Micah 1:1

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 

Micah 1:8

1:8 For this reason I ⁷  will mourn and wail;

I will walk around barefoot ⁸  and without my outer garments. ⁹ 

I will howl ¹⁰  like a wild dog, ¹¹ 

and screech ¹²  like an owl. ¹³ 

Micah 2:1

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹⁴ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ¹⁵ 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ¹⁶ 

because they have the power to do so.

Micah 3:6

3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; ¹⁷ 

it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. ¹⁸ 

The sun will set on these prophets,

and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. ¹⁹ 

Micah 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ²⁰  But now slash yourself, ²¹  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ²² 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ²³  they strike Israel’s ruler ²⁴ 

on the side of his face.

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ²⁵  will hand the people of Israel ²⁶  over to their enemies ²⁷ 

until the time when the woman in labor ²⁸  gives birth. ²⁹ 

Then the rest of the king’s ³⁰  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ³¹ 

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ³² 

government officials and judges take bribes, ³³ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ³⁴ 

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ³⁵ 

You ³⁶  forgive sin

and pardon ³⁷  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ³⁸ 

You do not remain angry forever, ³⁹ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

[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.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.

[1:8]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”

[1:8]  ¹² tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”

[1:8]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[2:1]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[3:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”

[3:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”

[3:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”

[5:1]  ²⁵ 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.

[5:1]  ²⁶ 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).

[5:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  ²⁹ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[5:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ³² tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ³³ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ³⁴ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ³⁵ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ³⁹ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

[7:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”