Boks TemuanMicah 2:1--5:15
Konteks2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, 1
those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. 2
As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, 3
because they have the power to do so.
2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,
and seize the houses they want. 4
They defraud people of their homes, 5
and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 6
2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! 7
It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. 8
You will no longer 9 walk proudly,
for it will be a time of catastrophe.
2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you –
they will mock you with this lament: 10
‘We are completely destroyed;
they sell off 11 the property of my people.
How they remove it from me! 12
They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ 13
2:5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community. 14
2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. 15
‘These prophets should not preach of such things;
we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ 16
2:7 Does the family 17 of Jacob say, 18
‘The Lord’s patience 19 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 20
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 21
2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. 22
You steal a robe from a friend, 23
from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. 24
2:9 You wrongly evict widows 25 among my people from their cherished homes.
You defraud their children 26 of their prized inheritance. 27
2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! 28
For this land is not secure! 29
Sin will thoroughly destroy it! 30
2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, 31
‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ 32
he would be just the right preacher for these people! 33
2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. 34
I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, 35
like a flock in the middle of a pasture; 36
they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. 37
2:13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out 38
they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. 39
Their king will advance 40 before them,
The Lord himself will lead them. 41
3:1 I said,
“Listen, you leaders 42 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 43 of Israel!
You ought to know what is just, 44
3:2 yet you 45 hate what is good, 46
and love what is evil. 47
You flay my people’s skin 48
and rip the flesh from their bones. 49
3:3 You 50 devour my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot 51 –
like meat in a kettle.
3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, 52
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have done such wicked deeds.”
3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people
are as good as dead. 53
If someone gives them enough to eat,
they offer an oracle of peace. 54
But if someone does not give them food,
they are ready to declare war on him. 55
3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; 56
it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. 57
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. 58
3:7 The prophets 59 will be ashamed;
the omen readers will be humiliated.
All of them will cover their mouths, 60
for they will receive no divine oracles.” 61
3:8 But I 62 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 63
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 64
3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family 65 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 66 of Israel!
You 67 hate justice
and pervert all that is right.
3:10 You 68 build Zion through bloody crimes, 69
Jerusalem 70 through unjust violence.
3:11 Her 71 leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, 72
her priests proclaim rulings for profit,
and her prophets read omens for pay.
Yet they claim to trust 73 the Lord and say,
“The Lord is among us. 74
Disaster will not overtake 75 us!”
3:12 Therefore, because of you, 76 Zion will be plowed up like 77 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 78 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 79
4:1 In the future 80 the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; 81
it will be more prominent than other hills. 82
People will stream to it.
4:2 Many nations will come, saying,
“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple 83 of Jacob’s God,
so he can teach us his commands 84
and we can live by his laws.” 85
For Zion will be the source of instruction;
the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. 86
4:3 He will arbitrate 87 between many peoples
and settle disputes between many 88 distant nations. 89
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 90
and their spears into pruning hooks. 91
Nations will not use weapons 92 against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine
or under his own fig tree without any fear. 93
The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. 94
4:5 Though all the nations follow their respective gods, 95
we will follow 96 the Lord our God forever.
4:6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will gather the lame,
and assemble the outcasts whom I injured. 97
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 98
and those far off 99 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 100
4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, 101
fortress of Daughter Zion 102 –
your former dominion will be restored, 103
the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.
4:9 Jerusalem, why are you 104 now shouting so loudly? 105
Has your king disappeared? 106
Has your wise leader 107 been destroyed?
Is this why 108 pain grips 109 you as if you were a woman in labor?
4:10 Twist and strain, 110 Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor!
For you will leave the city
and live in the open field.
You will go to Babylon,
but there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will deliver 111 you
from the power 112 of your enemies.
4:11 Many nations have now assembled against you.
They say, “Jerusalem must be desecrated, 113
so we can gloat over Zion!” 114
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 115 at the threshing floor.
4:13 “Get up and thresh, Daughter Zion!
For I will give you iron horns; 116
I will give you bronze hooves,
and you will crush many nations.” 117
You will devote to the Lord the spoils you take from them,
and dedicate their wealth to the sovereign Ruler 118 of the whole earth. 119
5:1 (4:14) 120 But now slash yourself, 121 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 122
We are besieged!
With a scepter 123 they strike Israel’s ruler 124
on the side of his face.
5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 125
seemingly insignificant 126 among the clans of Judah –
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, 127
one whose origins 128 are in the distant past. 129
5:3 So the Lord 130 will hand the people of Israel 131 over to their enemies 132
until the time when the woman in labor 133 gives birth. 134
Then the rest of the king’s 135 countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel. 136
5:4 He will assume his post 137 and shepherd the people 138 by the Lord’s strength,
by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. 139
They will live securely, 140 for at that time he will be honored 141
even in the distant regions of 142 the earth.
5:5 He will give us peace. 143
Should the Assyrians try to invade our land
and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, 144
we will send 145 against them seven 146 shepherd-rulers, 147
make that eight commanders. 148
5:6 They will rule 149 the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod 150 with a drawn sword. 151
Our king 152 will rescue us from the Assyrians
should they attempt to invade our land
and try to set foot in our territory.
