Discovery BoxMicah 1:4-9
Context1:4 The mountains will disintegrate 1 beneath him,
and the valleys will be split in two. 2
The mountains will melt 3 like wax in a fire,
the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. 4
1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 5 the sins of the nation 6 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 7
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 8
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 9
They are right in Jerusalem! 10
1:6 “I will turn Samaria 11 into a heap of ruins in an open field –
vineyards will be planted there! 12
I will tumble 13 the rubble of her stone walls 14 down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. 15
1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;
all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. 16
I will make a waste heap 17 of all her images.
Since 18 she gathered the metal 19 as a prostitute collects her wages,
the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” 20
1:8 For this reason I 21 will mourn and wail;
I will walk around barefoot 22 and without my outer garments. 23
I will howl 24 like a wild dog, 25
and screech 26 like an owl. 27
1:9 For Samaria’s 28 disease 29 is incurable.
It has infected 30 Judah;
it has spread to 31 the leadership 32 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 33
[1:4] 1 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] 2 sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.
[1:4] 3 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] 4 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] 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!”
[1:6] 11 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[1:6] 12 tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”
[1:6] 13 tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”
[1:6] 14 tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.
[1:6] 15 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.
[1:7] 16 tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”
[1:7] 17 tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).
[1:7] 18 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).
[1:7] 19 tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.
[1:7] 20 tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the
[1:8] 21 tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.
[1:8] 22 tn Or “stripped.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is unclear. It may refer to walking barefoot (see 2 Sam 15:30) or to partially stripping oneself (see Job 12:17-19).
[1:8] 23 tn Heb “naked.” This probably does not refer to complete nudity, but to stripping off one’s outer garments as an outward sign of the destitution felt by the mourner.
[1:8] 24 tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”
[1:8] 25 tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”
[1:8] 26 tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”
[1:8] 27 tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
[1:9] 28 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 29 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
[1:9] 32 tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.
[1:9] 33 tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.
