Amos 9:3

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ¹  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ²  I would command the Sea Serpent ³  to bite them.

Mikha 7:2

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ⁴  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ⁵ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ⁶ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ⁷ 

[9:3]  ¹ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ² tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ³ sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.

[7:2]  ⁴ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ⁷ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.