Micah 5:10-15

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.

5:11 I will destroy the cities of your land,

and tear down all your fortresses.

5:12 I will remove the sorcery ²  that you practice, ³ 

and you will no longer have omen readers living among you. ⁴ 

5:13 I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst;

you will no longer worship what your own hands made.

5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah ⁵  from your midst,

and destroy your idols. ⁶ 

5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance

on the nations that do not obey me.” ⁷ 

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

[5:12]  ² tn Heb “magic charms” (so NCV, TEV); NIV, NLT “witchcraft”; NAB “the means of divination.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but note its use in Isa 47:9, 12.

[5:12]  ³ tn Heb “from your hands.”

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you will not have omen-readers.”

[5:14]  ⁵ tn Or “Asherah poles.”

[5:14]  ⁶ tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”