Micah 1:11

1:11 Residents ¹  of Shaphir, ²  pass by in nakedness and humiliation! ³ 

The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. ⁴ 

Beth Ezel ⁵  mourns, ⁶ 

“He takes from you what he desires.” ⁷ 

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ⁸ 

You ⁹  forgive sin

and pardon ¹⁰  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹¹ 

You do not remain angry forever, ¹² 

but delight in showing loyal love.

[1:11]  ¹ tn The Hebrew participial form, which is feminine singular, is here used in a collective sense for the all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.

[1:11]  ² sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.

[1:11]  ³ tn The imperatival form is used rhetorically, emphasizing that the inhabitants of Shaphir will pass by into exile.

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “have not come out”; NIV “will not come out”; NLT “dare not come outside.”

[1:11]  ⁵ sn The place name Beth Ezel means “house of nearness” or “house of proximity” in Hebrew.

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the lamentation of Beth Ezel.” The following words could be the lamentation offered up by Beth Ezel (subjective genitive) or the mourning song sung over it (objective genitive).

[1:11]  ⁷ tc The form עֶמְדָּתוֹ (’emdato) should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ (khamadto, “his (the conqueror’s) desire”).

[7:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ¹² tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”