Micah 2:2

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ¹ 

They defraud people of their homes, ² 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ³ 

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁴  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ⁵ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ⁶ 

People will stream to it.

Micah 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ⁷ 

you follow their policies. ⁸ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ⁹ 

the city’s ¹⁰  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ¹¹ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ¹² 

Micah 7:9

7:9 I must endure ¹³  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ¹⁴  he will defend my cause, ¹⁵ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ¹⁶  his deliverance. ¹⁷ 

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹⁸ 

You ¹⁹  forgive sin

and pardon ²⁰  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ²¹ 

You do not remain angry forever, ²² 

but delight in showing loyal love.

Micah 2:4

2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you –

they will mock you with this lament: ²³ 

‘We are completely destroyed;

they sell off ²⁴  the property of my people.

How they remove it from me! ²⁵ 

They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ ²⁶ 

Micah 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ²⁷  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ²⁸  distant nations. ²⁹ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ³⁰ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ³¹ 

Nations will not use weapons ³²  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[6:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ¹² tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ¹² tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[7:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[2:4]  ¹⁶ tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).

[2:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “exchange.” The LXX suggests a reading יִמַּד (yimmad) from מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). In this case one could translate, “the property of my people is measured out [i.e., for resale].”

[2:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[2:4]  ¹⁹ tc The Hebrew term שׁוֹבֵב (shovev, “the one turning back”) elsewhere has the nuance “apostate” (cf. NASB) or “traitor” (cf. NIV). The translation assumes an emendation to שָׁבָה (shavah, “captor”).

[4:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “take up the sword.”