The Meaning of Micah 1:13 Explained

Micah 1:13

KJV: 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.

YLT: Bind the chariot to a swift beast, O inhabitant of Lachish, The beginning of sin is she to the daughter of Zion, For in thee have been found the transgressions of Israel.

Darby: Bind the chariot to the swift steed, O inhabitress of Lachish: she was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; for in thee were found the transgressions of Israel.

ASV: Bind the chariot to the swift steed, O inhabitant of Lachish: she was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Micah 1:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Sarcastically, Micah urged the people of Lachish (Heb. lakish), a town known for its horses, to hitch a team (Heb. rekesh) of horses to a chariot to escape from the enemy. They would not be able to escape, however, because Lachish had led Jerusalem, as horses lead a chariot, into the sin of idolatry.

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 1:13 mean?

Harness the chariot to the swift steeds inhabitant of Lachish the beginning of sin she [was] to the daughter of Zion for in you were found the transgressions of Israel
רְתֹ֧ם הַמֶּרְכָּבָ֛ה לָרֶ֖כֶשׁ יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת לָכִ֑ישׁ רֵאשִׁ֨ית חַטָּ֥את הִיא֙ לְבַת־ צִיּ֔וֹן כִּי־ בָ֥ךְ נִמְצְא֖וּ פִּשְׁעֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

רְתֹ֧ם  Harness 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: רָתַם  
Sense: (Qal) to bind, attach.
הַמֶּרְכָּבָ֛ה  the  chariot 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מֶרְכָּבָה  
Sense: chariot.
לָרֶ֖כֶשׁ  to  the  swift  steeds 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶכֶשׁ  
Sense: steeds, horses.
יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת  inhabitant 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
לָכִ֑ישׁ  of  Lachish 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: לָכִישׁ  
Sense: a city lying south of Jerusalem on the borders of Simeon and which belonged to the Amorites until conquered by Joshua and allotted to Judah.
רֵאשִׁ֨ית  the  beginning 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: רֵאשִׁית  
Sense: first, beginning, best, chief.
חַטָּ֥את  of  sin 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
הִיא֙  she  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
לְבַת־  to  the  daughter 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
צִיּ֔וֹן  of  Zion 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
בָ֥ךְ  in  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person feminine singular
נִמְצְא֖וּ  were  found 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
פִּשְׁעֵ֥י  the  transgressions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: פֶּשַׁע  
Sense: transgression, rebellion.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.