1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and 1 the sins of the nation 2 of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? 3
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! 4
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? 5
They are right in Jerusalem! 6
3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; 7
it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. 8
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. 9
4:13 “Get up and thresh, Daughter Zion!
For I will give you iron horns; 10
I will give you bronze hooves,
and you will crush many nations.” 11
You will devote to the Lord the spoils you take from them,
and dedicate their wealth to the sovereign Ruler 12 of the whole earth. 13
5:3 So the Lord 14 will hand the people of Israel 15 over to their enemies 16
until the time when the woman in labor 17 gives birth. 18
Then the rest of the king’s 19 countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel. 20
6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,
and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; 21
you follow their policies. 22
Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, 23
the city’s 24 inhabitants will be taunted derisively, 25
and nations will mock all of you.” 26
1 tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “house.”
3 tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”
4 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.
5 tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”
6 tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”
sn In vv. 2-5 Micah narrows the scope of God’s judgment from the nations (vv. 2-4) to his covenant people (v. 5). Universal judgment is coming, but ironically Israel is the focal point of God’s anger. In v. 5c the prophet includes Judah within the scope of divine judgment, for it has followed in the pagan steps of the northern kingdom. He accomplishes this with rhetorical skill. In v. 5b he develops the first assertion of v. 5a (“All of this is because of Jacob’s rebellion”). One expects in v. 5c an elaboration of the second assertion in v. 5a (“and the sins of the nation of Israel”), which one assumes, in light of v. 5b, pertains to the northern kingdom. But the prophet specifies the “sins” as “high places” and makes it clear that “the nation of Israel” includes Judah. Verses 6-7 further develop v. 5b (judgment on the northern kingdom), while vv. 8-16 expand on v. 5c (judgment on Judah).
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 “it will be night for you without a vision.”
sn The coming of night (and darkness in the following line) symbolizes the cessation of revelation.
8 tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”
sn The reading of omens (Heb “divination”) was forbidden in the law (Deut 18:10), so this probably reflects the prophets’ view of how they received divine revelation.
9 tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”
10 tn Heb “I will make your horn iron.”
11 sn Jerusalem (Daughter Zion at the beginning of the verse; cf. 4:8) is here compared to a powerful ox which crushes the grain on the threshing floor with its hooves.
12 tn Or “the Lord” (so many English versions); Heb “the master.”
13 tn Heb “and their wealth to the master of all the earth.” The verb “devote” does double duty in the parallelism and is supplied in the second line for clarification.
sn In vv. 11-13 the prophet jumps from the present crisis (which will result in exile, v. 10) to a time beyond the restoration of the exiles when God will protect his city from invaders. The
14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
15 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
17 sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.
18 sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.
19 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
sn The rest of the king’s brothers are the coming king’s fellow Judahites, while the sons of Israel are the northern tribes. The verse pictures the reunification of the nation under the Davidic king. See Isa 11:12-13; Jer 31:2-6, 15-20; Ezek 37; Hos 1:11; 3:5.
21 tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”
22 tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”
sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.
23 tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.
24 tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.
26 tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).
tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.