Discovery BoxMicah 5:3 
Context5:3 So the Lord 1 will hand the people of Israel 2 over to their enemies 3
until the time when the woman in labor 4 gives birth. 5
Then the rest of the king’s 6 countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel. 7
Micah 7:4
Context7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;
the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. 8
The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –
your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, 9
and then you will experience confusion. 10
Micah 7:9
Context7:9 I must endure 11 the Lord’s anger,
for I have sinned against him.
But then 12 he will defend my cause, 13
and accomplish justice on my behalf.
He will lead me out into the light;
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
2 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.
5 sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.
6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 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.
8 tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.
9 tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”
10 tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”
11 tn Heb “lift, bear.”
12 tn Heb “until.”
13 tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”
14 tn Heb “see.”
15 tn Or “justice, vindication.”
