Mikha 1:2--3:12
Konteks1:2 Listen, all you nations! 1
Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! 2
The sovereign Lord will testify 3 against you;
the Lord will accuse you 4 from his majestic palace. 5
1:3 Look, 6 the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!
He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! 7
1:4 The mountains will disintegrate 8 beneath him,
and the valleys will be split in two. 9
The mountains will melt 10 like wax in a fire,
the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. 11
1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 12 the sins of the nation 13 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 14
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 15
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 16
They are right in Jerusalem! 17
1:6 “I will turn Samaria 18 into a heap of ruins in an open field –
vineyards will be planted there! 19
I will tumble 20 the rubble of her stone walls 21 down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. 22
1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;
all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. 23
I will make a waste heap 24 of all her images.
Since 25 she gathered the metal 26 as a prostitute collects her wages,
the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” 27
1:8 For this reason I 28 will mourn and wail;
I will walk around barefoot 29 and without my outer garments. 30
I will howl 31 like a wild dog, 32
and screech 33 like an owl. 34
1:9 For Samaria’s 35 disease 36 is incurable.
It has infected 37 Judah;
it has spread to 38 the leadership 39 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 40
1:10 Don’t spread the news in Gath! 41
Don’t shed even a single tear! 42
In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! 43
1:11 Residents 44 of Shaphir, 45 pass by in nakedness and humiliation! 46
The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. 47
“He takes from you what he desires.” 50
1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth 51 hope for something good to happen, 52
though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. 53
1:13 Residents of Lachish, 54 hitch the horses to the chariots!
You 55 influenced Daughter Zion 56 to sin, 57
for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back 58 to you!
1:14 Therefore you 59 will have to say farewell 60 to Moresheth Gath.
The residents 61 of Achzib 62 will be as disappointing
as a dried up well 63 to the kings of Israel. 64
1:15 Residents of Mareshah, 65 a conqueror will attack you, 66
the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. 67
1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; 68
shave your foreheads as bald 69 as an eagle, 70
for they are taken from you into exile.
2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, 71
those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. 72
As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, 73
because they have the power to do so.
2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,
and seize the houses they want. 74
They defraud people of their homes, 75
and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 76
2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! 77
It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. 78
You will no longer 79 walk proudly,
for it will be a time of catastrophe.
2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you –
they will mock you with this lament: 80
‘We are completely destroyed;
they sell off 81 the property of my people.
How they remove it from me! 82
They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ 83
2:5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community. 84
2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. 85
‘These prophets should not preach of such things;
we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ 86
2:7 Does the family 87 of Jacob say, 88
‘The Lord’s patience 89 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 90
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 91
2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. 92
You steal a robe from a friend, 93
from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. 94
2:9 You wrongly evict widows 95 among my people from their cherished homes.
You defraud their children 96 of their prized inheritance. 97
2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! 98
For this land is not secure! 99
Sin will thoroughly destroy it! 100
2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, 101
‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ 102
he would be just the right preacher for these people! 103
2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. 104
I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, 105
like a flock in the middle of a pasture; 106
they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. 107
2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out 108
they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. 109
Their king will advance 110 before them,
The Lord himself will lead them. 111
3:1 I said,
“Listen, you leaders 112 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 113 of Israel!
You ought to know what is just, 114
3:2 yet you 115 hate what is good, 116
and love what is evil. 117
You flay my people’s skin 118
and rip the flesh from their bones. 119
3:3 You 120 devour my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot 121 –
like meat in a kettle.
3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, 122
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have done such wicked deeds.”
3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people
are as good as dead. 123
If someone gives them enough to eat,
they offer an oracle of peace. 124
But if someone does not give them food,
they are ready to declare war on him. 125
3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; 126
it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. 127
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. 128
3:7 The prophets 129 will be ashamed;
the omen readers will be humiliated.
All of them will cover their mouths, 130
for they will receive no divine oracles.” 131
3:8 But I 132 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 133
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 134
3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family 135 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 136 of Israel!
You 137 hate justice
and pervert all that is right.
3:10 You 138 build Zion through bloody crimes, 139
Jerusalem 140 through unjust violence.
