Micah 1:16

1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ¹ 

shave your foreheads as bald ²  as an eagle, ³ 

for they are taken from you into exile.

Micah 6:6

6:6 With what should I ⁴  enter the Lord’s presence?

With what ⁵  should I bow before the sovereign God? ⁶ 

Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,

with year-old calves?

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ⁷  will hand the people of Israel ⁸  over to their enemies ⁹ 

until the time when the woman in labor ¹⁰  gives birth. ¹¹ 

Then the rest of the king’s ¹²  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ¹³ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”

[1:16]  ³ tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.

[6:6]  ⁴ sn With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? The prophet speaks again, playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper who wants to know what God really desires from his followers.

[6:6]  ⁵ tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Or “the exalted God.”

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁹ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

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

[5:3]  ¹¹ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ¹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.