Mikha 2:2

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ¹ 

They defraud people of their homes, ² 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ³ 

Mikha 3:6

3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; ⁴ 

it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. ⁵ 

The sun will set on these prophets,

and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. ⁶ 

Mikha 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁷  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ⁸ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ⁹ 

People will stream to it.

Mikha 6:7

6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,

or ten thousand streams of olive oil?

Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,

my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? ¹⁰ 

Mikha 6:15

6:15 You will plant crops, but will not harvest them;

you will squeeze oil from the olives, ¹¹  but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies; ¹² 

you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink. ¹³ 

Mikha 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ¹⁴ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ¹⁵ 

in ancient times. ¹⁶ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ³ 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.

[3:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[6:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”

[6:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you will tread olives.” Literally treading on olives with one’s feet could be harmful and would not supply the necessary pressure to release the oil. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 119. The Hebrew term דָּרַךְ (darakh) may have an idiomatic sense of “press” here, or perhaps the imagery of the following parallel line (referring to treading grapes) has dictated the word choice.

[6:15]  ¹² tn Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”

[6:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and juice, but you will not drink wine.” The verb תִדְרֹךְ (tidrokh, “you will tread”) must be supplied from the preceding line.

[7:20]  ¹⁴ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”