Jerusalem Mourns Its Sin: Chapters 6 and 7 in Micah form a dialogue between God and the people, and specifically between God and Jerusalem. In the court case of 6:1–8, we saw an exasperated and impatient Israel indicted by God. In support of that indictment, the sins of Jerusalem were specified by the Lord, in 6:9–16. Now, in 7:1–7, a repentant Jerusalem recognizes its sinfulness, mourns the anarchic state of its society, and turns to its one source of hope, its Lord. Some commentators maintain that the prophet is the mourner in this passage, but it is rather Jerusalem who laments here, preparing the way for the oracles of trust and salvation that follow in the chapter.

7:1–2 The NIV, following the lead of many commentators, emends verse 1 with participles (one who gathers), but the emendat…