

Micah 1:11

KJV: Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.

YLT: Pass over for thee, O inhabitant of Shaphir, Naked one of shame. Not gone out hath the inhabitant of Zaanan, The lamentation of Beth-Ezel doth take from you its standing.

Darby: Pass away, inhabitress of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame. The inhabitress of Zaanan is not come forth for the lamentation of Beth-ezel: he will take from you its shelter.

ASV: Pass away, O inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame: the inhabitant of Zaanan is not come forth; the wailing of Beth-ezel shall take from you the stay thereof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Pass ye away,  thou inhabitant  of Saphir,  having thy shame  naked:  the inhabitant  of Zaanan  came not forth  in the mourning  of Bethezel;  he shall receive  of you his standing. 

What does Micah 1:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Residents of Shaphir ("beautiful," "pleasant") would become the opposite of their name, shamefully naked, when the invasion came. Inhabitants of Zaanan, a town name that sounds like the Hebrew word translated "come out," would not be able to come out of their town to escape. The people of Beth-ezel ("house of removal") would lament because the Lord would remove its support.

Context Summary

Micah 1:1-16 - God's Witness Against His Chosen
Micah was contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea. Jeremiah quotes from him. Compare Micah 3:12 and Jeremiah 26:18.
In Micah 1:1-4 the prophet summons the nations to behold the just punishment which Jehovah would mete out to His faithless people. Micah 1:5-6 portray the desolation of Samaria. Destruction would settle on the homes and fields of men, and the prospect of this so affected the prophet that he divested himself of outer garment and sandals, that his disheveled condition might depict the calamities that he announced. Micah 1:10-16 make clear that Judah also would suffer similar chastisements. Aphrah and Shaphir would be hurried into captivity. So universal would be the calamity that Zaanan would not come to bewail with the neighboring city of Bethezel.
The prophets were true patriots and they felt that all good citizens should lament with them, Micah 1:16, in the hope of averting impending judgments. Are we feeling the sins and sorrows of our time, as Jesus felt those of Jerusalem, when He wept over the city? [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 1

1  The time when Micah prophesied
2  He shows the wrath of God against Jacob for idolatry
10  He exhorts to mourning

What do the individual words in Micah 1:11 mean?

Pass by you inhabitant of Shaphir in naked Shame not does go out the inhabitant of Zaanan mourns in Beth Ezel is taken away from you Its place to stand
עִבְרִ֥י לָכֶ֛ם יוֹשֶׁ֥בֶת שָׁפִ֖יר עֶרְיָה־ בֹ֑שֶׁת לֹ֤א יָֽצְאָה֙ יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת צַֽאֲנָ֔ן מִסְפַּד֙ בֵּ֣ית הָאֵ֔צֶל יִקַּ֥ח מִכֶּ֖ם עֶמְדָּתֽוֹ

עִבְרִ֥י  Pass  by 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
יוֹשֶׁ֥בֶת  inhabitant 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
שָׁפִ֖יר  of  Shaphir 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁפִיר  
Sense: a place in Judah; site unknown.
עֶרְיָה־  in  naked 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֶרְיָה  
Sense: nudity, nakedness.
בֹ֑שֶׁת  Shame 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בֹּשֶׁת  
Sense: shame.
יָֽצְאָה֙  does  go  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת  the  inhabitant 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
צַֽאֲנָ֔ן  of  Zaanan 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צַאֲנָן  
Sense: a town in the low country of Judah.
מִסְפַּד֙  mourns 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: סָפַד  
Sense: to wail, lament, mourn.
הָאֵ֔צֶל  Beth  Ezel 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֵצֶל 
Sense: a place in Judah.
יִקַּ֥ח  is  taken  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
מִכֶּ֖ם  from  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
עֶמְדָּתֽוֹ  Its  place  to  stand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֶמְדָּה  
Sense: standing ground.