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 3:3

3:3 You ⁷  devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot ⁸  –

like meat in a kettle.

Micah 4:6

Restoration Will Follow Crisis

4:6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will gather the lame,

and assemble the outcasts whom I injured. ⁹ 

Micah 5:15

5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance

on the nations that do not obey me.” ¹⁰ 

Micah 6:12

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ¹¹ 

her inhabitants lie, ¹² 

their tongues speak deceptive words. ¹³ 

Micah 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ¹⁴ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ¹⁵ 

in ancient times. ¹⁶ 

Micah 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ¹⁷ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Micah 6:1

The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself ¹⁸  before the mountains! ¹⁹ 

Present your case before the hills!” ²⁰ 

Micah 6:14

6:14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.

Even if you have the strength ²¹  to overtake some prey, ²² 

you will not be able to carry it away; ²³ 

if you do happen to carry away something,

I will deliver it over to the sword.

Micah 7:9

7:9 I must endure ²⁴  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ²⁵  he will defend my cause, ²⁶ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ²⁷  his deliverance. ²⁸ 

Micah 2:3

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ²⁹ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ³⁰ 

You will no longer ³¹  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

Micah 3:5

3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people

are as good as dead. ³² 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ³³ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ³⁴ 

Micah 5:7-8

5:7 Those survivors from ³⁵  Jacob will live ³⁶ 

in the midst of many nations. ³⁷ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ³⁸ 

5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples.

They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

which attacks when it passes through;

it rips its prey ³⁹  and there is no one to stop it. ⁴⁰ 

[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.

[3:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “who.”

[3:3]  ⁸ 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”).

[4:6]  ¹³ sn The exiles of the nation are compared to lame and injured sheep.

[5:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”

[6:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”

[6:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “speak lies.”

[6:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”

[7:20]  ³¹ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ³² tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ³³ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[3:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:1]  ⁴³ tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”

[6:1]  ⁴⁴ sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.

[6:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”

[6:14]  ⁴⁹ tc The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, vÿyeshkhakha) is obscure. HALOT 446 s.v. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַ-וְיֶשׁ (vÿyesh-koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).

[6:14]  ⁵⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vÿtasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 80.

[6:14]  ⁵¹ tn The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.

[7:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[2:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ tn Or “you will not.”

[3:5]  ⁶⁷ 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 Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

[3:5]  ⁶⁸ 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.

[3:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

[5:7]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ⁷⁵ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

[5:8]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:8]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”