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
1:2 Listen, all you nations! 7
Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! 8
The sovereign Lord will testify 9 against you;
the Lord will accuse you 10 from his majestic palace. 11
1:3 Look, 12 the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!
He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! 13
1:4 The mountains will disintegrate 14 beneath him,
and the valleys will be split in two. 15
The mountains will melt 16 like wax in a fire,
the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. 17
1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 18 the sins of the nation 19 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 20
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 21
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 22
They are right in Jerusalem! 23
1:6 “I will turn Samaria 24 into a heap of ruins in an open field –
vineyards will be planted there! 25
I will tumble 26 the rubble of her stone walls 27 down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. 28
1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;
all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. 29
I will make a waste heap 30 of all her images.
Since 31 she gathered the metal 32 as a prostitute collects her wages,
the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” 33
1:8 For this reason I 34 will mourn and wail;
I will walk around barefoot 35 and without my outer garments. 36
I will howl 37 like a wild dog, 38
and screech 39 like an owl. 40
1:9 For Samaria’s 41 disease 42 is incurable.
It has infected 43 Judah;
it has spread to 44 the leadership 45 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 46
1:10 Don’t spread the news in Gath! 47
Don’t shed even a single tear! 48
In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! 49
1:11 Residents 50 of Shaphir, 51 pass by in nakedness and humiliation! 52
The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. 53
Beth Ezel 54 mourns, 55
“He takes from you what he desires.” 56
1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth 57 hope for something good to happen, 58
though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. 59
1:13 Residents of Lachish, 60 hitch the horses to the chariots!
You 61 influenced Daughter Zion 62 to sin, 63
for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back 64 to you!
1:14 Therefore you 65 will have to say farewell 66 to Moresheth Gath.
The residents 67 of Achzib 68 will be as disappointing
as a dried up well 69 to the kings of Israel. 70
1:15 Residents of Mareshah, 71 a conqueror will attack you, 72
the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. 73
1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; 74
shave your foreheads as bald 75 as an eagle, 76
for they are taken from you into exile.
2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, 77
those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. 78
As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, 79
because they have the power to do so.
2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,
and seize the houses they want. 80
They defraud people of their homes, 81
and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 82
2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! 83
It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. 84
You will no longer 85 walk proudly,
for it will be a time of catastrophe.
2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you –
they will mock you with this lament: 86
‘We are completely destroyed;
they sell off 87 the property of my people.
How they remove it from me! 88
They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ 89
2:5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community. 90
2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. 91
‘These prophets should not preach of such things;
we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ 92
2:7 Does the family 93 of Jacob say, 94
‘The Lord’s patience 95 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 96
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 97
2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. 98
You steal a robe from a friend, 99
from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. 100
2:9 You wrongly evict widows 101 among my people from their cherished homes.
You defraud their children 102 of their prized inheritance. 103
2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! 104
For this land is not secure! 105
Sin will thoroughly destroy it! 106
2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, 107
‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ 108
he would be just the right preacher for these people! 109
2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. 110
I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, 111
like a flock in the middle of a pasture; 112
they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. 113
2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out 114
they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. 115
Their king will advance 116 before them,
The Lord himself will lead them. 117
3:1 I said,
“Listen, you leaders 118 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 119 of Israel!
You ought to know what is just, 120
3:2 yet you 121 hate what is good, 122
and love what is evil. 123
You flay my people’s skin 124
and rip the flesh from their bones. 125
3:3 You 126 devour my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot 127 –
like meat in a kettle.
3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, 128
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have done such wicked deeds.”
3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people
are as good as dead. 129
If someone gives them enough to eat,
they offer an oracle of peace. 130
But if someone does not give them food,
they are ready to declare war on him. 131
3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; 132
it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. 133
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. 134
3:7 The prophets 135 will be ashamed;
the omen readers will be humiliated.
