Rejoice not over me, O my enemy — when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD is a light to me.
— Micah 7:8, as applied at Qumran
The Commentary on Micah (1Q14) is a pesher discovered in Cave 1 at Qumran in 1947. Like the Commentary on Habakkuk and the Commentary on Nahum, it reads the words of the prophet as encrypted speech about the community's own age — the age of the end of days, in which the men of Qumran saw themselves standing. The scroll quotes Micah, then interprets each passage as speaking of the present conflict between the righteous and their enemies.
The scroll is substantially more fragmentary than the Commentary on Habakkuk. Seventeen fragments survive, many yielding only isolated words. The most coherent passages cover Micah 1:2–7, Micah 4:8–13, Micah 6:14–16, and Micah 7:8–9. The interpretations name no enemies by their historical names — unlike the Commentary on Nahum with its reference to Demetrius — but employ the same coded vocabulary: the congregation, the Wicked Priest, the Seekers of Smooth Things, the end of days.
Fragments 1–4
(Micah 1:2–7)
Hear, O peoples, all of you;
listen, O earth and all that fills it.
Let the Lord GOD be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
And the mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem?
Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones into the valley
and uncover her foundations.
All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
all her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste —
for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
Its interpretation concerns [...] the end of days [...] the congregation of [...]
[The remainder of this section is too fragmentary for continuous translation. Isolated phrases reference] [...] the Wicked Priest [...] all Israel [...]
Fragments 8–9
(Micah 4:8–12)
And you, O tower of the flock,
hill of the daughter of Zion —
to you it shall come,
the former dominion shall come,
kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
Why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you?
Has your counsellor perished,
that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in labor —
for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country;
you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
Now many nations are assembled against you,
saying: Let her be defiled,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.
Its interpretation: the former dominion [shall return to the congregation...] and the daughters of [...]
[...] the nations who have assembled against [the community...] they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, [and they do not understand his counsel...] at the end of days [...]
Fragments 13–14
(Micah 6:14–16)
You shall eat but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger in your stomach.
You shall put things aside but not save them,
and what you save I will give to the sword.
You shall sow but not reap;
you shall tread olives but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes but not drink wine.
For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
and all the works of the house of Ahab,
and you have walked in their counsels —
that I may make you a desolation and your inhabitants an object of hissing.
So you shall bear the scorn of my people.
Its interpretation concerns [the men of the congregation who walk in the way of the nations...] and the statutes of Omri [are the statutes of those who lead Israel astray...]
[...] desolation [...] at the end of days [...]
Fragments 17–18
(Micah 7:8–9)
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy —
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the LORD is a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the LORD
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
Its interpretation concerns [the men of the community...] when they fall [they shall rise], for the LORD [is their light...] and he will [execute judgment] for them [...] He will bring them out to the light and they shall look upon [his vindication at the end of days...]
Colophon
Text: 1Q14 (Pesher Micah), seventeen fragments from Qumran Cave 1, discovered 1947. Published in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert I (Barthélemy & Milik, Oxford, 1955). The scroll is substantially more fragmentary than the Commentary on Habakkuk; many fragments yield only isolated words. Lacunae marked [...]. Bracketed text indicates restorations where the reading is supported by context or parallel passages in the Qumran library.
Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church. Translated directly from the Hebrew as preserved in García Martínez & Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997–98), cross-referenced with DJD I. The biblical lemmata follow the text as quoted in the scroll, which occasionally differs from the Masoretic Text. Where the pesher interpretation survives only in isolated phrases, these are presented with [...] marking the surrounding lacunae rather than as continuous prose.
Scribal credit: DSS Tulku lineage, 2026.
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Source Text: פשר מיכה (1Q14)
Hebrew transcription from García Martínez & Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997–98); DJD I (Barthélemy & Milik, 1955). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Fragments 1–4
(Citing Micah 1:2–7)
שִׁמְעוּ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם הַקְשִׁיבִי אֶרֶץ וּמְלֹאָהּ
וִיהִי אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה בָּכֶם לְעֵד
אֲדֹנָי מֵהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹ
כִּי הִנֵּה יְהוָה יֹצֵא מִמְּקוֹמוֹ
וְיָרַד וְדָרַךְ עַל בָּמֳתֵי אָרֶץ
וְנָמַסּוּ הֶהָרִים תַּחְתָּיו
וְהָעֲמָקִים יִתְבַּקָּעוּ
כַּדּוֹנַג מִפְּנֵי הָאֵשׁ
כְּמַיִם מֻגָּרִים בְּמוֹרָד
כָּל זֹאת פֶּשַׁע יַעֲקֹב
וְחַטֹּאת בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל
מַה פֶּשַׁע יַעֲקֹב הֲלֹא שֹׁמְרוֹן
וּמָה בָּמוֹת יְהוּדָה הֲלֹא יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
עַל כֵּן אֶתֵּן שֹׁמְרוֹן לְעִי הַשָּׂדֶה
לְמַטָּעֵי כָרֶם
וְהִגַּרְתִּי לַגַּיְא אֲבָנֶיהָ
וִיסֹדֶיהָ אֲגַלֶּה
וְכָל פְּסִילֶיהָ יֻכַּתּוּ
וְכָל אֶתְנַנֶּיהָ יִשָּׂרְפוּ בָאֵשׁ
וְכָל עֲצַבֶּיהָ אָשִׂים שְׁמָמָה
פִּשְׁרוֹ [...] אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים [...] עֲדַת [...]
