Micah 2:1

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ² 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ³ 

because they have the power to do so.

Jeremiah 18:11

18:11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem ⁴  this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. ⁵  So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. ⁶  Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’ ⁷ 

Jeremiah 34:17

34:17 So I, the Lord, say: “You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. ⁸  Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom ⁹  to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁰  I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you. ¹¹ 

Lamentations 2:17

ע (Ayin)

2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled ¹²  his promise ¹³ 

that he threatened ¹⁴  long ago: ¹⁵ 

He has overthrown you without mercy ¹⁶ 

and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;

he has exalted your adversaries’ power. ¹⁷ 

James 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ¹⁸  judgment.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[18:11]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:11]  ⁵ sn Heb “I am forming disaster and making plans against you.” The word translated “forming” is the same as that for “potter,” so there is a wordplay taking the reader back to v. 5. They are in his hands like the clay in the hands of the potter. Since they have not been pliable he forms new plans. He still offers them opportunity to repent; but their response is predictable.

[18:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “Turn, each one from his wicked way.” See v. 8.

[18:11]  ⁷ tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” See the same expression in 7:3, 5.

[34:17]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has a compound object, the two terms of which have been synonyms in vv. 14, 15. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 189) make the interesting observation that these two terms (Heb “brother” and “neighbor”) emphasize the relationships that should have taken precedence over their being viewed as mere slaves.

[34:17]  ⁹ sn This is, of course, a metaphorical and ironical use of the term “to grant freedom to.” It is, however, a typical statement of the concept of talionic justice which is quite often operative in God’s judgments in the OT (cf., e.g., Obad 15).

[34:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[34:17]  ¹¹ sn Compare Jer 15:4; 24:9; 29:18.

[2:17]  ¹² tn The verb בָּצַע (batsa’) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.

[2:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsa’, “to fulfill,” see previous tn), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (’imrah) means “promise.”

[2:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.

[2:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from days of old.”

[2:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas vÿlo’ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (vÿlo’ khamal) alludes to 2:2.

[2:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.

[2:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.