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 4:9-10

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.

[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.

[4:9]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[4:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”

[4:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.