Mikha 4:9

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ¹  now shouting so loudly? ² 

Has your king disappeared? ³ 

Has your wise leader ⁴  been destroyed?

Is this why ⁵  pain grips ⁶  you as if you were a woman in labor?

Mikha 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ⁷  will come to you ⁸ 

from Assyria as far as ⁹  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ¹⁰ 

from the seacoasts ¹¹  and the mountains. ¹² 

[4:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.

[4:9]  ² tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ³ tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.

[4:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[4:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[7:12]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

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