[...] הַכֹּהֵן הָרָשָׁע [...] כֹּל יִשְׂרָאֵל [...]
Fragments 8–9
(Citing Micah 4:8–12)
וְאַתָּה מִגְדַּל עֵדֶר עֹפֶל בַּת צִיּוֹן
עָדֶיךָ תֵּאתֶה
וּבָאָה הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה הָרִאשֹׁנָה
מַמְלֶכֶת לְבַת יְרוּשָׁלִַם
עַתָּה לָמָּה תָרִיעִי רֵעַ הֲמֶלֶךְ אֵין בָּךְ
אִם יֹועֲצֵךְ אָבָד
כִּי הֶחֱזִיקַתֵּךְ חִיל כַּיֹּולֵדָה
חוּלִי וָגֹחִי בַּת צִיּוֹן כַּיֹּולֵדָה
כִּי עַתָּה תֵצְאִי מִקִּרְיָה וְשָׁכַנְתְּ בַּשָּׂדֶה
וּבָאת עַד בָּבֶל שָׁם תִּנָּצֵלִי
שָׁם יִגְאָלֵךְ יְהוָה מִכַּף אֹיְבָיִךְ
וְעַתָּה נֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַיִךְ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים
הָאֹמְרִים תֶּחֱנָף וְתַחַז בְּצִיּוֹן עֵינֵינוּ
פִּשְׁרוֹ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה הָרִאשֹׁנָה [תָּשׁוּב לַעֲדָה ...] וּבְנוֹת [...]
[...] הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר נֶאֶסְפוּ עַל [הָעֵדָה ...] כִּי לֹא יָדְעוּ מַחְשְׁבוֹת יְהוָה
[וְלֹא הֵבִינוּ אֶת עֲצָתוֹ ...] אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים [...]
Fragments 13–14
(Citing Micah 6:14–16)
אַתָּה תֹאכַל וְלֹא תִשְׂבָּע
וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ בְּקִרְבֶּךָ
וְתַסֵּג וְלֹא תַפְלִיט
וַאֲשֶׁר תְּפַלֵּט לַחֶרֶב אֶתֵּן
אַתָּה תִּזְרַע וְלֹא תִקְצֹור
אַתָּה תִּדְרֹךְ זַיִת וְלֹא תָסוּךְ שֶׁמֶן
וְתִירוֹשׁ וְלֹא תִשְׁתֶּה יָיִן
וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּר חֻקּוֹת עָמְרִי
וְכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה בֵית אַחְאָב
וַתֵּלְכוּ בְּמֹעֲצוֹתָם
לְמַעַן תִּתִּי אֹתְךָ לְשַׁמָּה
וְיֹשְׁבֶיהָ לִשְׁרֵקָה
וְחֶרְפַּת עַמִּי תִּשָּׂאוּ
פִּשְׁרוֹ עַל [אַנְשֵׁי הָעֵדָה הַהֹּלְכִים בְּדֶרֶךְ הַגּוֹיִם ...]
וְחֻקּוֹת עָמְרִי [הֵם חֻקּוֹת הַמַּתְעִים אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל ...]
[...] שְׁמָמָה [...] אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים [...]
Fragments 17–18
(Citing Micah 7:8–9)
אַל תִּשְׂמְחִי אֹיַבְתִּי לִי
כִּי נָפַלְתִּי קַמְתִּי
כִּי אֵשֵׁב בַּחֹשֶׁךְ
יְהוָה אוֹר לִי
זַעַף יְהוָה אֶשָּׂא
כִּי חָטָאתִי לוֹ
עַד אֲשֶׁר יָרִיב רִיבִי
וְעָשָׂה מִשְׁפָּטִי
יוֹצִיאֵנִי לָאוֹר
אֶרְאֶה בְּצִדְקָתוֹ
פִּשְׁרוֹ עַל [אַנְשֵׁי הָעֵדָה ...] כִּי נָפְלוּ [יָקוּמוּ]
כִּי יְהוָה [אוֹר לָהֶם ...] וְיַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּטָם [...]
יוֹצִיאֵם לָאוֹר וְיִרְאוּ [בְּצִדְקָתוֹ אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים ...]
Source Colophon
Hebrew text: 1Q14 (Pesher Micah). García Martínez & Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997–98); D. Barthélemy & J. T. Milik, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert I (Oxford, 1955). Lacunae marked [...]. Restored readings in brackets follow scholarly consensus.
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