Micah 1:13

1:13 Residents of Lachish, ¹  hitch the horses to the chariots!

You ²  influenced Daughter Zion ³  to sin, ⁴ 

for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ⁵  to you!

Micah 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁶ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁷  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ⁸ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ⁹ 

People will stream to it.

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹⁰ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ¹¹ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ¹² 

Micah 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ¹³  will come to you ¹⁴ 

from Assyria as far as ¹⁵  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ¹⁶ 

from the seacoasts ¹⁷  and the mountains. ¹⁸ 

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹⁹ 

You ²⁰  forgive sin

and pardon ²¹  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ²² 

You do not remain angry forever, ²³ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

[1:13]  ¹ sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “she”; this has been translated as second person (“you”) in keeping with the direct address to the residents of Lachish in the previous line.

[1:13]  ³ sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ¹² tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[7:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ¹⁸ 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.

[7:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “they.” The referent has been specified as “people,” referring either to the nations (coming to God with their tribute) or to the exiles of Israel (returning to the Lord).

[7:12]  ²² tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ²³ tc The MT reads וְעָרֵי (vÿ’arey, “and the cities [of Egypt]”), but the parallel line indicates this is a corruption of וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “even to”).

[7:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).

[7:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”