Mikha 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ¹  Zion will be plowed up like ²  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ³  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ⁴ 

Mikha 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ⁵  Jacob will live ⁶ 

in the midst of many nations. ⁷ 

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. ⁸ 

Mikha 7:4

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ⁹ 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ¹⁰ 

and then you will experience confusion. ¹¹ 

[3:12]  ¹ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ² tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ³ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

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

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “will be.”

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

[5:7]  ⁸ 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.

[7:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

[7:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

[7:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”