Micah 2:3

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ¹ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ² 

You will no longer ³  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

Micah 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ⁴  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ⁵  distant nations. ⁶ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ⁷ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ⁸ 

Nations will not use weapons ⁹  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Micah 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ¹⁰  Jacob will live ¹¹ 

in the midst of many nations. ¹² 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ¹³ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:3]  ³ tn Or “you will not.”

[4:3]  ⁴ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ⁵ tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “take up the sword.”

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ⁹ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”