Mikha 7:7-13

7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament. ¹ 

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ²  do not gloat ³  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ⁴ 

7:9 I must endure ⁵  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ⁶  he will defend my cause, ⁷ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ⁸  his deliverance. ⁹ 

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ¹⁰  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ¹¹ 

Then they will be trampled down ¹² 

like mud in the streets.

7:11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;

in that day your boundary will be extended. ¹³ 

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ¹⁴  will come to you ¹⁵ 

from Assyria as far as ¹⁶  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ¹⁷ 

from the seacoasts ¹⁸  and the mountains. ¹⁹ 

7:13 The earth will become desolate ²⁰ 

because of what its inhabitants have done. ²¹ 

[7:7]  ¹ tn Heb “me.” In the interest of clarity the nature of the prophet’s cry has been specified as “my lament” in the translation.

[7:8]  ² tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ³ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ⁴ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[7:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ⁷ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ⁹ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[7:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ¹² tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”

[7:11]  ¹³ sn Personified Jerusalem declares her confidence in vv. 8-10; in this verse she is assured that she will indeed be vindicated.

[7:12]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).

[7:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “will be ruined.”

[7:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”