Micah 2:7

2:7 Does the family ¹  of Jacob say, ² 

‘The Lord’s patience ³  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ⁴ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ⁵ 

Micah 3:9

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ⁶  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁷  of Israel!

You ⁸  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

Micah 7:2

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ⁹  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ¹⁰ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ¹¹ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ¹² 

¹ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

² tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

³ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

⁴ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

⁵ tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

⁶ tn Heb “house.”

⁷ tn Heb “house.”

⁸ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

¹¹ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

¹² tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

¹³ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

¹⁴ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.