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.

Micah 3:7

3:7 The prophets ⁴  will be ashamed;

the omen readers will be humiliated.

All of them will cover their mouths, ⁵ 

for they will receive no divine oracles.” ⁶ 

Micah 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ⁷  Zion will be plowed up like ⁸  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ⁹  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ¹⁰ 

Micah 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ¹¹ 

and those far off ¹²  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ¹³ 

Micah 6:10

6:10 “I will not overlook, ¹⁴  O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, ¹⁵ 

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. ¹⁶ 

Micah 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ¹⁷  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ¹⁸ 

[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.”

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Or “seers.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”

[3:12]  ⁷ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ⁸ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[4:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ¹¹ tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).

[4:7]  ¹² tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[6:10]  ¹³ tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”

[6:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”

[6:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”

[7:16]  ¹⁶ tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the Lord’s power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.