Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The phrase "make you sick in smiting you" isn't just about physical pain; it implies a profound, deep-seated affliction that makes the punishment itself cause a sickness, an incurable wound to the very core of their being. God isn't just inflicting external blows, but turning their own sins into a source of internal decay that makes them desolate.
Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Micah has just laid out God's case against Israel, detailing their injustices and hollow religious practices, essentially saying, "You've heard my charges, and you know they're true." Now, God declares that because of their persistent sins and refusal to truly repent, He will bring a devastating punishment upon them. This verse is the direct consequence of their unfaithfulness, leading into further descriptions of the specific calamities that will befall them.
Ever feel like your actions have a way of coming back to bite you? God's words to Israel in Micah are a powerful reminder that sin doesn't just have consequences; it infects us.
Micah 6:13 isn't just about God delivering a punishment; it's about the nature of that punishment. The phrase "make thee sick" implies a deep, debilitating illness, not just a superficial wound. This sickness is so severe it's described as potentially incurable. It's as if God is saying, 'Your sins have made you internally diseased, and my judgment will be a blow that brings that sickness to a head, leaving you utterly devastated and alone.' This isn't random misfortune; it's a precise, agonizing response to persistent sin.
Why does God allow His people to be stripped bare and left utterly alone? The answer in Micah is both stark and personal.
The verse explicitly states that Israel's desolation is 'because of your sins.' This isn't about God randomly deciding to abandon them. Their sins created the very conditions for their downfall. The commentators suggest that the prosperity gained through violence and fraud would ultimately lead to their ruin. Their sins hollowed them out from the inside, making them vulnerable and ripe for judgment. Desolation here means emptiness, abandonment, and a complete lack of hope – a direct result of choosing sin over God's life-giving presence.
Understand the original words
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chatta'ah · Hebrew Noun
A profound separation from God resulting from disobedience; it includes both the act of missing the mark of God's holiness and the inherent rebellion of the human heart.
shamem · Hebrew Verb/Adjective
A state of being laid waste, empty, or ruined; it is often the divine consequence of judgment on a land or people who have forsaken the covenant.
Micah's prophecy of being 'made sick' and 'desolate' points directly to the catastrophic consequences of Judah's persistent sin, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Babylon. The historical context of these deportations underscores the severe, life-altering impact of God's judgment when His people repeatedly turn away from Him.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Assyrian Captivity
The Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) is conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser V and Sargon II. Its people are exiled and replaced by foreign populations, leading to the desolation of the land.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquers Judah and deports a portion of the population, including members of the royal family and educated elite, to Babylon. This marks the beginning of the Judean exile.
597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Following a rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar II deports more Judeans to Babylon, including the prophet Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin. This further devastates the kingdom.
587/586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar II completely destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The remaining population is exiled to Babylon, fulfilling the prophetic warnings of total desolation.
c. 539 BC
Babylonian Empire Falls to Persia
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This ushers in a new era for the exiles.
c. 538 BC
Edict of Cyrus and Return from Exile
Cyrus issues a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple. This marks the beginning of the return and restoration period.
This passage directly parallels Micah's message, warning that disobedience will bring about sickness, wasting disease, and desolation as God's judgment.
Jeremiah 13:13Similar to Micah's prophecy, Jeremiah speaks of God filling the land with drunkenness and despair, making the people sick and desolate due to their sin.
Psalm 107:17-18This psalm describes fools afflicted because of their transgressions, suffering from sickness until their life draws near to the grave, echoing the idea of sin leading to a grievous, sickening blow.
Nahum 3:19This verse uses similar imagery, stating that all who hear of Nineveh's fall will clap their hands, for 'on whom has not your evil passed continually?' implying an incurable wound or sickness brought on by sin.
barnesMicah 6:13: "Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins."
Therefore also will I-- (Literally, And I too,) that is, this dost thou, and thus will I too do. Pococke: "As thou madest sick the heart of the poor oppressed, so will I, by My grievous and severe punishments, make thee sick," or make thy wound incurable, as in Nahum, "thy wound is grievous," ( Nahum 3:19 literally, made sick. In making thee desolate because of thy sins. The heaping…
clarkeMicah 6:13: "Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins."
Will I make thee sick in smiting thee - Perhaps better, "I also am weary with smiting thee, in making thee desolate for thy sins." They were corrected, but to no purpose; they had stroke upon stroke, but were not amended.
The phrase "make you sick in smiting you" isn't just about physical pain; it implies a profound, deep-seated affliction that makes the punishment itself cause a sickness, an incurable wound to the very core of their being. God isn't just inflicting external blows, but turning their own sins into a source of internal decay that makes them desolate.
Micah has just laid out God's case against Israel, detailing their injustices and hollow religious practices, essentially saying, "You've heard my charges, and you know they're true." Now, God declares that because of their persistent sins and refusal to truly repent, He will bring a devastating punishment upon them. This verse is the direct consequence of their unfaithfulness, leading into further descriptions of the specific calamities that will befall them.
Micah has just laid out God's case against Israel, detailing their injustices and hollow religious practices, essentially saying, "You've heard my charges, and you know they're true." Now, God declares that because of their persistent sins and refusal to truly repent, He will bring a devastating punishment upon them. This verse is the direct consequence of their unfaithfulness, leading into further descriptions of the specific calamities that will befall them.
"Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins." — The phrase "make you sick in smiting you" isn't just about physical pain; it implies a profound, deep-seated affliction that makes the punishment itself cause a sickness, an incurable wound to the ve…
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Last reviewed October 2026