Micah 1:14-15

1:14 Therefore you ¹  will have to say farewell ²  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ³  of Achzib ⁴  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ⁵  to the kings of Israel. ⁶ 

1:15 Residents of Mareshah, ⁷  a conqueror will attack you, ⁸ 

the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. ⁹ 

Micah 1:5

1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion

and ¹⁰  the sins of the nation ¹¹  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ¹² 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ¹³ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ¹⁴ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ¹⁵ 

Micah 1:13

1:13 Residents of Lachish, ¹⁶  hitch the horses to the chariots!

You ¹⁷  influenced Daughter Zion ¹⁸  to sin, ¹⁹ 

for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ²⁰  to you!

Micah 2:12

The Lord Will Restore His People

2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,

I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. ²¹ 

I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, ²² 

like a flock in the middle of a pasture; ²³ 

they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. ²⁴ 

Micah 3:1

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ²⁵  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²⁶  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ²⁷ 

Micah 3:8-9

3:8 But I ²⁸  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ²⁹ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ³⁰ 

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ³¹  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ³²  of Israel!

You ³³  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

Micah 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ³⁴  But now slash yourself, ³⁵  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ³⁶ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ³⁷  they strike Israel’s ruler ³⁸ 

on the side of his face.

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ³⁹  will hand the people of Israel ⁴⁰  over to their enemies ⁴¹ 

until the time when the woman in labor ⁴²  gives birth. ⁴³ 

Then the rest of the king’s ⁴⁴  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ⁴⁵ 

Micah 6:2

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ⁴⁶ 

Micah 5:2

A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper

5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ⁴⁷ 

seemingly insignificant ⁴⁸  among the clans of Judah –

from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ⁴⁹ 

one whose origins ⁵⁰  are in the distant past. ⁵¹ 

[1:14]  ¹ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.

[1:14]  ³ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ⁴ sn The place name Achzib (אַכְזִיב, ’akhziv, “place on the dried up river”; see HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב) creates a word play on the similar sounding term כָּזָב (kazav, “lie, deception”; HALOT 468 s.v. כָּזָב). Like the dried up river upon which its name was based, the city of Achzib would fail to help the kings of Israel in their time of need.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Or “will be a deception.” The term אַכְזָב (’akhzav) is often translated “deception,” as derived from the verb I כָּזָב (“to deceive, lie”; HALOT 467-68 s.v. I כזב). However, it probably means “what is dried up,” since (1) the noun elsewhere refers to an empty well or dried river in summer (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15-20) (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); (2) the place-name “Achzib” (אַכְזִיב) literally means “place on the אַכְזָב [dried up river]” (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); and (3) it is derived from the verb II כָּזָב (“to dry up [brook]”; Isa 58:11), which also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. The point of the metaphor is that Achzib will be as disappointing to the kings of Israel as a dried up spring in the summer is to a thirsty traveler in the Jordanian desert.

[1:14]  ⁶ sn Because of the enemy invasion, Achzib would not be able to deliver soldiers for the army and/or services normally rendered to the crown.

[1:15]  ⁷ sn The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.”

[1:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “Again a conqueror I will bring to you, residents of Mareshah.” The first person verb is problematic, for the Lord would have to be the subject (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But the prophet appears to be delivering this lament and the Lord is referred to in the third person in v. 12. Consequently many emend the verb to a third person form (יָבוֹא, yavo’) and understand the “conqueror” as subject.

[1:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “to Adullam the glory of Israel will go.” This probably means that the nation’s leadership will run for their lives and, like David of old, hide from their enemy in the caves of Adullam. Cf. NIV’s “He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam,” which sounds as if an individual is in view, and could be understood as a messianic reference.

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.

[1:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[1:13]  ¹⁹ sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”

[1:13]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.

[1:13]  ²² tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”

[1:13]  ²³ tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”

[2:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”

[2:12]  ²⁶ tc The MT reads בָּצְרָה (batsrah, “Bozrah”) but the form should be emended to בַּצִּרָה (batsirah, “into the fold”). See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 38.

[2:12]  ²⁷ tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.

[2:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and they will be noisy [or perhaps, “excited”] from men.” The subject of the third feminine plural verb תְּהִימֶנָה (tÿhimenah, “they will be noisy”) is probably the feminine singular צֹאן (tso’n, “flock”). (For another example of this collective singular noun with a feminine plural verb, see Gen 30:38.) In the construction מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from men”) the preposition is probably causal. L. C. Allen translates “bleating in fear of men” (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah [NICOT], 300), but it is possible to take the causal sense as “because of the large quantity of men.” In this case the sheep metaphor and the underlying reality are mixed.

[3:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ³² tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ³³ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:8]  ³⁷ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[5:1]  ⁴⁹ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  ⁵² tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  ⁵³ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[5:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ⁵⁸ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ⁵⁹ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:2]  ⁶¹ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[5:2]  ⁶⁷ sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.

[5:2]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.

[5:2]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”

[5:2]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.

[5:2]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.