5:7 Those survivors from 153 Jacob will live 154
in the midst of many nations. 155
They will be like the dew the Lord sends,
like the rain on the grass,
that does not hope for men to come
or wait around for humans to arrive. 156
5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which attacks when it passes through;
it rips its prey 157 and there is no one to stop it. 158
5:9 Lift your hand triumphantly against your adversaries; 159
may all your enemies be destroyed! 160
5:10 “In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will destroy 161 your horses from your midst,
and smash your chariots.
5:11 I will destroy the cities of your land,
and tear down all your fortresses.
5:12 I will remove the sorcery 162 that you practice, 163
and you will no longer have omen readers living among you. 164
5:13 I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst;
you will no longer worship what your own hands made.
5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah 165 from your midst,
and destroy your idols. 166
5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance
on the nations that do not obey me.” 167
[2:1] 1 tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.
[2:1] 2 tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”
[2:1] 3 tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”
[2:2] 4 tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”
[2:2] 5 tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”
[2:2] 6 tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:3] 7 tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”
[2:3] 8 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.
[2:4] 10 tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).
[2:4] 11 tn Or “exchange.” The LXX suggests a reading יִמַּד (yimmad) from מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). In this case one could translate, “the property of my people is measured out [i.e., for resale].”
[2:4] 12 tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[2:4] 13 tc The Hebrew term שׁוֹבֵב (shovev, “the one turning back”) elsewhere has the nuance “apostate” (cf. NASB) or “traitor” (cf. NIV). The translation assumes an emendation to שָׁבָה (shavah, “captor”).
[2:5] 13 tn Heb “therefore you will not have one who strings out a measuring line by lot in the assembly of the
[2:6] 16 tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the
[2:6] 17 tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the
[2:7] 19 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
[2:7] 20 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).
[2:7] 21 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
[2:7] 22 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
[2:7] 23 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
[2:8] 22 tc Heb “Recently my people rise up as an enemy.” The MT is problematic in light of v. 9, where “my people” are the object of oppression, not the perpetrators of it. The form וְאֶתְמוּל (vÿ’etmul, “and recently”) is probably the product of fusion and subsequent suppression of an (ע) ayin. The translation assumes an emendation to וְאַתֶּם עַל (vÿ’attem ’al, “and you against [my people]”). The second person plural pronoun fits well with the second plural verb forms of vv. 8b-10. If this emendation is accepted, then יְקוֹמֵם (yÿqomem, the imperfect of קוּם [qum]) should be emended to קָמִים (qamim; a participle from the same root).
[2:8] 23 tc Heb “From the front of a garment glory [or perhaps, “a robe”] you strip off,” but this makes little if any sense. The term מִמּוּל (mimmul, “from the front of”) is probably the product of dittography (note the preceding word, which ends in [ם] mem) and subsequent suppression of ע (ayin). The translation assumes an emendation to מֵעַל (me’al, “from upon”). The translation also assumes an emendation of שַׂלְמָה אֶדֶר (salmah ’eder, “a garment, glory [or robe]”) to שֹׁלְמִים אֲדֶרֶת (sholÿmim ’aderet, “[from] a friend the robe [you strip off]”). The MT’s אֶדֶר (’eder) is the result of misdivision (the article has erroneously been attached to the preceding word) and haplography (of the final tav, which also begins the following word).
[2:8] 24 tc The passive participle שׁוּבֵי (shuvey) is unattested elsewhere and should be emended to a participle שָׁבִים (shavim).
[2:9] 25 tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).
[2:9] 26 tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”
[2:9] 27 tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the
[2:10] 28 tn Heb “Arise and go!” These imperatives are rhetorical. Those who wrongly drove widows and orphans from their homes and land inheritances will themselves be driven out of the land (cf. Isa 5:8-17). This is an example of poetic justice.
[2:10] 29 tn Heb “for this is no resting place.” The
[2:10] 30 tn Heb “uncleanness will destroy, and destruction will be severe.”
[2:11] 31 tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”
[2:11] 32 tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”
[2:11] 33 tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”
[2:12] 34 tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”
[2:12] 35 tc The MT reads בָּצְרָה (batsrah, “Bozrah”) but the form should be emended to בַּצִּרָה (batsirah, “into the fold”). See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 38.
[2:12] 36 tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.
[2:12] 37 tn Heb “and they will be noisy [or perhaps, “excited”] from men.” The subject of the third feminine plural verb תְּהִימֶנָה (tÿhimenah, “they will be noisy”) is probably the feminine singular צֹאן (tso’n, “flock”). (For another example of this collective singular noun with a feminine plural verb, see Gen 30:38.) In the construction מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from men”) the preposition is probably causal. L. C. Allen translates “bleating in fear of men” (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah [NICOT], 300), but it is possible to take the causal sense as “because of the large quantity of men.” In this case the sheep metaphor and the underlying reality are mixed.