3:11 Her 141 leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, 142
her priests proclaim rulings for profit,
and her prophets read omens for pay.
Yet they claim to trust 143 the Lord and say,
“The Lord is among us. 144
Disaster will not overtake 145 us!”
3:12 Therefore, because of you, 146 Zion will be plowed up like 147 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 148 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 149
[1:2] 1 tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”
[1:2] 2 tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”
[1:2] 3 tn Heb “May the sovereign
[1:2] 4 tn Heb “the
[1:2] 5 tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).
[1:3] 6 tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).
[1:3] 7 tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[1:4] 8 tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).
[1:4] 9 sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.
[1:4] 10 tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.
[1:4] 11 tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.
[1:5] 12 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[1:5] 14 tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”
[1:5] 15 tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.
[1:5] 16 tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”
[1:5] 17 tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”
[1:5] sn In vv. 2-5 Micah narrows the scope of God’s judgment from the nations (vv. 2-4) to his covenant people (v. 5). Universal judgment is coming, but ironically Israel is the focal point of God’s anger. In v. 5c the prophet includes Judah within the scope of divine judgment, for it has followed in the pagan steps of the northern kingdom. He accomplishes this with rhetorical skill. In v. 5b he develops the first assertion of v. 5a (“All of this is because of Jacob’s rebellion”). One expects in v. 5c an elaboration of the second assertion in v. 5a (“and the sins of the nation of Israel”), which one assumes, in light of v. 5b, pertains to the northern kingdom. But the prophet specifies the “sins” as “high places” and makes it clear that “the nation of Israel” includes Judah. Verses 6-7 further develop v. 5b (judgment on the northern kingdom), while vv. 8-16 expand on v. 5c (judgment on Judah).
[1:5] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[1:6] 18 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[1:6] 19 tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”
[1:6] 20 tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”
[1:6] 21 tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.
[1:6] 22 tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.
[1:7] 23 tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”
[1:7] sn The precious metal used by Samaria’s pagan worship centers to make idols are here compared to a prostitute’s wages because Samaria had been unfaithful to the
[1:7] 24 tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).
[1:7] 25 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).
[1:7] 26 tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.
[1:7] 27 tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the
[1:8] 28 tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.
[1:8] 29 tn Or “stripped.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is unclear. It may refer to walking barefoot (see 2 Sam 15:30) or to partially stripping oneself (see Job 12:17-19).
[1:8] 30 tn Heb “naked.” This probably does not refer to complete nudity, but to stripping off one’s outer garments as an outward sign of the destitution felt by the mourner.
[1:8] 31 tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”
[1:8] 32 tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”
[1:8] 33 tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”
[1:8] 34 tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
[1:9] 35 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 36 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
[1:9] tn Or “wound.”
[1:9] 39 tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.
[1:9] 40 tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.
[1:9] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[1:10] 41 tn Heb “Tell it not in Gath.” The Hebrew word for “tell” (נָגַד, nagad) sounds like the name of the city, Gath (גַּת, gat).
[1:10] 42 tn The Hebrew infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the prohibition.
[1:10] 43 tc The translation assumes a masculine plural imperative. If one were to emend בְּבֵית (bÿvet) to בֵית (vet), Beth Leaphrah would then be the addressee and the feminine singular imperative (see Qere) could be retained, “O Beth Leaphrah, sit in the dust.”
[1:10] tn Heb “roll about in mourning in the dust”; or “wallow about in mourning in the dust.” The verb פָּלַשׁ (palash, “roll about in mourning [in dust]”; HALOT 935 s.v. פלשׁ) is figurative (metonymy) for sitting as an outward sign of mourning.
[1:10] sn To sit in the dust was an outward sign of mourning. The name Beth Leaphrah means “house of dust.”
[1:11] 44 tn The Hebrew participial form, which is feminine singular, is here used in a collective sense for the all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.
[1:11] 45 sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.
[1:11] 46 tn The imperatival form is used rhetorically, emphasizing that the inhabitants of Shaphir will pass by into exile.
