Discovery BoxMicah 1:5-9
Context1:5 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
1:6 “I will turn Samaria 7 into a heap of ruins in an open field –
vineyards will be planted there! 8
I will tumble 9 the rubble of her stone walls 10 down into the valley,
and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. 11
1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;
all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. 12
I will make a waste heap 13 of all her images.
Since 14 she gathered the metal 15 as a prostitute collects her wages,
the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” 16
1:8 For this reason I 17 will mourn and wail;
I will walk around barefoot 18 and without my outer garments. 19
I will howl 20 like a wild dog, 21
and screech 22 like an owl. 23
1:9 For Samaria’s 24 disease 25 is incurable.
It has infected 26 Judah;
it has spread to 27 the leadership 28 of my people
and has even contaminated Jerusalem! 29
[1:5] 1 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[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!”
[1:6] 7 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[1:6] 8 tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”
[1:6] 9 tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”
[1:6] 10 tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.
[1:6] 11 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] 13 tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”
[1:7] 14 tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).
[1:7] 15 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).
[1:7] 16 tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.
[1:7] 17 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] 19 tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.
[1:8] 20 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] 21 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] 22 tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”
[1:8] 23 tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”
[1:8] 24 tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”
[1:8] 25 tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
[1:9] 25 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 26 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
[1:9] 29 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] 30 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.