All of them will cover their mouths, 136
for they will receive no divine oracles.” 137
3:8 But I 138 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 139
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 140
3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family 141 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 142 of Israel!
You 143 hate justice
and pervert all that is right.
3:10 You 144 build Zion through bloody crimes, 145
Jerusalem 146 through unjust violence.
3:11 Her 147 leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, 148
her priests proclaim rulings for profit,
and her prophets read omens for pay.
Yet they claim to trust 149 the Lord and say,
“The Lord is among us. 150
Disaster will not overtake 151 us!”
3:12 Therefore, because of you, 152 Zion will be plowed up like 153 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 154 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 155
4:1 In the future 156 the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; 157
it will be more prominent than other hills. 158
People will stream to it.
4:2 Many nations will come, saying,
“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple 159 of Jacob’s God,
so he can teach us his commands 160
and we can live by his laws.” 161
For Zion will be the source of instruction;
the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. 162
4:3 He will arbitrate 163 between many peoples
and settle disputes between many 164 distant nations. 165
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 166
and their spears into pruning hooks. 167
Nations will not use weapons 168 against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine
or under his own fig tree without any fear. 169
The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. 170
4:5 Though all the nations follow their respective gods, 171
we will follow 172 the Lord our God forever.
4:6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will gather the lame,
and assemble the outcasts whom I injured. 173
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 174
and those far off 175 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 176
4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, 177
fortress of Daughter Zion 178 –
your former dominion will be restored, 179
the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.
4:9 Jerusalem, why are you 180 now shouting so loudly? 181
Has your king disappeared? 182
Has your wise leader 183 been destroyed?
Is this why 184 pain grips 185 you as if you were a woman in labor?
4:10 Twist and strain, 186 Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor!
For you will leave the city
and live in the open field.
You will go to Babylon,
but there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will deliver 187 you
from the power 188 of your enemies.
4:11 Many nations have now assembled against you.
They say, “Jerusalem must be desecrated, 189
so we can gloat over Zion!” 190
4:12 But they do not know what the Lord is planning;
they do not understand his strategy.
He has gathered them like stalks of grain to be threshed 191 at the threshing floor.
4:13 “Get up and thresh, Daughter Zion!
For I will give you iron horns; 192
I will give you bronze hooves,
and you will crush many nations.” 193
You will devote to the Lord the spoils you take from them,
and dedicate their wealth to the sovereign Ruler 194 of the whole earth. 195
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 “O peoples, all of them.”
8 tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”
9 tn Heb “May the sovereign
10 tn Heb “the
11 tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).
12 tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).
13 tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
14 tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).
15 sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.
16 tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.
17 tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.
18 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
19 tn Heb “house.”
20 tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”
21 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.
22 tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”
23 tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”
24 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
25 tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”
26 tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”
27 tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.
28 tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.
29 tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”
30 tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).
31 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).
32 tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.
33 tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the
34 tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.
35 tn Or “stripped.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is unclear. It may refer to walking barefoot (see 2 Sam 15:30) or to partially stripping oneself (see Job 12:17-19).
36 tn Heb “naked.” This probably does not refer to complete nudity, but to stripping off one’s outer garments as an outward sign of the destitution felt by the mourner.
37 tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”
38 tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”
39 tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”
40 tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
41 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
43 tn Heb “come to.”
44 tn Or “reached.”
45 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.
46 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.
47 tn Heb “Tell it not in Gath.” The Hebrew word for “tell” (נָגַד, nagad) sounds like the name of the city, Gath (גַּת, gat).
48 tn The Hebrew infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the prohibition.
49 tc The translation assumes a masculine plural imperative. If one were to emend בְּבֵית (bÿvet) to בֵית (vet), Beth Leaphrah would then be the addressee and the feminine singular imperative (see Qere) could be retained, “O Beth Leaphrah, sit in the dust.”
50 tn The Hebrew participial form, which is feminine singular, is here used in a collective sense for the all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.
51 sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.
