Micah 1:3-5

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

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

1:4 The mountains will disintegrate ³  beneath him,

and the valleys will be split in two. ⁴ 

The mountains will melt ⁵  like wax in a fire,

the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. ⁶ 

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

and ⁷  the sins of the nation ⁸  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ⁹ 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ¹⁰ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ¹¹ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ¹² 

Micah 2:10

2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! ¹³ 

For this land is not secure! ¹⁴ 

Sin will thoroughly destroy it! ¹⁵ 

Micah 1:6

1:6 “I will turn Samaria ¹⁶  into a heap of ruins in an open field –

vineyards will be planted there! ¹⁷ 

I will tumble ¹⁸  the rubble of her stone walls ¹⁹  down into the valley,

and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. ²⁰ 

Micah 1:11

1:11 Residents ²¹  of Shaphir, ²²  pass by in nakedness and humiliation! ²³ 

The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. ²⁴ 

Beth Ezel ²⁵  mourns, ²⁶ 

“He takes from you what he desires.” ²⁷ 

Micah 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ²⁸  Zion will be plowed up like ²⁹  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ³⁰  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ³¹ 

Micah 5:11

5:11 I will destroy the cities of your land,

and tear down all your fortresses.

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ³²  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ³³ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ³⁴ 

People will stream to it.

Micah 5:4

5:4 He will assume his post ³⁵  and shepherd the people ³⁶  by the Lord’s strength,

by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. ³⁷ 

They will live securely, ³⁸  for at that time he will be honored ³⁹ 

even in the distant regions of ⁴⁰  the earth.

Micah 7:17

7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,

like serpents crawling on the ground. ⁴¹ 

They will come trembling from their strongholds

to the Lord our God; ⁴² 

they will be terrified ⁴³  of you. ⁴⁴ 

Micah 1:14

1:14 Therefore you ⁴⁵  will have to say farewell ⁴⁶  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ⁴⁷  of Achzib ⁴⁸  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ⁴⁹  to the kings of Israel. ⁵⁰ 

Micah 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ⁵¹  But now slash yourself, ⁵²  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ⁵³ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ⁵⁴  they strike Israel’s ruler ⁵⁵ 

on the side of his face.

Micah 6:4

6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I delivered you from that place of slavery.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ⁵⁶ 

Micah 7:5

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ⁵⁷ 

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. ⁵⁸ 

I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, ⁵⁹ 

like a flock in the middle of a pasture; ⁶⁰ 

they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. ⁶¹ 

[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).

[1:4]  ³ tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.

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

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Arise and go!” These imperatives are rhetorical. Those who wrongly drove widows and orphans from their homes and land inheritances will themselves be driven out of the land (cf. Isa 5:8-17). This is an example of poetic justice.

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “for this is no resting place.” The Lord speaks to the oppressors.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “uncleanness will destroy, and destruction will be severe.”

[1:6]  ⁹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”

[1:6]  ¹² tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.

[1:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew participial form, which is feminine singular, is here used in a collective sense for the all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.

[1:11]  ¹² sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.

[1:11]  ¹³ tn The imperatival form is used rhetorically, emphasizing that the inhabitants of Shaphir will pass by into exile.

[1:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “have not come out”; NIV “will not come out”; NLT “dare not come outside.”

[1:11]  ¹⁵ sn The place name Beth Ezel means “house of nearness” or “house of proximity” in Hebrew.

[1:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the lamentation of Beth Ezel.” The following words could be the lamentation offered up by Beth Ezel (subjective genitive) or the mourning song sung over it (objective genitive).

[1:11]  ¹⁷ tc The form עֶמְדָּתוֹ (’emdato) should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ (khamadto, “his (the conqueror’s) desire”).

[3:12]  ¹³ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[5:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”

[5:4]  ¹⁸ tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”

[5:4]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “be great.”

[5:4]  ²² tn Or “to the ends of.”

[7:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view.

[7:17]  ²⁰ tn Thetranslationassumesthatthe phrase אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (’el-yÿhvah ’elohenu, “to the Lord our God”) goes with what precedes. Another option is to take the phrase with the following verb, in which case one could translate, “to the Lord our God they will turn in dread.”

[7:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.”

[7:17]  ²² tn The Lord is addressed directly using the second person.

[1:14]  ²¹ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.

[5:1]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  ²⁷ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[6:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “before you.”

[7:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”

[2:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”

[2:12]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.

[2:12]  ³² 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.