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 4:7-8

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ⁶ 

and those far off ⁷  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ⁸ 

4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, ⁹ 

fortress of Daughter Zion ¹⁰  –

your former dominion will be restored, ¹¹ 

the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.

[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.”

[4:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ⁷ tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).

[4:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[4:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).

[4:8]  ¹² sn The city of David, located within Jerusalem, is addressed as Daughter Zion. As the home of the Davidic king, who was Israel’s shepherd (Ps 78:70-72), the royal citadel could be viewed metaphorically as the watchtower of the flock.

[4:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”