Mikha 2:7

2:7 Does the family ¹  of Jacob say, ² 

‘The Lord’s patience ³  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ⁴ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ⁵ 

Mikha 2:13

2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out ⁶ 

they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. ⁷ 

Their king will advance ⁸  before them,

The Lord himself will lead them. ⁹ 

Mikha 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ¹⁰ 

and those far off ¹¹  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ¹² 

Mikha 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ¹³  will come to you ¹⁴ 

from Assyria as far as ¹⁵  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ¹⁶ 

from the seacoasts ¹⁷  and the mountains. ¹⁸ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ⁵ 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 Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[2:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.

[2:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord [will be] at their head.”

[4:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[7:12]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).