Mikha 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹ 

I will make a waste heap ²  of all her images.

Since ³  she gathered the metal ⁴  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ⁵ 

Mikha 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁶ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Mikha 6:2

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ⁷ 

Mikha 6:4

6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I delivered you from that place of slavery.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ⁸ 

Mikha 7:8

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ⁹  do not gloat ¹⁰  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ¹¹ 

Mikha 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹² 

You ¹³  forgive sin

and pardon ¹⁴  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹⁵ 

You do not remain angry forever, ¹⁶ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  sn The precious metal used by Samaria’s pagan worship centers to make idols are here compared to a prostitute’s wages because Samaria had been unfaithful to the Lord and prostituted herself to pagan gods, such as Baal.

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:2]  ⁷ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[6:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “before you.”

[7:8]  ⁹ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ¹¹ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[7:18]  ¹² tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”