Bible Reading October 3 
Micah 5:1--7:20
Context5:1 (4:14) 1 But now slash yourself, 2 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 3
We are besieged!
With a scepter 4 they strike Israel’s ruler 5
on the side of his face.
5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 6
seemingly insignificant 7 among the clans of Judah –
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, 8
one whose origins 9 are in the distant past. 10
5:3 So the Lord 11 will hand the people of Israel 12 over to their enemies 13
until the time when the woman in labor 14 gives birth. 15
Then the rest of the king’s 16 countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel. 17
5:4 He will assume his post 18 and shepherd the people 19 by the Lord’s strength,
by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. 20
They will live securely, 21 for at that time he will be honored 22
even in the distant regions of 23 the earth.
Should the Assyrians try to invade our land
and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, 25
we will send 26 against them seven 27 shepherd-rulers, 28
make that eight commanders. 29
5:6 They will rule 30 the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod 31 with a drawn sword. 32
Our king 33 will rescue us from the Assyrians
should they attempt to invade our land
and try to set foot in our territory.
5:7 Those survivors from 34 Jacob will live 35
in the midst of many nations. 36
They will be like the dew the Lord sends,
like the rain on the grass,
that does not hope for men to come
or wait around for humans to arrive. 37
5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which attacks when it passes through;
it rips its prey 38 and there is no one to stop it. 39
5:9 Lift your hand triumphantly against your adversaries; 40
may all your enemies be destroyed! 41
5:10 “In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will destroy 42 your horses from your midst,
and smash your chariots.
5:11 I will destroy the cities of your land,
and tear down all your fortresses.
5:12 I will remove the sorcery 43 that you practice, 44
and you will no longer have omen readers living among you. 45
5:13 I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst;
you will no longer worship what your own hands made.
5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah 46 from your midst,
and destroy your idols. 47
5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance
on the nations that do not obey me.” 48
6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Get up! Defend yourself 49 before the mountains! 50
Present your case before the hills!” 51
6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,
you enduring foundations of the earth!
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he has a dispute with Israel! 52
6:3 “My people, how have I wronged you? 53
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I delivered you from that place of slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. 54
6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, 55
how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.
Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,
so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” 56
6:6 With what should I 57 enter the Lord’s presence?
With what 58 should I bow before the sovereign God? 59
Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
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? 60
6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you: 61
He wants you to 62 promote 63 justice, to be faithful, 64
and to live obediently before 65 your God.
6:9 Listen! The Lord is calling 66 to the city!
It is wise to respect your authority, O Lord! 67
Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city! 68
6:10 “I will not overlook, 69 O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, 70
or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. 71
6:11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,
or a bag of deceptive weights. 72
6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; 73
her inhabitants lie, 74
their tongues speak deceptive words. 75
6:13 I will strike you brutally 76
and destroy you because of your sin.
6:14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.
Even if you have the strength 77 to overtake some prey, 78
you will not be able to carry it away; 79
if you do happen to carry away something,
I will deliver it over to the sword.
6:15 You will plant crops, but will not harvest them;
you will squeeze oil from the olives, 80 but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies; 81
you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink. 82
6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,
and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; 83
you follow their policies. 84
Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, 85
the city’s 86 inhabitants will be taunted derisively, 87
and nations will mock all of you.” 88
Indeed, 90 it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,
and the grapes have been harvested. 91
There is no grape cluster to eat,
no fresh figs that I crave so much. 92
7:2 Faithful men have disappeared 93 from the land;
there are no godly men left. 94
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; 95
they hunt their own brother with a net. 96
7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; 97
government officials and judges take bribes, 98
prominent men make demands,
and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. 99
7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;
the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. 100
The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –
your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, 101
and then you will experience confusion. 102
7:5 Do not rely on a friend;
do not trust a companion!
Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! 103
7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,
a daughter challenges 104 her mother,
and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are his own servants. 105
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. 106
7:8 My enemies, 107 do not gloat 108 over me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 109
7:9 I must endure 110 the Lord’s anger,
for I have sinned against him.
But then 111 he will defend my cause, 112
and accomplish justice on my behalf.
