The Meaning of Micah 1:4 Explained

Micah 1:4

KJV: 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.

YLT: Melted have been the mountains under Him, And the valleys do rend themselves, As wax from the presence of fire, As waters cast down by a slope.

Darby: And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters poured down a steep place.

ASV: And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Micah 1:4 Mean?

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 1:4 mean?

And will melt the mountains under Him and the valleys will split Like wax before the fire Like waters poured down a steep place
וְנָמַ֤סּוּ הֶֽהָרִים֙ תַּחְתָּ֔יו וְהָעֲמָקִ֖ים יִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּ כַּדּוֹנַג֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הָאֵ֔שׁ כְּמַ֖יִם מֻגָּרִ֥ים בְּמוֹרָֽד

וְנָמַ֤סּוּ  And  will  melt 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָסַס  
Sense: to dissolve, melt.
הֶֽהָרִים֙  the  mountains 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
תַּחְתָּ֔יו  under  Him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
וְהָעֲמָקִ֖ים  and  the  valleys 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עֵמֶק  
Sense: valley, vale, lowland, open country.
יִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּ  will  split 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּקַע  
Sense: to split, cleave, break open, divide, break through, rip up, break up, tear.
כַּדּוֹנַג֙  Like  wax 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֹּונַג  
Sense: wax (always figurative ‘of melting’).
מִפְּנֵ֣י  before 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָאֵ֔שׁ  the  fire 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
כְּמַ֖יִם  Like  waters 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
מֻגָּרִ֥ים  poured 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: נָגַר 
Sense: to pour, run, flow, pour down.
בְּמוֹרָֽד  down  a  steep  place 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹורָד  
Sense: descent, slope, steep place, hanging work, bevelled work.