Micah 2:3

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ¹ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ² 

You will no longer ³  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

Micah 3:8

3:8 But I ⁴  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ⁵ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ⁶ 

Micah 4:7

4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, ⁷ 

and those far off ⁸  into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” ⁹ 

Micah 6:7

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? ¹⁰ 

Micah 7:10

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ¹¹  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ¹² 

Then they will be trampled down ¹³ 

like mud in the streets.

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¹ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

² 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.

³ tn Or “you will not.”

⁴ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

⁵ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

⁸ 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).

⁹ tn Heb “from now until forever.”

¹⁰ 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.”

¹¹ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹² tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

¹³ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”