Micah 2:7

2:7 Does the family ¹  of Jacob say, ² 

‘The Lord’s patience ³  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ⁴ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ⁵ 

Micah 2:13

2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out ⁶ 

they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. ⁷ 

Their king will advance ⁸  before them,

The Lord himself will lead them. ⁹ 

Micah 7:4

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ¹⁰ 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ¹¹ 

and then you will experience confusion. ¹² 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ² tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

[2:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[2:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “the one who breaks through goes up before them.” The verb form is understood as a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of this coming event.

[2:13]  ⁷ tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.

[2:13]  ⁸ tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.

[2:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord [will be] at their head.”

[7:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

[7:4]  ¹² tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

[7:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”