Micah 2:1-5

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ² 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ³ 

because they have the power to do so.

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ⁴ 

They defraud people of their homes, ⁵ 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ⁶ 

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ⁷ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ⁸ 

You will no longer ⁹  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: ¹⁰ 

‘We are completely destroyed;

they sell off ¹¹  the property of my people.

How they remove it from me! ¹² 

They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ ¹³ 

2:5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community. ¹⁴ 

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ⁶ 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.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ⁸ 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.

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Or “you will not.”

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).

[2:4]  ¹¹ 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].”

[2:4]  ¹² tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[2:4]  ¹³ 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”).

[2:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “therefore you will not have one who strings out a measuring line by lot in the assembly of the Lord.”