Isaiah 29:4

29:4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground ¹  you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. ² 

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; ³ 

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. ⁴ 

Micah 1:8

1:8 For this reason I ⁵  will mourn and wail;

I will walk around barefoot ⁶  and without my outer garments. ⁷ 

I will howl ⁸  like a wild dog, ⁹ 

and screech ¹⁰  like an owl. ¹¹ 

Micah 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ¹²  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ¹³ 

[29:4]  ¹ tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).

[29:4]  ² tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”

[29:4]  ³ tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.

[29:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.

[1:8]  ⁵ tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.

[1:8]  ⁶ 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).

[1:8]  ⁷ 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.

[1:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”

[1:8]  ⁹ tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[7:16]  ¹² tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the Lord’s power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.