Mikha 2:2

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ¹ 

They defraud people of their homes, ² 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ³ 

Mikha 7:6

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges ⁴  her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants. ⁵ 

Mikha 2:9

2:9 You wrongly evict widows ⁶  among my people from their cherished homes.

You defraud their children ⁷  of their prized inheritance. ⁸ 

Mikha 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ¹⁰ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ¹¹ 

People will stream to it.

Mikha 6:4

6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I delivered you from that place of slavery.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ¹² 

Mikha 1:2

The Judge is Coming

1:2 Listen, all you nations! ¹³ 

Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ¹⁴ 

The sovereign Lord will testify ¹⁵  against you;

the Lord will accuse you ¹⁶  from his majestic palace. ¹⁷ 

Mikha 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ¹⁸ 

you follow their policies. ¹⁹ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ²⁰ 

the city’s ²¹  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ²² 

and nations will mock all of you.” ²³ 

Mikha 6:10

6:10 “I will not overlook, ²⁴  O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, ²⁵ 

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. ²⁶ 

Mikha 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ²⁷  Zion will be plowed up like ²⁸  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ²⁹  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ³⁰ 

Mikha 1:14

1:14 Therefore you ³¹  will have to say farewell ³²  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ³³  of Achzib ³⁴  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ³⁵  to the kings of Israel. ³⁶ 

Mikha 4:2

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple ³⁷  of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands ³⁸ 

and we can live by his laws.” ³⁹ 

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ⁴⁰ 

Mikha 2:8

2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. ⁴¹ 

You steal a robe from a friend, ⁴² 

from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. ⁴³ 

Mikha 5:14

5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah ⁴⁴  from your midst,

and destroy your idols. ⁴⁵ 

Mikha 2:10

2:10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! ