Micah 2:9

2:9 You wrongly evict widows ¹  among my people from their cherished homes.

You defraud their children ²  of their prized inheritance. ³ 

Micah 3:2

3:2 yet you ⁴  hate what is good, ⁵ 

and love what is evil. ⁶ 

You flay my people’s skin ⁷ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ⁸ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the Lord bestowed on each Israelite family by giving them a share of his land to be inherited perpetually from one generation to another within each family. The term הָדָר (hadar) may refer to possessions that a person prizes (Lam 1:6).

[3:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ⁶ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”