Mikha 1:15

1:15 Residents of Mareshah, ¹  a conqueror will attack you, ² 

the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. ³ 

Mikha 3:7

3:7 The prophets ⁴  will be ashamed;

the omen readers will be humiliated.

All of them will cover their mouths, ⁵ 

for they will receive no divine oracles.” ⁶ 

Mikha 6:1

The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself ⁷  before the mountains! ⁸ 

Present your case before the hills!” ⁹ 

Mikha 6:10

6:10 “I will not overlook, ¹⁰  O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, ¹¹ 

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. ¹² 

[1:15]  ¹ sn The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.”

[1:15]  ² tn Heb “Again a conqueror I will bring to you, residents of Mareshah.” The first person verb is problematic, for the Lord would have to be the subject (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But the prophet appears to be delivering this lament and the Lord is referred to in the third person in v. 12. Consequently many emend the verb to a third person form (יָבוֹא, yavo’) and understand the “conqueror” as subject.

[1:15]  ³ tn Heb “to Adullam the glory of Israel will go.” This probably means that the nation’s leadership will run for their lives and, like David of old, hide from their enemy in the caves of Adullam. Cf. NIV’s “He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam,” which sounds as if an individual is in view, and could be understood as a messianic reference.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Or “seers.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”

[6:1]  sn Defend yourself. The Lord challenges Israel to defend itself against the charges he is bringing.

[6:1]  ⁸ sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”

[6:10]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”

[6:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”

[6:10]  ¹² tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”

[6:10]  sn Merchants would use a smaller than standard measure so they could give the customer less than he thought he was paying for.