1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to 1 Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message 2 during the reigns of 3 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to 4 Samaria 5 and Jerusalem. 6
2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! 7
It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. 8
You will no longer 9 walk proudly,
for it will be a time of catastrophe.
2:7 Does the family 10 of Jacob say, 11
‘The Lord’s patience 12 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 13
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 14
2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out 15
they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. 16
Their king will advance 17 before them,
The Lord himself will lead them. 18
3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, 19
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have done such wicked deeds.”
3:8 But I 20 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 21
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 22
4:1 In the future 23 the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; 24
it will be more prominent than other hills. 25
People will stream to it.
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 26
and those far off 27 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 28
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 29 at the threshing floor.
6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, 30
how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.
Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,
so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” 31
6:6 With what should I 32 enter the Lord’s presence?
With what 33 should I bow before the sovereign God? 34
Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,
or ten thousand streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,
my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? 35
6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you: 36
He wants you to 37 promote 38 justice, to be faithful, 39
and to live obediently before 40 your God.
7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.
They say 41 to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
I will gloat over them. 42
Then they will be trampled down 43
like mud in the streets.
7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like serpents crawling on the ground. 44
They will come trembling from their strongholds
to the Lord our God; 45
they will be terrified 46 of you. 47
1 tn Heb “The word of the
2 tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”
5 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”
8 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.
9 tn Or “you will not.”
10 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
11 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).
12 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
13 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
14 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
15 tn Heb “the one who breaks through goes up before them.” The verb form is understood as a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of this coming event.
16 tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.
sn The “fold” from which the sheep/people break out is probably a reference to their place of exile.
17 tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.
18 tn Heb “the
19 tn Heb “then they will cry out to the
20 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
21 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
22 tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
23 tn Heb “at the end of days.”
24 tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”
25 tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”
26 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
27 tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).
28 tn Heb “from now until forever.”
29 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
30 tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”
31 tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the
32 sn With what should I enter the
33 tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.
34 tn Or “the exalted God.”
35 tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”
36 sn What the
37 tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”
38 tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”
39 tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”
40 tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”
41 tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
42 tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”
43 tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”
44 tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view.
45 tn Thetranslationassumesthatthe phrase אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (’el-yÿhvah ’elohenu, “to the
46 tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.”
47 tn The