Micah 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ¹  But now slash yourself, ²  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ³ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ⁴  they strike Israel’s ruler ⁵ 

on the side of his face.

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ⁶  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ⁷ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ⁸  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ⁹ 

Disaster will not overtake ¹⁰  us!”

[5:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ² tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[3:11]  ⁶ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”