¹ tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

² tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.

³ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

⁴ tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”

⁵ tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁶ tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.

⁷ tn Heb “I will make your horn iron.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn Or “the Lord” (so many English versions); Heb “the master.”

¹⁰ 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 Lord’s victory over the Assyrian armies in 701 b.c. foreshadowed this.

¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹⁴ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

¹⁵ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

¹⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

¹⁹ tn Heb “will be.”

²⁰ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

²¹ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

sn Men wait eagerly for the dew and the rain, not vice versa. Just as the dew and rain are subject to the Lord, not men, so the remnant of Israel will succeed by the supernatural power of God and not need the support of other nations. There may even be a military metaphor here. Israel will overwhelm their enemies, just as the dew completely covers the grass (see 2 Sam 17:12). This interpretation would be consistent with the image of v. 7.

²² tn Heb “lift, bear.”

²³ tn Heb “until.”

²⁴ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

²⁵ tn Heb “see.”

²⁶ tn Or “justice, vindication.”