Discovery BoxMicah 2:7 
Context2:7 Does the family 1 of Jacob say, 2
‘The Lord’s patience 3 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 4
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 5
Micah 3:3
Context3:3 You 6 devour my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot 7 –
like meat in a kettle.
Micah 4:7
Context4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 8
and those far off 9 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 10
Micah 4:12
Context4:12 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
ContextShould 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
Context7:3 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
Context7:10 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.
1 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
2 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).
3 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
4 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
5 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
6 tn Heb “who.”
7 tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).
8 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
9 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).
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
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 (bÿ’admatenu).
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.”