52 tn The imperatival form is used rhetorically, emphasizing that the inhabitants of Shaphir will pass by into exile.
53 tn Heb “have not come out”; NIV “will not come out”; NLT “dare not come outside.”
54 sn The place name Beth Ezel means “house of nearness” or “house of proximity” in Hebrew.
55 tn Heb “the lamentation of Beth Ezel.” The following words could be the lamentation offered up by Beth Ezel (subjective genitive) or the mourning song sung over it (objective genitive).
56 tc The form עֶמְדָּתוֹ (’emdato) should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ (khamadto, “his (the conqueror’s) desire”).
57 sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”
58 tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).
59 tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the
60 sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”
61 tn Heb “she”; this has been translated as second person (“you”) in keeping with the direct address to the residents of Lachish in the previous line.
62 sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.
63 tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”
64 tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”
65 tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.
66 tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.
67 tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.
68 sn The place name Achzib (אַכְזִיב, ’akhziv, “place on the dried up river”; see HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב) creates a word play on the similar sounding term כָּזָב (kazav, “lie, deception”; HALOT 468 s.v. כָּזָב). Like the dried up river upon which its name was based, the city of Achzib would fail to help the kings of Israel in their time of need.
69 tn Or “will be a deception.” The term אַכְזָב (’akhzav) is often translated “deception,” as derived from the verb I כָּזָב (“to deceive, lie”; HALOT 467-68 s.v. I כזב). However, it probably means “what is dried up,” since (1) the noun elsewhere refers to an empty well or dried river in summer (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15-20) (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); (2) the place-name “Achzib” (אַכְזִיב) literally means “place on the אַכְזָב [dried up river]” (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); and (3) it is derived from the verb II כָּזָב (“to dry up [brook]”; Isa 58:11), which also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. The point of the metaphor is that Achzib will be as disappointing to the kings of Israel as a dried up spring in the summer is to a thirsty traveler in the Jordanian desert.
70 sn Because of the enemy invasion, Achzib would not be able to deliver soldiers for the army and/or services normally rendered to the crown.
71 sn The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.”
72 tn Heb “Again a conqueror I will bring to you, residents of Mareshah.” The first person verb is problematic, for the
73 tn Heb “to Adullam the glory of Israel will go.” This probably means that the nation’s leadership will run for their lives and, like David of old, hide from their enemy in the caves of Adullam. Cf. NIV’s “He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam,” which sounds as if an individual is in view, and could be understood as a messianic reference.
74 tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”
75 tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”
76 tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.
77 tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.
78 tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”
79 tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”
80 tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”
81 tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”
82 tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
83 tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”
84 tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
85 tn Or “you will not.”
86 tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).
87 tn Or “exchange.” The LXX suggests a reading יִמַּד (yimmad) from מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). In this case one could translate, “the property of my people is measured out [i.e., for resale].”
88 tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
89 tc The Hebrew term שׁוֹבֵב (shovev, “the one turning back”) elsewhere has the nuance “apostate” (cf. NASB) or “traitor” (cf. NIV). The translation assumes an emendation to שָׁבָה (shavah, “captor”).
90 tn Heb “therefore you will not have one who strings out a measuring line by lot in the assembly of the
91 tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the
92 tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the
93 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
94 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).
95 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
96 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
97 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
98 tc Heb “Recently my people rise up as an enemy.” The MT is problematic in light of v. 9, where “my people” are the object of oppression, not the perpetrators of it. The form וְאֶתְמוּל (vÿ’etmul, “and recently”) is probably the product of fusion and subsequent suppression of an (ע) ayin. The translation assumes an emendation to וְאַתֶּם עַל (vÿ’attem ’al, “and you against [my people]”). The second person plural pronoun fits well with the second plural verb forms of vv. 8b-10. If this emendation is accepted, then יְקוֹמֵם (yÿqomem, the imperfect of קוּם [qum]) should be emended to קָמִים (qamim; a participle from the same root).
