Discovery BoxMicah 4:6-10
Context4:6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will gather the lame,
and assemble the outcasts whom I injured. 1
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 2
and those far off 3 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 4
4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, 5
fortress of Daughter Zion 6 –
your former dominion will be restored, 7
the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.
4:9 Jerusalem, why are you 8 now shouting so loudly? 9
Has your king disappeared? 10
Has your wise leader 11 been destroyed?
Is this why 12 pain grips 13 you as if you were a woman in labor?
4:10 Twist and strain, 14 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 15 you
from the power 16 of your enemies.
[4:6] 1 sn The exiles of the nation are compared to lame and injured sheep.
[4:7] 2 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
[4:7] 3 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] 4 tn Heb “from now until forever.”
[4:8] 3 tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).
[4:8] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”
[4:9] 4 tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.
[4:9] 5 tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”
[4:9] 6 tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”
[4:9] 7 tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.
[4:9] 8 tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.
[4:9] 9 tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”
[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.
