Mikha 4:4

4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine

or under his own fig tree without any fear. ¹ 

The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. ² 

Mikha 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ³ 

and those far off ⁴  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ⁵ 

Mikha 4:9

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ⁶  now shouting so loudly? ⁷ 

Has your king disappeared? ⁸ 

Has your wise leader ⁹  been destroyed?

Is this why ¹⁰  pain grips ¹¹  you as if you were a woman in labor?

Mikha 7:8

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ¹²  do not gloat ¹³  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ¹⁴ 

[4:4]  ¹ tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”

[4:4]  ² tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”

[4:7]  ³ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ⁴ tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).

[4:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[4:9]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[7:8]  ¹² tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ¹³ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ¹⁴ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.