Mikha 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹  Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message ²  during the reigns of ³  Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to ⁴  Samaria ⁵  and Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Mikha 3:4-5

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ⁷ 

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. ⁸ 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ⁹ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ¹⁰ 

Mikha 3:8

3:8 But I ¹¹  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ¹² 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ¹³ 

Mikha 4:12

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 ¹⁴  at the threshing floor.

Mikha 6:7

6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,

or ten thousand streams of olive oil?

Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,

my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? ¹⁵ 

Mikha 7:8

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ¹⁶  do not gloat ¹⁷  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ¹⁸ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ² tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:5]  ⁸ 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).

[3:5]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

[3:8]  ¹¹ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ¹² tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ¹³ 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.

[4:12]  ¹⁴ 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 Lord is planning to enable “Daughter Zion” to “thresh” her enemies.

[6:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”

[7:8]  ¹⁶ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ¹⁸ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.