Micah 2:7

2:7 Does the family of Jacob say,

‘The Lord’s patience can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’?

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them,

Micah 3:3

3:3 You devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot

like meat in a kettle.

Micah 4:7

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

and those far off into a mighty nation.

The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,

from that day forward and forevermore.” 10 

Micah 4:12

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 11  at the threshing floor.

Micah 5:5

5:5 He will give us peace. 12 

Should the Assyrians try to invade our land

and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, 13 

we will send 14  against them seven 15  shepherd-rulers, 16 

make that eight commanders. 17 

Micah 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; 18 

government officials and judges take bribes, 19 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. 20 

Micah 7:10

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

They say 21  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. 22 

Then they will be trampled down 23 

like mud in the streets.


tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

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).

tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

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 Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

tn Heb “who.”

tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaasher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kisher, “like flesh”).

tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”

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 (hannilah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (laah).

10 tn Heb “from now until forever.”

11 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 Lord is planning to enable “Daughter Zion” to “thresh” her enemies.

12 tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).

13 tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿadmatenu).

14 tn Heb “raise up.”

15 sn The numbers seven and eight here symbolize completeness and emphasize that Israel will have more than enough military leadership and strength to withstand the Assyrian advance.

16 tn Heb “shepherds.”

17 tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”

18 tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

19 tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

20 tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

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

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

23 tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”