1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to 1 Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message 2 during the reigns of 3 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to 4 Samaria 5 and Jerusalem. 6
1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 7 the sins of the nation 8 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 9
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 10
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 11
They are right in Jerusalem! 12
1:9 For Samaria’s 13 disease 14 is incurable.
It has infected 15 Judah;
it has spread to 16 the leadership 17 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 18
5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 19
seemingly insignificant 20 among the clans of Judah –
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, 21
one whose origins 22 are in the distant past. 23
1 tn Heb “The word of the
2 tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”
5 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “house.”
9 tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”
10 tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.
11 tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”
12 tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”
13 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
15 tn Heb “come to.”
16 tn Or “reached.”
17 tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.
18 tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.
19 sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.
20 tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.
21 tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”
22 tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.
23 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.