Micah 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹ 

I will make a waste heap ²  of all her images.

Since ³  she gathered the metal ⁴  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ⁵ 

Micah 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ⁶  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ⁷  distant nations. ⁸ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ⁹ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ¹⁰ 

Nations will not use weapons ¹¹  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ⁵ 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 Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ⁷ tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ⁹ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[4:3]  ¹⁰ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[4:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “take up the sword.”