9:8 The prophet 1 is a watchman 2 over Ephraim 3 on behalf of God, 4
yet traps 5 are laid for him along all of his paths; 6
animosity rages against him in the land 7 of his God.
7:2 Faithful men have disappeared 8 from the land;
there are no godly men left. 9
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; 10
they hunt their own brother with a net. 11
1:15 The Babylonian tyrant 12 pulls them all up with a fishhook;
he hauls them in with his throw net. 13
When he catches 14 them in his dragnet,
he is very happy. 15
1:16 Because of his success 16 he offers sacrifices to his throw net
and burns incense to his dragnet; 17
for because of them he has plenty of food, 18
and more than enough to eat. 19
1:17 Will he then 20 continue to fill and empty his throw net? 21
Will he always 22 destroy 23 nations and spare none? 24
1 tc The Leningrad Codex (the MT
2 tc The syntax of this line is difficult, and the text is questionable. The major options include: (1) Adopt the MT vocalization and BHS line division: צֹפֶה אֶפְרַיִם עִם־אֱלֹהָי נָבִיא (tsofeh ’efrayim ’im-elohay navi’, “The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim with my God [= on behalf of God]”). There are two problems with this: (a) Although BHS places נָבִיא (“prophet”) with this colon, the Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex both connect נָבִיא with the next colon (as do KJV, ASV). (b) The phrase עִם־אֱלֹהָי (“with my God”) is difficult to explain. (2) Adopt the MT vocalization and the MT line division: עִם־אֱלֹהָי צֹפֶה אֶפְרַיִם (“Ephraim is a watchman with my God,” cf. NASB). The problem with this, of course, is that Ephraim hardly fits the description of a prophetic watchman. (3) Revocalize the MT and adopt BHS line division: צֹפֶה אֶפְרַיִם עַם אֱלֹהָי נָבִיא (“Ephraim – the people of my God! – lies in ambush for the prophet”) This involves: (a) revocalization of the preposition עִם (’im, “with”) to the noun עַם (’am, “people”), (b) taking עַם־אֱלֹהָי (“people of my God”) in apposition to אֶפְרַיִם (“Ephraim”), and (c) nuancing צֹפֶה as “to lie in wait (=set ambush)” (e.g., Ps 37:32). This is contextually attractive and harmonizes well with the following line: “traps are laid along all of his paths.” However, it has two problems: (a) there is no textual evidence supporting the revocalization of עם as “people” and (b) the unusual nuance “to lie in wait” for צֹפֶה occurs only in Ps 37:32, where it takes the preposition לְ (lamed, i.e., “to lie in wait for the righteous”; HALOT 1044 s.v. צפה 4). (4) Emend אֱלֹהָי (“my God”) to אֹהֶל (’ohel, “tent”), as suggested in the BHS textual apparatus: אֶפְרַיִם עַם־אֹהֶל נָבִיא צֹפֶה (“Ephraim spies on the prophet’s tent”). The verb צָפָה may mean “to spy” (BDB 859 s.v. צָפָה; HALOT 1044 s.v. צפה 3); however, the preposition עִם (’im) does not normally mean “upon” and צָפָה is not used with עִם elsewhere.
3 tn Or “Ephraim is a watchman with my God”; cf. ASV, NASB.
4 tn Heb “with my God” (so ASV, NASB).
5 tn Heb “bird trap of a bird catcher” or “snare of a fowler” (so KJV).
6 tc Or “The prophet is like a trap along all of his paths.” The Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex (
7 tn Heb “house.” The term בַּיִת (bayit, “house”) is used as a figure of speech, referring to either (1) the temple or official sanctuaries (so TEV, CEV) or (2) the land of Israel (e.g., Hos 9:15).
8 tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”
9 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
10 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
11 sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Babylonian tyrant) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NASB “The Chaldeans”; NIV “The wicked foe”; NRSV “The enemy”). Babylonian imperialism is here compared to a professional fisherman who repeatedly brings in his catch and has plenty to eat.
13 tn Apparently two different types of fishing nets are referred to here. The חֵרֶם (kherem, “throw net”) was used by fishermen standing on the shore (see Ezek 47:10), while the מִכְמֶרֶת (mikhmeret, “dragnet”) was used by men in a boat. See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 165.
14 tn Heb “and he gathers.”
15 tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.
16 tn Heb “therefore.”
17 sn The fishing implements (throw net and dragnet) represent Babylonian military might. The prophet depicts the Babylonians as arrogantly worshiping their own power (sacrifices…burns incense, see also v. 11b).
18 tn Heb “for by them his portion is full [or, “fat”].”
19 tn Heb “and his food is plentiful [or, “fat”].”
20 tn Or “therefore.”
21 tn Heb “Will he then empty his throw net?” The words “continue to fill and” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
22 tn Or “continually.”
23 tn Heb “kill.”
24 tn Or “without showing compassion.”