Micah 1:1

Introduction

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 

Micah 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁷ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Micah 7:8

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ⁸  do not gloat ⁹  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ¹⁰ 

Micah 7:17-18

7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,

like serpents crawling on the ground. ¹¹ 

They will come trembling from their strongholds

to the Lord our God; ¹² 

they will be terrified ¹³  of you. ¹⁴ 

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹⁵ 

You ¹⁶  forgive sin

and pardon ¹⁷  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹⁸ 

You do not remain angry forever, ¹⁹ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

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 “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹³ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

¹⁴ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

¹⁵ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

¹⁹ tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view.

²⁰ tn Thetranslationassumesthatthe phrase אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (’el-yÿhvah ’elohenu, “to the Lord our God”) goes with what precedes. Another option is to take the phrase with the following verb, in which case one could translate, “to the Lord our God they will turn in dread.”

²¹ tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.”

²² tn The Lord is addressed directly using the second person.

²⁵ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

²⁶ 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.

²⁷ tn Heb “pass over.”

²⁸ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

²⁹ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”