Micah 3:10

3:10 You ¹  build Zion through bloody crimes, ² 

Jerusalem ³  through unjust violence.

Micah 1:12

1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth ⁴  hope for something good to happen, ⁵ 

though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Micah 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ⁷  Zion will be plowed up like ⁸  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ⁹  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ¹⁰ 

Micah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹¹  Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message ¹²  during the reigns of ¹³  Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to ¹⁴  Samaria ¹⁵  and Jerusalem. ¹⁶ 

Micah 1:5

1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion

and ¹⁷  the sins of the nation ¹⁸  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ¹⁹ 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ²⁰ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ²¹ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ²² 

Micah 1:9

1:9 For Samaria’s ²³  disease ²⁴  is incurable.

It has infected ²⁵  Judah;

it has spread to ²⁶  the leadership ²⁷  of my people

and has even contaminated Jerusalem! ²⁸ 

Micah 4:8

4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, ²⁹ 

fortress of Daughter Zion ³⁰  –

your former dominion will be restored, ³¹ 

the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.

Micah 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple ³²  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ³³ 

and we can live by his laws.” ³⁴ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ³⁵ 

[3:10]  ¹ tn Heb “who.”

[3:10]  ² tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”

[3:10]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:12]  ⁴ sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”

[1:12]  ⁵ tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).

[1:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.”

[3:12]  ⁷ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ⁸ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.

[1:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Samaria) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tc The MT reads the plural “wounds”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “come to.”

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “reached.”

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “to Jerusalem.” The expression “it has contaminated” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to fill out the parallelism with the preceding line.

[4:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).

[4:8]  ²⁰ sn The city of David, located within Jerusalem, is addressed as Daughter Zion. As the home of the Davidic king, who was Israel’s shepherd (Ps 78:70-72), the royal citadel could be viewed metaphorically as the watchtower of the flock.

[4:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”

[4:2]  ²² tn Heb “house.”

[4:2]  ²³ tn Heb “ways.”

[4:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”

[4:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”