Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ¹  will hand the people of Israel ²  over to their enemies ³ 

until the time when the woman in labor ⁴  gives birth. ⁵ 

Then the rest of the king’s ⁶  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ⁷ 

Micah 2:9

2:9 You wrongly evict widows ⁸  among my people from their cherished homes.

You defraud their children ⁹  of their prized inheritance. ¹⁰ 

Micah 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹¹ 

I will make a waste heap ¹²  of all her images.

Since ¹³  she gathered the metal ¹⁴  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ¹⁵ 

Micah 2:4

2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you –

they will mock you with this lament: ¹⁶ 

‘We are completely destroyed;

they sell off ¹⁷  the property of my people.

How they remove it from me! ¹⁸ 

They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ ¹⁹ 

[5:3]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ² tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ³ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ⁴ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ⁵ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the Lord bestowed on each Israelite family by giving them a share of his land to be inherited perpetually from one generation to another within each family. The term הָדָר (hadar) may refer to possessions that a person prizes (Lam 1:6).

[1:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ¹⁸ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[2:4]  ²² tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).

[2:4]  ²³ tn Or “exchange.” The LXX suggests a reading יִמַּד (yimmad) from מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). In this case one could translate, “the property of my people is measured out [i.e., for resale].”

[2:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[2:4]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew term שׁוֹבֵב (shovev, “the one turning back”) elsewhere has the nuance “apostate” (cf. NASB) or “traitor” (cf. NIV). The translation assumes an emendation to שָׁבָה (shavah, “captor”).