Mikha 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹  Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message ²  during the reigns of ³  Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to ⁴  Samaria ⁵  and Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Mikha 1:6

1:6 “I will turn Samaria ⁷  into a heap of ruins in an open field –

vineyards will be planted there! ⁸ 

I will tumble ⁹  the rubble of her stone walls ¹⁰  down into the valley,

and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. ¹¹ 

Mikha 1:16

1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ¹² 

shave your foreheads as bald ¹³  as an eagle, ¹⁴ 

for they are taken from you into exile.

Mikha 2:9

2:9 You wrongly evict widows ¹⁵  among my people from their cherished homes.

You defraud their children ¹⁶  of their prized inheritance. ¹⁷ 

Mikha 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹⁸ 

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ¹⁹ 

he would be just the right preacher for these people! ²⁰ 

Mikha 6:7

6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,

or ten thousand streams of olive oil?

Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,

my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? ²¹ 

Mikha 7:6

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges ²²  her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants. ²³ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ² tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:6]  ⁷ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.

[1:16]  ¹² tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”

[1:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the Lord bestowed on each Israelite family by giving them a share of his land to be inherited perpetually from one generation to another within each family. The term הָדָר (hadar) may refer to possessions that a person prizes (Lam 1:6).

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”

[2:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”

[6:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”

[7:6]  ²² tn Heb “rises up against.”

[7:6]  ²³ tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”