Micah 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ¹  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ²  distant nations. ³ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ⁴ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ⁵ 

Nations will not use weapons ⁶  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Micah 6:14

6:14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.

Even if you have the strength ⁷  to overtake some prey, ⁸ 

you will not be able to carry it away; ⁹ 

if you do happen to carry away something,

I will deliver it over to the sword.

Micah 5:6

5:6 They will rule ¹⁰  the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod ¹¹  with a drawn sword. ¹² 

Our king ¹³  will rescue us from the Assyrians

should they attempt to invade our land

and try to set foot in our territory.

[4:3]  ¹ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ² tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ⁴ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[4:3]  ⁵ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “take up the sword.”

[6:14]  ⁷ tc The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, vÿyeshkhakha) is obscure. HALOT 446 s.v. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַ-וְיֶשׁ (vÿyesh-koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).

[6:14]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vÿtasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 80.

[6:14]  ⁹ tn The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.

[5:6]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”

[5:6]  ¹⁴ sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.

[5:6]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).

[5:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.