Micah 1:5

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

and ¹  the sins of the nation ²  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ³ 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ⁴ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ⁵ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ⁶ 

Micah 1:13

1:13 Residents of Lachish, ⁷  hitch the horses to the chariots!

You ⁸  influenced Daughter Zion ⁹  to sin, ¹⁰ 

for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ¹¹  to you!

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. ¹² 

I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, ¹³ 

like a flock in the middle of a pasture; ¹⁴ 

they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. ¹⁵ 

Micah 3:1

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ¹⁶  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ¹⁷  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ¹⁸ 

Micah 3:8-9

3:8 But I ¹⁹  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ²⁰ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ²¹ 

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ²²  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²³  of Israel!

You ²⁴  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

Micah 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ²⁵  But now slash yourself, ²⁶  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ²⁷ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ²⁸  they strike Israel’s ruler ²⁹ 

on the side of his face.

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ³⁰  will hand the people of Israel ³¹  over to their enemies ³² 

until the time when the woman in labor ³³  gives birth. ³⁴ 

Then the rest of the king’s ³⁵  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ³⁶ 

Micah 6:2

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ³⁷ 

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

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[1:13]  ⁷ sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”

[1:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “she”; this has been translated as second person (“you”) in keeping with the direct address to the residents of Lachish in the previous line.

[1:13]  ⁹ sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”

[2:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”

[2:12]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.

[2:12]  ¹⁶ 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.

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:8]  ²⁵ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ³² tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ³³ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[5:1]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  ⁴¹ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[5:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ⁴⁶ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ⁴⁷ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:2]  ⁴⁹ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.