Micah 1:8

1:8 For this reason I ¹  will mourn and wail;

I will walk around barefoot ²  and without my outer garments. ³ 

I will howl ⁴  like a wild dog, ⁵ 

and screech ⁶  like an owl. ⁷ 

Micah 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁸ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

[1:8]  ¹ tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.

[1:8]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[3:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.