Mikha 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹ 

I will make a waste heap ²  of all her images.

Since ³  she gathered the metal ⁴  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ⁵ 

Mikha 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ⁶ 

and those far off ⁷  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ⁸ 

Mikha 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ⁹  will come to you ¹⁰ 

from Assyria as far as ¹¹  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ¹² 

from the seacoasts ¹³  and the mountains. ¹⁴ 

[1:7]  ¹ 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 Lord and prostituted herself to pagan gods, such as Baal.

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ⁵ 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 Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[4:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[7:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “they.” The referent has been specified as “people,” referring either to the nations (coming to God with their tribute) or to the exiles of Israel (returning to the Lord).

[7:12]  ¹⁰ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads וְעָרֵי (vÿ’arey, “and the cities [of Egypt]”), but the parallel line indicates this is a corruption of וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “even to”).

[7:12]  ¹² tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).