Micah 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

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

to the temple ¹  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ² 

and we can live by his laws.” ³ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Micah 4:10

4:10 Twist and strain, ⁵  Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor!

For you will leave the city

and live in the open field.

You will go to Babylon,

but there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will deliver ⁶  you

from the power ⁷  of your enemies.

Micah 5:2

A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper

5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ⁸ 

seemingly insignificant ⁹  among the clans of Judah –

from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ¹⁰ 

one whose origins ¹¹  are in the distant past. ¹² 

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “house.”

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “ways.”

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”

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

[4:10]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”

[4:10]  ⁶ tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[4:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.

[5:2]  ⁹ sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.

[5:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.

[5:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”

[5:2]  ¹² tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.

[5:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.