Mikha 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹ 

I will make a waste heap ²  of all her images.

Since ³  she gathered the metal ⁴  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ⁵ 

Mikha 5:6

5:6 They will rule ⁶  the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod ⁷  with a drawn sword. ⁸ 

Our king ⁹  will rescue us from the Assyrians

should they attempt to invade our land

and try to set foot in our territory.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  sn The precious metal used by Samaria’s pagan worship centers to make idols are here compared to a prostitute’s wages because Samaria had been unfaithful to the Lord and prostituted herself to pagan gods, such as Baal.

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”

[5:6]  ⁷ sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.

[5:6]  ⁸ tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).

[5:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.