[1:11] 47 tn Heb “have not come out”; NIV “will not come out”; NLT “dare not come outside.”
[1:11] sn The expression can’t leave their city alludes to a siege of the town. The place name Zaanan sounds like the verb “come out” (i.e., “can’t leave”) in Hebrew.
[1:11] 48 sn The place name Beth Ezel means “house of nearness” or “house of proximity” in Hebrew.
[1:11] 49 tn Heb “the lamentation of Beth Ezel.” The following words could be the lamentation offered up by Beth Ezel (subjective genitive) or the mourning song sung over it (objective genitive).
[1:11] 50 tc The form עֶמְדָּתוֹ (’emdato) should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ (khamadto, “his (the conqueror’s) desire”).
[1:11] tn The precise meaning of the line is uncertain. The translation assumes: (a) the subject of the third masculine singular verb יִקַּח (yiqqakh, “he/it takes”) is the conqueror, (b) the second masculine plural suffix (“you”) on the preposition מִן (min, “from”) refers to the residents of Shaphir and Zaanan, (c) the final form עֶמְדָּתוֹ should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ, “his (the conqueror’s) desire.”
[1:12] 51 sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”
[1:12] 52 tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).
[1:12] tn Heb “[the residents of Maroth] writhe [= “anxiously long for”?] good.”
[1:12] 53 tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the
[1:13] 54 sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”
[1:13] 55 tn Heb “she”; this has been translated as second person (“you”) in keeping with the direct address to the residents of Lachish in the previous line.
[1:13] 56 sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.
[1:13] 57 tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”
[1:13] 58 tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”
[1:14] 59 tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.
[1:14] 60 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] 61 tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.
[1:14] 62 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] 63 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] 64 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.
[1:15] 65 sn The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.”
[1:15] 66 tn Heb “Again a conqueror I will bring to you, residents of Mareshah.” The first person verb is problematic, for the
[1:15] 67 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.
[1:16] 68 tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”
[1:16] 69 tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”
[1:16] 70 tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.
[2:1] 71 tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.
[2:1] 72 tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”
[2:1] 73 tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”
[2:2] 74 tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”
[2:2] 75 tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”
[2:2] 76 tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:3] 77 tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”
[2:3] 78 tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:3] 79 tn Or “you will not.”
[2:4] 80 tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).
[2:4] tn Heb “one will lament [with] a lamentation [and] say.”
[2:4] 81 tn Or “exchange.” The LXX suggests a reading יִמַּד (yimmad) from מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). In this case one could translate, “the property of my people is measured out [i.e., for resale].”
[2:4] 82 tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[2:4] 83 tc The Hebrew term שׁוֹבֵב (shovev, “the one turning back”) elsewhere has the nuance “apostate” (cf. NASB) or “traitor” (cf. NIV). The translation assumes an emendation to שָׁבָה (shavah, “captor”).
[2:4] tn Heb “to the one turning back he assigns our fields.”
[2:5] 84 tn Heb “therefore you will not have one who strings out a measuring line by lot in the assembly of the
[2:5] sn No one will assign you land in the
[2:6] 85 tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the
[2:6] 86 tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the
[2:6] tn Heb “they should not foam at the mouth concerning these things, humiliation will not be removed.”
[2:7] 87 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
[2:7] 88 tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).
[2:7] 89 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
[2:7] 90 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
[2:7] 91 tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The
[2:8] 92 tc Heb “Recently my people rise up as an enemy.” The MT is problematic in light of v. 9, where “my people” are the object of oppression, not the perpetrators of it. The form וְאֶתְמוּל (vÿ’etmul, “and recently”) is probably the product of fusion and subsequent suppression of an (ע) ayin. The translation assumes an emendation to וְאַתֶּם עַל (vÿ’attem ’al, “and you against [my people]”). The second person plural pronoun fits well with the second plural verb forms of vv. 8b-10. If this emendation is accepted, then יְקוֹמֵם (yÿqomem, the imperfect of קוּם [qum]) should be emended to קָמִים (qamim; a participle from the same root).
