13:4 1 There is a loud noise on the mountains –
it sounds like a large army! 2
There is great commotion among the kingdoms 3 –
nations are being assembled!
The Lord who commands armies is mustering
forces for battle.
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 4 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 5
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 6
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
45:2 “I will go before you
and level mountains. 7
Bronze doors I will shatter
and iron bars 8 I will hack through.
2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. 9
I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, 10
like a flock in the middle of a pasture; 11
they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. 12
2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out 13
they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. 14
Their king will advance 15 before them,
The Lord himself will lead them. 16
1 sn In vv. 4-10 the prophet appears to be speaking, since the Lord is referred to in the third person. However, since the Lord refers to himself in the third person later in this chapter (see v. 13), it is possible that he speaks throughout the chapter.
2 tn Heb “a sound, a roar [is] on the mountains, like many people.”
3 tn Heb “a sound, tumult of kingdoms.”
4 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
5 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
6 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
7 tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) makes little, if any, sense here. It is probably a corruption of an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”).
8 tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”
9 tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”
10 tc The MT reads בָּצְרָה (batsrah, “Bozrah”) but the form should be emended to בַּצִּרָה (batsirah, “into the fold”). See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 38.
11 tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.
12 tn Heb “and they will be noisy [or perhaps, “excited”] from men.” The subject of the third feminine plural verb תְּהִימֶנָה (tÿhimenah, “they will be noisy”) is probably the feminine singular צֹאן (tso’n, “flock”). (For another example of this collective singular noun with a feminine plural verb, see Gen 30:38.) In the construction מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from men”) the preposition is probably causal. L. C. Allen translates “bleating in fear of men” (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah [NICOT], 300), but it is possible to take the causal sense as “because of the large quantity of men.” In this case the sheep metaphor and the underlying reality are mixed.
13 tn Heb “the one who breaks through goes up before them.” The verb form is understood as a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of this coming event.
14 tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.
15 tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.
16 tn Heb “the