Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ¹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ² 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ³ 

People will stream to it.

Micah 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ⁴  will come to you ⁵ 

from Assyria as far as ⁶  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ⁷ 

from the seacoasts ⁸  and the mountains. ⁹ 

Micah 1:4

1:4 The mountains will disintegrate ¹⁰  beneath him,

and the valleys will be split in two. ¹¹ 

The mountains will melt ¹²  like wax in a fire,

the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. ¹³ 

Micah 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ¹⁴  Zion will be plowed up like ¹⁵  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ¹⁶  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ¹⁷ 

Micah 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ¹⁸ 

and those far off ¹⁹  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ²⁰ 

Micah 6:1-2

The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself ²¹  before the mountains! ²² 

Present your case before the hills!” ²³ 

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ²⁴ 

Micah 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

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

to the temple ²⁵  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ²⁶ 

and we can live by his laws.” ²⁷ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ²⁸ 

[4:1]  ¹ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[7:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “they.” The referent has been specified as “people,” referring either to the nations (coming to God with their tribute) or to the exiles of Israel (returning to the Lord).

[7:12]  ⁵ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ⁶ tc The MT reads וְעָרֵי (vÿ’arey, “and the cities [of Egypt]”), but the parallel line indicates this is a corruption of וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “even to”).

[7:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).

[1:4]  ⁸ sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.

[1:4]  ⁹ tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.

[3:12]  ¹⁰ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

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

[3:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[4:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).

[4:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from now until forever.”

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”

[6:1]  ¹⁷ sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[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.”