7:13 The earth will become desolate 1
because of what its inhabitants have done. 2
1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; 3
shave your foreheads as bald 4 as an eagle, 5
for they are taken from you into exile.
5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance
on the nations that do not obey me.” 6
3:8 But I 7 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 8
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 9
5:1 (4:14) 10 But now slash yourself, 11 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 12
We are besieged!
With a scepter 13 they strike Israel’s ruler 14
on the side of his face.
7:8 My enemies, 15 do not gloat 16 over me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 17
5:6 They will rule 18 the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod 19 with a drawn sword. 20
Our king 21 will rescue us from the Assyrians
should they attempt to invade our land
and try to set foot in our territory.
1 tn Or “will be ruined.”
2 tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”
3 tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”
4 tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”
5 tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.
5 tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”
7 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
8 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
9 tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
9 sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
10 tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).
11 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
12 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
13 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).
11 tn The singular form is understood as collective.
12 tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”
13 sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The
13 tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”
14 sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.
15 tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.