Micah 1:1-2

Introduction

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 

The Judge is Coming

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 

Micah 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹² 

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ¹³ 

he would be just the right preacher for these people! ¹⁴ 

Micah 5:5

5:5 He will give us peace. ¹⁵ 

Should the Assyrians try to invade our land

and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, ¹⁶ 

we will send ¹⁷  against them seven ¹⁸  shepherd-rulers, ¹⁹ 

make that eight commanders. ²⁰ 

Micah 7:1

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

7:1 I am depressed! ²¹ 

Indeed, ²²  it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested. ²³ 

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much. ²⁴ 

Micah 7:10

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ²⁵  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ²⁶ 

Then they will be trampled down ²⁷ 

like mud in the streets.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ² tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  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).

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”

[5:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).

[5:5]  ²⁰ tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿ’admatenu).

[5:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “raise up.”

[5:5]  ²² sn The numbers seven and eight here symbolize completeness and emphasize that Israel will have more than enough military leadership and strength to withstand the Assyrian advance.

[5:5]  ²³ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[5:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”

[7:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”

[7:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “for.”

[7:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”

[7:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my appetite craves.”

[7:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ³² tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ³³ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”