Micah 2:8

2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. ¹ 

You steal a robe from a friend, ² 

from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. ³ 

Micah 7:19

7:19 You will once again ⁴  have mercy on us;

you will conquer ⁵  our evil deeds;

you will hurl our ⁶  sins into the depths of the sea. ⁷ 

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ⁸  will hand the people of Israel ⁹  over to their enemies ¹⁰ 

until the time when the woman in labor ¹¹  gives birth. ¹² 

Then the rest of the king’s ¹³  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ¹⁴ 

Micah 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹⁵ 

I will make a waste heap ¹⁶  of all her images.

Since ¹⁷  she gathered the metal ¹⁸  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ¹⁹ 

[2:8]  ¹ tc Heb “Recently my people rise up as an enemy.” The MT is problematic in light of v. 9, where “my people” are the object of oppression, not the perpetrators of it. The form וְאֶתְמוּל (vÿ’etmul, “and recently”) is probably the product of fusion and subsequent suppression of an (ע) ayin. The translation assumes an emendation to וְאַתֶּם עַל (vÿ’attem ’al, “and you against [my people]”). The second person plural pronoun fits well with the second plural verb forms of vv. 8b-10. If this emendation is accepted, then יְקוֹמֵם (yÿqomem, the imperfect of קוּם [qum]) should be emended to קָמִים (qamim; a participle from the same root).

[2:8]  ² tc Heb “From the front of a garment glory [or perhaps, “a robe”] you strip off,” but this makes little if any sense. The term מִמּוּל (mimmul, “from the front of”) is probably the product of dittography (note the preceding word, which ends in [ם] mem) and subsequent suppression of ע (ayin). The translation assumes an emendation to מֵעַל (me’al, “from upon”). The translation also assumes an emendation of שַׂלְמָה אֶדֶר (salmah ’eder, “a garment, glory [or robe]”) to שֹׁלְמִים אֲדֶרֶת (sholÿmim ’aderet, “[from] a friend the robe [you strip off]”). The MT’s אֶדֶר (’eder) is the result of misdivision (the article has erroneously been attached to the preceding word) and haplography (of the final tav, which also begins the following word).

[2:8]  ³ tc The passive participle שׁוּבֵי (shuvey) is unattested elsewhere and should be emended to a participle שָׁבִים (shavim).

[7:19]  ⁴ tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

[7:19]  ⁵ tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

[7:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

[7:19]  ⁷ sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁹ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ¹⁰ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ¹¹ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ¹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ¹² tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ¹³ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.