Micah 1:3

1:3 Look, ¹  the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!

He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! ² 

Micah 1:14

1:14 Therefore you ³  will have to say farewell ⁴  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ⁵  of Achzib ⁶  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ⁷  to the kings of Israel. ⁸ 

Micah 1:16

1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ⁹ 

shave your foreheads as bald ¹⁰  as an eagle, ¹¹ 

for they are taken from you into exile.

Micah 3:7

3:7 The prophets ¹²  will be ashamed;

the omen readers will be humiliated.

All of them will cover their mouths, ¹³ 

for they will receive no divine oracles.” ¹⁴ 

Micah 5:9

5:9 Lift your hand triumphantly against your adversaries; ¹⁵ 

may all your enemies be destroyed! ¹⁶ 

Micah 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ¹⁷  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ¹⁸ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).

[1:3]  ² tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:14]  ³ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Or “seers.”

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “let your hand be lifted against your adversaries.”

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “be cut off.”

[7:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ¹² 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.