Mikha 1:2

The Judge is Coming

1:2 Listen, all you nations! ¹ 

Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ² 

The sovereign Lord will testify ³  against you;

the Lord will accuse you ⁴  from his majestic palace. ⁵ 

Mikha 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁶  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ⁷ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ⁸ 

People will stream to it.

Mikha 5:4

5:4 He will assume his post ⁹  and shepherd the people ¹⁰  by the Lord’s strength,

by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. ¹¹ 

They will live securely, ¹²  for at that time he will be honored ¹³ 

even in the distant regions of ¹⁴  the earth.

Mikha 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ¹⁵  Jacob will live ¹⁶ 

in the midst of many nations. ¹⁷ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ¹⁸ 

Mikha 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ¹⁹  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ²⁰ 

Mikha 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple ²¹  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ²² 

and we can live by his laws.” ²³ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Mikha 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ²⁵ 

you follow their policies. ²⁶ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ²⁷ 

the city’s ²⁸  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ²⁹ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ³⁰ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[5:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”

[5:4]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”

[5:4]  ¹² tn The words “in peace” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Perhaps וְיָשָׁבוּ (vÿyashavu, “and they will live”) should be emended to וְשָׁבוּ (vÿshavu, “and they will return”).

[5:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “be great.”

[5:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to the ends of.”

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

[5:7]  sn Men wait eagerly for the dew and the rain, not vice versa. Just as the dew and rain are subject to the Lord, not men, so the remnant of Israel will succeed by the supernatural power of God and not need the support of other nations. There may even be a military metaphor here. Israel will overwhelm their enemies, just as the dew completely covers the grass (see 2 Sam 17:12). This interpretation would be consistent with the image of v. 7.

[7:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the Lord’s power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.

[4:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “house.”

[4:2]  ²² tn Heb “ways.”

[4:2]  ²³ tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”

[4:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[4:2]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.

[6:16]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ²⁸ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ³⁰ tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[6:16]  tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.