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 2:7

2:7 Does the family ⁷  of Jacob say, ⁸ 

‘The Lord’s patience ⁹  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ¹⁰ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ¹¹ 

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 3:9

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ¹⁹  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²⁰  of Israel!

You ²¹  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

Micah 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple ²²  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ²³ 

and we can live by his laws.” ²⁴ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ²⁵ 

Micah 5:7-8

5:7 Those survivors from ²⁶  Jacob will live ²⁷ 

in the midst of many nations. ²⁸ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ²⁹ 

5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples.

They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

which attacks when it passes through;

it rips its prey ³⁰  and there is no one to stop it. ³¹ 

[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!”

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ⁸ tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

[2:7]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[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!”

[3:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[4:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “house.”

[4:2]  ³² tn Heb “ways.”

[4:2]  ³³ tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”

[4:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[5:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ³⁹ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

[5:8]  ⁴³ tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”