Micah 5:10

The Lord Will Purify His People

5:10 “In that day,” says the Lord,

“I will destroy ¹  your horses from your midst,

and smash your chariots.

Micah 4:9

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ²  now shouting so loudly? ³ 

Has your king disappeared? ⁴ 

Has your wise leader ⁵  been destroyed?

Is this why ⁶  pain grips ⁷  you as if you were a woman in labor?

Micah 7:2

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ⁸  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ⁹ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ¹⁰ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ¹¹ 

[5:10]  ¹ tn Heb “cut off” (also in the following verse).

[4:9]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[7:2]  ³ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ⁶ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.