Mikha 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ¹  But now slash yourself, ²  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ³ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ⁴  they strike Israel’s ruler ⁵ 

on the side of his face.

Mikha 6:8

6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: ⁶ 

He wants you to ⁷  promote ⁸  justice, to be faithful, ⁹ 

and to live obediently before ¹⁰  your God.

Mikha 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹¹ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ¹² 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ¹³ 

[5:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ² tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  sn Slash yourself. Slashing one’s body was a form of mourning. See Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5.

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  sn The daughter surrounded by soldiers is an image of the city of Jerusalem under siege (note the address “Daughter Jerusalem” in 4:8).

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  sn Striking a king with a scepter, a symbol of rulership, would be especially ironic and humiliating.

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[6:8]  ⁶ sn What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.

[6:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”

[6:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”

[6:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”

[7:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ¹³ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.