Micah 7:8-9

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ¹  do not gloat ²  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ³ 

7:9 I must endure ⁴  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ⁵  he will defend my cause, ⁶ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ⁷  his deliverance. ⁸ 

Micah 7:18-19

7:18 There is no other God like you! ⁹ 

You ¹⁰  forgive sin

and pardon ¹¹  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹² 

You do not remain angry forever, ¹³ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

7:19 You will once again ¹⁴  have mercy on us;

you will conquer ¹⁵  our evil deeds;

you will hurl our ¹⁶  sins into the depths of the sea. ¹⁷ 

[7:8]  ¹ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ² tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ³ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[7:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹² tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[7:19]  ¹⁴ tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

[7:19]  ¹⁵ tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

[7:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

[7:19]  ¹⁷ sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).