Mikha 6:14

6:14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.

Even if you have the strength ¹  to overtake some prey, ² 

you will not be able to carry it away; ³ 

if you do happen to carry away something,

I will deliver it over to the sword.

Mikha 7:10

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ⁴  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ⁵ 

Then they will be trampled down ⁶ 

like mud in the streets.

Mikha 7:17

7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,

like serpents crawling on the ground. ⁷ 

They will come trembling from their strongholds

to the Lord our God; ⁸ 

they will be terrified ⁹  of you. ¹⁰ 

[6:14]  ¹ tc The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, vÿyeshkhakha) is obscure. HALOT 446 s.v. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַ-וְיֶשׁ (vÿyesh-koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).

[6:14]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vÿtasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 80.

[6:14]  ³ tn The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.

[7:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”

[7:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view.

[7:17]  ⁸ tn Thetranslationassumesthatthe phrase אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (’el-yÿhvah ’elohenu, “to the Lord our God”) goes with what precedes. Another option is to take the phrase with the following verb, in which case one could translate, “to the Lord our God they will turn in dread.”

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.”

[7:17]  ¹⁰ tn The Lord is addressed directly using the second person.