Micah 6:15

6:15 You will plant crops, but will not harvest them;

you will squeeze oil from the olives, ¹  but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies; ² 

you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink. ³ 

Micah 2:6

2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. ⁴ 

‘These prophets should not preach of such things;

we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ ⁵ 

Micah 4:12

4:12 But they do not know what the Lord is planning;

they do not understand his strategy.

He has gathered them like stalks of grain to be threshed ⁶  at the threshing floor.

Micah 1:5

1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion

and ⁷  the sins of the nation ⁸  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ⁹ 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ¹⁰ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ¹¹ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ¹² 

Micah 6:14

6:14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.

Even if you have the strength ¹³  to overtake some prey, ¹⁴ 

you will not be able to carry it away; ¹⁵ 

if you do happen to carry away something,

I will deliver it over to the sword.

Micah 5:12

5:12 I will remove the sorcery ¹⁶  that you practice, ¹⁷ 

and you will no longer have omen readers living among you. ¹⁸ 

Micah 2:5

2:5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community. ¹⁹ 

Micah 2:10

2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! ²⁰ 

For this land is not secure! ²¹ 

Sin will thoroughly destroy it! ²² 

Micah 5:13

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

you will no longer worship what your own hands made.

Micah 5:15

5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance

on the nations that do not obey me.” ²³ 

Micah 2:3

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ²⁴ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ²⁵ 

You will no longer ²⁶  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ²⁷  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ²⁸ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ²⁹  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ³⁰ 

Disaster will not overtake ³¹  us!”

Micah 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ³²  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ³³  distant nations. ³⁴ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ³⁵ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ³⁶ 

Nations will not use weapons ³⁷  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Micah 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ³⁸  Jacob will live ³⁹ 

in the midst of many nations. ⁴⁰ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ⁴¹ 

Micah 1:11

1:11 Residents ⁴²  of Shaphir, ⁴³  pass by in nakedness and humiliation! ⁴⁴ 

The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. ⁴⁵ 

Beth Ezel ⁴⁶  mourns, ⁴⁷ 

“He takes from you what he desires.” ⁴⁸ 

Micah 2:7

2:7 Does the family ⁴⁹  of Jacob say, ⁵⁰ 

‘The Lord’s patience ⁵¹  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ⁵² 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ⁵³ 

Micah 3:1

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ⁵⁴  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ⁵⁵  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ⁵⁶ 

Micah 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁵⁷ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ⁵⁸ 

You ⁵⁹  forgive sin

and pardon ⁶⁰  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ⁶¹ 

You do not remain angry forever, ⁶² 

but delight in showing loyal love.

Micah 3:5

3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people

are as good as dead. ⁶³ 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ⁶⁴ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ⁶⁵ 

[6:15]  ¹ tn Heb “you will tread olives.” Literally treading on olives with one’s feet could be harmful and would not supply the necessary pressure to release the oil. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 119. The Hebrew term דָּרַךְ (darakh) may have an idiomatic sense of “press” here, or perhaps the imagery of the following parallel line (referring to treading grapes) has dictated the word choice.

[6:15]  ² tn Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”

[6:15]  ³ tn Heb “and juice, but you will not drink wine.” The verb תִדְרֹךְ (tidrokh, “you will tread”) must be supplied from the preceding line.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the Lord’s prophets not to “foam at the mouth,” which probably refers in a derogatory way to their impassioned style of delivery. But the Lord (who is probably still speaking here, see v. 3) sarcastically refers to their impassioned exhortation as “foaming at the mouth.”

[2:6]  ⁵ tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the Lord here condemns the people for their “foaming at the mouth” and then announces that judgment is inevitable. The present translation assumes that this is a continuation of the quotation of what the people say. In this case the subject of “foam at the mouth” is the Lord’s prophets. In the second line יִסַּג (yissag, a Niphal imperfect from סוּג, sug, “to remove”) is emended to יַסִּגֵנוּ (yassigenu; a Hiphil imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג, nasag/nasag, “to reach; to overtake”).

[4:12]  ⁷ tn The words “to be threshed” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the Lord is planning to enable “Daughter Zion” to “thresh” her enemies.

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ¹² tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[6:14]  ¹³ tc The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, vÿyeshkhakha) is obscure. HALOT 446 s.v. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַ-וְיֶשׁ (vÿyesh-koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).

[6:14]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vÿtasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 80.

[6:14]  ¹⁵ tn The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.

[5:12]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from your hands.”

[5:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and you will not have omen-readers.”

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “therefore you will not have one who strings out a measuring line by lot in the assembly of the Lord.”

[2:10]  ²² tn Heb “Arise and go!” These imperatives are rhetorical. Those who wrongly drove widows and orphans from their homes and land inheritances will themselves be driven out of the land (cf. Isa 5:8-17). This is an example of poetic justice.

[2:10]  ²³ tn Heb “for this is no resting place.” The Lord speaks to the oppressors.

[2:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “uncleanness will destroy, and destruction will be severe.”

[5:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”

[2:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:3]  ³⁰ tn Or “you will not.”

[3:11]  ³¹ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ³² tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ³³ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ³⁵ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[4:3]  ³⁴ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ³⁵ tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ³⁷ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[4:3]  ³⁸ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[4:3]  ³⁹ tn Heb “take up the sword.”

[5:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ³⁹ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew participial form, which is feminine singular, is here used in a collective sense for the all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.

[1:11]  ⁴¹ sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.

[1:11]  ⁴² tn The imperatival form is used rhetorically, emphasizing that the inhabitants of Shaphir will pass by into exile.

[1:11]  ⁴³ tn Heb “have not come out”; NIV “will not come out”; NLT “dare not come outside.”

[1:11]  ⁴⁴ sn The place name Beth Ezel means “house of nearness” or “house of proximity” in Hebrew.

[1:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the lamentation of Beth Ezel.” The following words could be the lamentation offered up by Beth Ezel (subjective genitive) or the mourning song sung over it (objective genitive).

[1:11]  ⁴⁶ tc The form עֶמְדָּתוֹ (’emdato) should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ (khamadto, “his (the conqueror’s) desire”).

[2:7]  ⁴³ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ⁴⁴ tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

[2:7]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[3:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:18]  ⁵² tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[3:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

[3:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.

[3:5]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”