Mikha 2:9

2:9 You wrongly evict widows ¹  among my people from their cherished homes.

You defraud their children ²  of their prized inheritance. ³ 

Mikha 4:9

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ⁴  now shouting so loudly? ⁵ 

Has your king disappeared? ⁶ 

Has your wise leader ⁷  been destroyed?

Is this why ⁸  pain grips ⁹  you as if you were a woman in labor?

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).

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

[2:9]  ³ 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).

[4:9]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.

[4:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ⁷ tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.

[4:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[4:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”