Micah 1:2

The Judge is Coming

1:2 Listen, all you nations! ¹ 

Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ² 

The sovereign Lord will testify ³  against you;

the Lord will accuse you ⁴  from his majestic palace. ⁵ 

Micah 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ⁶  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ⁷ 

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁸  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ⁹ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ¹⁰ 

People will stream to it.

Micah 5:4

5:4 He will assume his post ¹¹  and shepherd the people ¹²  by the Lord’s strength,

by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. ¹³ 

They will live securely, ¹⁴  for at that time he will be honored ¹⁵ 

even in the distant regions of ¹⁶  the earth.

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).

[7:16]  ⁶ tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the Lord’s power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.

[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.”

[5:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”

[5:4]  ¹⁷ tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”

[5:4]  ¹⁹ tn The words “in peace” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Perhaps וְיָשָׁבוּ (vÿyashavu, “and they will live”) should be emended to וְשָׁבוּ (vÿshavu, “and they will return”).

[5:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “be great.”

[5:4]  ²¹ tn Or “to the ends of.”