He will lead me out into the light;
I will experience firsthand 113 his deliverance. 114
7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.
They say 115 to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
I will gloat over them. 116
Then they will be trampled down 117
like mud in the streets.
7:11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;
in that day your boundary will be extended. 118
7:12 In that day people 119 will come to you 120
from Assyria as far as 121 Egypt,
from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, 122
from the seacoasts 123 and the mountains. 124
7:13 The earth will become desolate 125
because of what its inhabitants have done. 126
7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod, 127
the flock that belongs to you, 128
the one that lives alone in a thicket,
in the midst of a pastureland. 129
Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, 130
as they did in the old days. 131
7:15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,
I will show you 132 miraculous deeds.” 133
7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by 134 all their strength,
they will put their hands over their mouths,
and act as if they were deaf. 135
7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like serpents crawling on the ground. 136
They will come trembling from their strongholds
to the Lord our God; 137
they will be terrified 138 of you. 139
7:18 There is no other God like you! 140
You 141 forgive sin
and pardon 142 the rebellion
of those who remain among your people. 143
You do not remain angry forever, 144
but delight in showing loyal love.
7:19 You will once again 145 have mercy on us;
you will conquer 146 our evil deeds;
you will hurl our 147 sins into the depths of the sea. 148
7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob
and extend your loyal love to Abraham, 149
which you promised on oath to our ancestors 150
in ancient times. 151
[5:1] 1 sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[5:1] 2 tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).
[5:1] 3 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
[5:1] 4 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
[5:1] 5 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).
[5:2] 6 sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.
[5:2] 7 tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.
[5:2] 8 tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”
[5:2] 9 tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.
[5:2] 10 tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.
[5:3] 11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[5:3] 12 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:3] 13 tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:3] 14 sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.
[5:3] 15 sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.
[5:3] 16 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:3] 17 tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:4] 18 tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”
[5:4] 19 tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:4] 20 tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the
[5:4] 21 tn The words “in peace” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Perhaps וְיָשָׁבוּ (vÿyashavu, “and they will live”) should be emended to וְשָׁבוּ (vÿshavu, “and they will return”).
[5:4] 23 tn Or “to the ends of.”
[5:5] 24 tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).
[5:5] 25 tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿ’admatenu).
[5:5] 27 sn The numbers seven and eight here symbolize completeness and emphasize that Israel will have more than enough military leadership and strength to withstand the Assyrian advance.
[5:5] 29 tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”
[5:6] 30 tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”
[5:6] 31 sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.
[5:6] 32 tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).
[5:6] 33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:7] 34 tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).
[5:7] 36 tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).
[5:7] 37 tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”
[5:8] 38 tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:8] 39 tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”
[5:9] 40 tn Heb “let your hand be lifted against your adversaries.”
[5:10] 42 tn Heb “cut off” (also in the following verse).
[5:12] 43 tn Heb “magic charms” (so NCV, TEV); NIV, NLT “witchcraft”; NAB “the means of divination.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but note its use in Isa 47:9, 12.
[5:12] 44 tn Heb “from your hands.”
[5:12] 45 tn Heb “and you will not have omen-readers.”
[5:14] 46 tn Or “Asherah poles.”
[5:14] 47 tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).
[5:15] 48 tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”
[6:1] 49 tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”
[6:1] 50 sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.
[6:1] 51 tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”
[6:2] 52 tn This verse briefly interrupts the
[6:3] 53 tn Heb “My people, what have I done to you?”
[6:5] 55 tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”
[6:5] 56 tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the
[6:6] 57 sn With what should I enter the
[6:6] 58 tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.
[6:6] 59 tn Or “the exalted God.”
[6:7] 60 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.”
[6:8] 61 sn What the
[6:8] 62 tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”
[6:8] 63 tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”
[6:8] 64 tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”
[6:8] 65 tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”
[6:9] 66 tn Or “the voice of the
[6:9] 67 tn Heb “one who sees your name is wisdom.” It is probably better to emend יִרְאֶה (yir’eh, “he sees”) to יִרְאָה (yir’ah, “fearing”). One may then translate, “fearing your name is wisdom.” The
[6:9] 68 tn Heb (apparently) “Listen [to] the staff and the one who appointed it.” Verse 10 then begins with עוֹד (yod, “still” or “again”). The translation assumes an emendation to שִׁמְעוּ מַטֶּה וּמוֹעֵד הָעִיר (shim’u matteh umo’ed ha’ir, “listen, O tribe and the assembly of the city”).