[2:8] 93 tc Heb “From the front of a garment glory [or perhaps, “a robe”] you strip off,” but this makes little if any sense. The term מִמּוּל (mimmul, “from the front of”) is probably the product of dittography (note the preceding word, which ends in [ם] mem) and subsequent suppression of ע (ayin). The translation assumes an emendation to מֵעַל (me’al, “from upon”). The translation also assumes an emendation of שַׂלְמָה אֶדֶר (salmah ’eder, “a garment, glory [or robe]”) to שֹׁלְמִים אֲדֶרֶת (sholÿmim ’aderet, “[from] a friend the robe [you strip off]”). The MT’s אֶדֶר (’eder) is the result of misdivision (the article has erroneously been attached to the preceding word) and haplography (of the final tav, which also begins the following word).
[2:8] 94 tc The passive participle שׁוּבֵי (shuvey) is unattested elsewhere and should be emended to a participle שָׁבִים (shavim).
[2:8] tn Heb “from those passing by peacefully, returnees from war.” Actual refugees, however, are probably not in view. The second line compares those who pass by peacefully with individuals returning from war. The battle is over and they do not expect their own countrymen to attack them.
[2:9] 95 tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).
[2:9] 96 tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”
[2:9] 97 tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the
[2:10] 98 tn Heb “Arise and go!” These imperatives are rhetorical. Those who wrongly drove widows and orphans from their homes and land inheritances will themselves be driven out of the land (cf. Isa 5:8-17). This is an example of poetic justice.
[2:10] 99 tn Heb “for this is no resting place.” The
[2:10] 100 tn Heb “uncleanness will destroy, and destruction will be severe.”
[2:11] 101 tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”
[2:11] 102 tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”
[2:11] 103 tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”
[2:12] 104 tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”
[2:12] 105 tc The MT reads בָּצְרָה (batsrah, “Bozrah”) but the form should be emended to בַּצִּרָה (batsirah, “into the fold”). See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 38.
[2:12] 106 tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.
[2:12] 107 tn Heb “and they will be noisy [or perhaps, “excited”] from men.” The subject of the third feminine plural verb תְּהִימֶנָה (tÿhimenah, “they will be noisy”) is probably the feminine singular צֹאן (tso’n, “flock”). (For another example of this collective singular noun with a feminine plural verb, see Gen 30:38.) In the construction מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from men”) the preposition is probably causal. L. C. Allen translates “bleating in fear of men” (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah [NICOT], 300), but it is possible to take the causal sense as “because of the large quantity of men.” In this case the sheep metaphor and the underlying reality are mixed.
[2:13] 108 tn Heb “the one who breaks through goes up before them.” The verb form is understood as a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of this coming event.
[2:13] 109 tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.
[2:13] sn The “fold” from which the sheep/people break out is probably a reference to their place of exile.
[2:13] 110 tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.
[2:13] 111 tn Heb “the
[3:1] 114 tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”
[3:2] 115 tn Heb “the ones who.”
[3:2] 118 tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the
[3:2] 119 tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”
[3:2] sn Micah compares the social injustice perpetrated by the house of Jacob/Israel to cannibalism, because it threatens the very lives of the oppressed.
[3:3] 121 tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).
[3:4] 122 tn Heb “then they will cry out to the
[3:5] 123 tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the
[3:5] 124 tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.
[3:5] 125 tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”
[3:6] 126 tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”
[3:6] sn The coming of night (and darkness in the following line) symbolizes the cessation of revelation.
[3:6] 127 tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”
[3:6] sn The reading of omens (Heb “divination”) was forbidden in the law (Deut 18:10), so this probably reflects the prophets’ view of how they received divine revelation.
[3:6] 128 tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”
[3:7] 130 tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”
[3:7] 131 tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”
[3:8] 132 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
[3:8] 133 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
[3:8] 134 tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[3:9] 137 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).
[3:10] 139 tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”
[3:10] 140 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:11] 141 sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).
[3:11] 142 tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”
[3:11] 143 tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”
[3:11] 144 tn Heb “Is not the
[3:11] 145 tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”
[3:12] 146 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
[3:12] 147 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
[3:12] 148 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