99 tc Heb “From the front of a garment glory [or perhaps, “a robe”] you strip off,” but this makes little if any sense. The term מִמּוּל (mimmul, “from the front of”) is probably the product of dittography (note the preceding word, which ends in [ם] mem) and subsequent suppression of ע (ayin). The translation assumes an emendation to מֵעַל (me’al, “from upon”). The translation also assumes an emendation of שַׂלְמָה אֶדֶר (salmah ’eder, “a garment, glory [or robe]”) to שֹׁלְמִים אֲדֶרֶת (sholÿmim ’aderet, “[from] a friend the robe [you strip off]”). The MT’s אֶדֶר (’eder) is the result of misdivision (the article has erroneously been attached to the preceding word) and haplography (of the final tav, which also begins the following word).
100 tc The passive participle שׁוּבֵי (shuvey) is unattested elsewhere and should be emended to a participle שָׁבִים (shavim).
101 tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).
102 tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”
103 tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the
104 tn Heb “Arise and go!” These imperatives are rhetorical. Those who wrongly drove widows and orphans from their homes and land inheritances will themselves be driven out of the land (cf. Isa 5:8-17). This is an example of poetic justice.
105 tn Heb “for this is no resting place.” The
106 tn Heb “uncleanness will destroy, and destruction will be severe.”
107 tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”
108 tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”
109 tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”
110 tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”
111 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.
112 tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.
113 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.
114 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.
115 tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.
116 tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.
117 tn Heb “the
118 tn Heb “heads.”
119 tn Heb “house.”
120 tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”
121 tn Heb “the ones who.”
122 tn Or “good.”
123 tn Or “evil.”
124 tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the
125 tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”
126 tn Heb “who.”
127 tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).
128 tn Heb “then they will cry out to the
129 tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the
130 tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.
131 tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”
132 tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”
133 tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”
134 tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”
135 tn Or “seers.”
136 tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”
137 tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”
138 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
139 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
140 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.
141 tn Heb “house.”
142 tn Heb “house.”
143 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).
144 tn Heb “who.”
145 tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”
146 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
147 sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).
148 tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”
149 tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”
150 tn Heb “Is not the
151 tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”
152 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
153 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
154 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
155 tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”
156 tn Heb “at the end of days.”
157 tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”
158 tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”
159 tn Heb “house.”
160 tn Heb “ways.”
161 tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”
162 tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the
163 tn Or “judge.”
164 tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”
165 tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”
166 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
167 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
168 tn Heb “take up the sword.”
169 tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”
170 tn Heb “for the mouth of the
171 tn Heb “walk each in the name of his god.” The term “name” here has the idea of “authority.” To “walk in the name” of a god is to recognize the god’s authority as binding over one’s life.
172 tn Heb “walk in the name of.”
173 sn The exiles of the nation are compared to lame and injured sheep.
174 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
175 tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).
176 tn Heb “from now until forever.”
177 tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).
178 sn The city of David, located within Jerusalem, is addressed as Daughter Zion. As the home of the Davidic king, who was Israel’s shepherd (Ps 78:70-72), the royal citadel could be viewed metaphorically as the watchtower of the flock.
179 tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”
180 tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.
181 tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”
182 tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”
183 tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.
184 tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.
185 tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”
186 tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”
187 tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
188 tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.
189 tn Heb “let her be desecrated.” the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
190 tn Heb “and let our eye look upon Zion.”
191 tn The words “to be threshed” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the
192 tn Heb “I will make your horn iron.”
193 sn Jerusalem (Daughter Zion at the beginning of the verse; cf. 4:8) is here compared to a powerful ox which crushes the grain on the threshing floor with its hooves.
194 tn Or “the Lord” (so many English versions); Heb “the master.”
195 tn Heb “and their wealth to the master of all the earth.” The verb “devote” does double duty in the parallelism and is supplied in the second line for clarification.