Mikha 1:14

1:14 Therefore you ¹  will have to say farewell ²  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ³  of Achzib ⁴  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ⁵  to the kings of Israel. ⁶ 

Mikha 3:1

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ⁷  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁸  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ⁹ 

Mikha 5:15

5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance

on the nations that do not obey me.” ¹⁰ 

[1:14]  ¹ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.

[1:14]  ³ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ⁴ sn The place name Achzib (אַכְזִיב, ’akhziv, “place on the dried up river”; see HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב) creates a word play on the similar sounding term כָּזָב (kazav, “lie, deception”; HALOT 468 s.v. כָּזָב). Like the dried up river upon which its name was based, the city of Achzib would fail to help the kings of Israel in their time of need.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Or “will be a deception.” The term אַכְזָב (’akhzav) is often translated “deception,” as derived from the verb I כָּזָב (“to deceive, lie”; HALOT 467-68 s.v. I כזב). However, it probably means “what is dried up,” since (1) the noun elsewhere refers to an empty well or dried river in summer (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15-20) (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); (2) the place-name “Achzib” (אַכְזִיב) literally means “place on the אַכְזָב [dried up river]” (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); and (3) it is derived from the verb II כָּזָב (“to dry up [brook]”; Isa 58:11), which also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. The point of the metaphor is that Achzib will be as disappointing to the kings of Israel as a dried up spring in the summer is to a thirsty traveler in the Jordanian desert.

[1:14]  ⁶ sn Because of the enemy invasion, Achzib would not be able to deliver soldiers for the army and/or services normally rendered to the crown.

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[5:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”