Micah 1:16

“Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children, etc.] Which is said, either with respect to Mareshah, or to Adullam, or to the whole land, as Kimchi observes; rather to the latter; and that either to Israel, or to Judah, or both; the prophecy in general being concerning them both, (<330101>Micah 1:1); making baldness, whether by plucking off the hair, or by shaving it, was used in token of mourning, (<180120>Job 1:20 <240729>Jeremiah 7:29); and so it is designed to express it here: the inhabitants of the land are called to lamentation and weeping for their children taken from them, whom they dearly loved, and brought up in a delicate manner. The Targum is, “pluck off thy hair, and…”

“Make thee bald, &c.--a token of deep mourning (Ezr 9:3; Job 1:20). Mourn, O land, for thy darling children. poll--shave off thy hair. enlarge thy baldness--Mourn grievously. The land is compared to a mother weeping for her children. as the eagle--the bald eagle, or the dark-winged vulture. In the moulting season all eagles are comparatively bald (compare Psa 103:5). Next: Micah Chapter 2”

“Make thee bald, poll - (literally, shear thee for thy delicate children Some special ways of cutting the hair were forbidden to the Israelites, as being idolatrous customs, such as the rounding the hair in front, cutting it away from the temples , or between the eyes Deuteronomy 14:1. All shearing of the hair was not forbidden ; indeed to the Nazarite it was commanded, at the close of his vow. The removal of that chief ornament of the countenance wasa natural expression of grief, which revolts at all personal appearance. It belonged, not to idolatry, but to nature . “Thy delicate children.” The change was the more bitter for those tended and brought up delicately. Moses from the first spoke…”

“Thee - O Judea and Israel, tear off thy hair. Shave what thou canst not tear off. For thy children - For the loss of them, some being slain, others starved, or swept away with pestilence, and the residue carried captive. As the eagle - One species of which is entirely bald. Next: Micah Chapter 2”

“1:16 The people of Judah, including Jerusalem, were exiled and deported to distant lands in Babylonia in 605, 597, and 586 BC. Babylon was some 1,000 miles (1,700 kilometers) from Jerusalem. • shave your heads: This act of mourning and despair (see also Jer 41:5) could also signify purification (Lev 14:7-10; Num 6:10-11).”

“bald: Job 1:20; Isa 15:2, Isa 22:12; Jer 6:26, Jer 7:29, Jer 16:6; Amo 8:10 thy delicate: Deu 28:56, Deu 28:57; Isa 3:16-26; Lam 4:5-8 for: Deu 28:41; Kg2 17:6; Isa 39:6, Isa 39:7 Next: Micah Chapter 2”