29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, 1
who do their work in secret and boast, 2
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” 3
58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!
Yell as loud as a trumpet!
Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; 4
confront Jacob’s family with their sin! 5
59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes. 6
59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds, 7
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well. 8
65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” 9 says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended 10 me on the hills,
I will punish them in full measure.” 11
3:2 yet you 15 hate what is good, 16
and love what is evil. 17
You flay my people’s skin 18
and rip the flesh from their bones. 19
3:3 You 20 devour my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot 21 –
like meat in a kettle.
3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, 22
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have done such wicked deeds.”
3:8 But I 23 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 24
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 25
1 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.
2 tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”
3 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
4 tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”
5 tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
6 tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”
7 tn Heb “for many are our rebellious deeds before you.”
8 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] our rebellious deeds (are) with us, and our sins, we know them.”
9 tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”
10 tn Or perhaps, “taunted”; KJV “blasphemed”; NAB “disgraced”; NASB “scorned”; NIV “defied”; NRSV “reviled.”
11 tn Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.
12 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
13 tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”
14 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
15 tn Heb “the ones who.”
16 tn Or “good.”
17 tn Or “evil.”
18 tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the
19 tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”
sn Micah compares the social injustice perpetrated by the house of Jacob/Israel to cannibalism, because it threatens the very lives of the oppressed.
20 tn Heb “who.”
21 tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).
22 tn Heb “then they will cry out to the
23 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
24 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
25 tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.