Micah 1:12

1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth ¹  hope for something good to happen, ² 

though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. ³ 

Micah 1:9

1:9 For Samaria’s ⁴  disease ⁵  is incurable.

It has infected ⁶  Judah;

it has spread to ⁷  the leadership ⁸  of my people

and has even contaminated Jerusalem! ⁹ 

Micah 2:13

2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out ¹⁰ 

they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. ¹¹ 

Their king will advance ¹²  before them,

The Lord himself will lead them. ¹³ 

[1:12]  ¹ sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”

[1:12]  ² tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.”

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁵ tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “come to.”

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Or “reached.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.

[2:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “the one who breaks through goes up before them.” The verb form is understood as a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of this coming event.

[2:13]  ⁸ tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.

[2:13]  ⁹ tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.

[2:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord [will be] at their head.”