[2:13] 37 tn Heb “the one who breaks through goes up before them.” The verb form is understood as a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of this coming event.
[2:13] 38 tn The three verb forms (a perfect and two preterites with vav [ו] consecutive) indicate certitude.
[2:13] 39 tn The verb form (a preterite with vav [ו] consecutive) indicates certitude.
[2:13] 40 tn Heb “the
[3:1] 42 tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”
[3:2] 43 tn Heb “the ones who.”
[3:2] 46 tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the
[3:2] 47 tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”
[3:3] 47 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”).
[3:4] 49 tn Heb “then they will cry out to the
[3:5] 52 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
[3:5] 53 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.
[3:5] 54 tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”
[3:6] 55 tn Heb “it will be night for you without a vision.”
[3:6] 56 tn Heb “it will be dark for you without divination.”
[3:6] 57 tn Heb “and the day will be dark over them.”
[3:7] 59 tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”
[3:7] 60 tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”
[3:8] 61 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
[3:8] 62 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
[3:8] 63 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.
[3:9] 66 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).
[3:10] 68 tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”
[3:10] 69 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:11] 70 sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).
[3:11] 71 tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”
[3:11] 72 tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”
[3:11] 73 tn Heb “Is not the
[3:11] 74 tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”
[3:12] 73 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
[3:12] 74 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
[3:12] 75 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
[3:12] 76 tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”
[4:1] 76 tn Heb “at the end of days.”
[4:1] 77 tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”
[4:1] 78 tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”
[4:2] 81 tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”
[4:2] 82 tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the
[4:3] 83 tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”
[4:3] 84 tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”
[4:3] 85 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
[4:3] 86 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
[4:3] 87 tn Heb “take up the sword.”
[4:4] 85 tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”
[4:4] 86 tn Heb “for the mouth of the
[4:5] 88 tn Heb “walk each in the name of his god.” The term “name” here has the idea of “authority.” To “walk in the name” of a god is to recognize the god’s authority as binding over one’s life.
[4:5] 89 tn Heb “walk in the name of.”
[4:6] 91 sn The exiles of the nation are compared to lame and injured sheep.
[4:7] 94 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
[4:7] 95 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).
[4:7] 96 tn Heb “from now until forever.”
[4:8] 97 tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).
[4:8] 98 sn The city of David, located within Jerusalem, is addressed as Daughter Zion. As the home of the Davidic king, who was Israel’s shepherd (Ps 78:70-72), the royal citadel could be viewed metaphorically as the watchtower of the flock.
[4:8] 99 tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”
[4:9] 100 tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.
[4:9] 101 tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”
[4:9] 102 tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”
[4:9] 103 tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.
[4:9] 104 tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.
[4:9] 105 tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”
[4:10] 103 tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”
[4:10] 104 tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[4:10] 105 tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.
[4:11] 106 tn Heb “let her be desecrated.” the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:11] 107 tn Heb “and let our eye look upon Zion.”
[4:12] 109 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
[4:13] 112 tn Heb “I will make your horn iron.”
[4:13] 113 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.
[4:13] 114 tn Or “the Lord” (so many English versions); Heb “the master.”
[4:13] 115 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.
[5:1] 115 sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[5:1] 116 tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).
[5:1] 117 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
[5:1] 118 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
[5:1] 119 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).
[5:2] 118 sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.
[5:2] 119 tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.
[5:2] 120 tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”
[5:2] 121 tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.
[5:2] 122 tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.
[5:3] 121 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[5:3] 122 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:3] 123 tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:3] 124 sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.
[5:3] 125 sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.
[5:3] 126 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:3] 127 tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:4] 124 tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”
[5:4] 125 tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:4] 126 tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the
[5:4] 127 tn The words “in peace” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Perhaps וְיָשָׁבוּ (vÿyashavu, “and they will live”) should be emended to וְשָׁבוּ (vÿshavu, “and they will return”).
[5:4] 129 tn Or “to the ends of.”
[5:5] 127 tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).
[5:5] 128 tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿ’admatenu).
[5:5] 130 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.
[5:5] 132 tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”
[5:6] 130 tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”
[5:6] 131 sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.
[5:6] 132 tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).
[5:6] 133 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:7] 133 tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).
[5:7] 135 tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).
[5:7] 136 tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”
[5:8] 136 tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:8] 137 tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”
[5:9] 139 tn Heb “let your hand be lifted against your adversaries.”
[5:9] 140 tn Heb “be cut off.”
[5:10] 142 tn Heb “cut off” (also in the following verse).
[5:12] 145 tn Heb “magic charms” (so NCV, TEV); NIV, NLT “witchcraft”; NAB “the means of divination.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but note its use in Isa 47:9, 12.
[5:12] 146 tn Heb “from your hands.”
[5:12] 147 tn Heb “and you will not have omen-readers.”
[5:14] 148 tn Or “Asherah poles.”
[5:14] 149 tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).
[5:15] 151 tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”