[6:10] 69 tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”
[6:10] 70 tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”
[6:10] 71 tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”
[6:11] 72 tn Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis.
[6:12] 73 tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”
[6:12] 74 tn Heb “speak lies.”
[6:12] 75 tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”
[6:13] 76 tn Heb “and also I, I will make you sick, striking you.”
[6:14] 77 tc The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, vÿyeshkhakha) is obscure. HALOT 446 s.v. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַ-וְיֶשׁ (vÿyesh-koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).
[6:14] 78 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vÿtasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 80.
[6:14] 79 tn The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.
[6:15] 80 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] 81 tn Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”
[6:15] 82 tn Heb “and juice, but you will not drink wine.” The verb תִדְרֹךְ (tidrokh, “you will tread”) must be supplied from the preceding line.
[6:16] 83 tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”
[6:16] 84 tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”
[6:16] 85 tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.
[6:16] 86 tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:16] 87 tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.
[6:16] 88 tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).
[7:1] 89 tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”
[7:1] 91 tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”
[7:1] 92 tn Heb “my appetite craves.”
[7:2] 93 tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”
[7:2] 94 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
[7:2] 95 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
[7:2] 96 sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.
[7:3] 97 tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”
[7:3] 98 tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”
[7:3] 99 tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.
[7:4] 100 tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.
[7:4] 101 tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”
[7:4] 102 tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”
[7:5] 103 tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”
[7:6] 104 tn Heb “rises up against.”
[7:6] 105 tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”
[7:7] 106 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] 107 tn The singular form is understood as collective.
[7:8] 108 tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”
[7:8] 109 sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The
[7:9] 110 tn Heb “lift, bear.”
[7:9] 112 tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”
[7:9] 114 tn Or “justice, vindication.”
[7:10] 115 tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:10] 116 tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”
[7:10] 117 tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”
[7:11] 118 sn Personified Jerusalem declares her confidence in vv. 8-10; in this verse she is assured that she will indeed be vindicated.
[7:12] 119 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
[7:12] 120 tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the
[7:12] 121 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] 122 tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).
[7:12] 123 tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).
[7:12] 124 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] 125 tn Or “will be ruined.”
[7:13] 126 tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”
[7:14] 127 tn Or “with your scepter” (the Hebrew term can mean either “rod” or “scepter”).
[7:14] 128 tn Heb “the flock of your inheritance.”
[7:14] 129 tn Or “in the midst of Carmel.” The Hebrew term translated “pastureland” may be a place name.
[7:14] 130 sn The regions of Bashan and Gilead, located in Transjordan, were noted for their rich grazing lands.
[7:14] 131 tn Heb “as in the days of antiquity.”
[7:15] 132 tn Heb “him.” This probably refers to Israel in a collective sense. Because the switch from direct address to the third person is awkward, some prefer to emend the suffix to a second person form. In any case, it is necessary to employ a second person pronoun in the translation to maintain the connection for the English reader.
[7:15] 133 sn I will show you miraculous deeds. In this verse the
[7:16] 134 tn Or “be ashamed of.”
[7:16] 135 tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the
[7:17] 136 tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view.
[7:17] 137 tn Thetranslationassumesthatthe phrase אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (’el-yÿhvah ’elohenu, “to the
[7:17] 138 tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.”
[7:17] 139 tn The
[7:18] 140 tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”
[7:18] 141 tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.
[7:18] 142 tn Heb “pass over.”
[7:18] 143 tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”
[7:18] 144 tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”
[7:19] 145 tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the
[7:19] 146 tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the
[7:19] 147 tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.
[7:19] 148 sn In this metaphor the
[7:20] 149 tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.
[7:20] 150 tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.
[7:20] 151 tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”
