Micah 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ¹ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ² 

in ancient times. ³ 

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ⁴ 

You ⁵  forgive sin

and pardon ⁶  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ⁷ 

You do not remain angry forever, ⁸ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

Micah 6:8

6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: ⁹ 

He wants you to ¹⁰  promote ¹¹  justice, to be faithful, ¹² 

and to live obediently before ¹³  your God.

[7:20]  ¹ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ² tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ³ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[7:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “pass over.”

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

[7:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[6:8]  ⁷ sn What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.

[6:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”

[6:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”

[6:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”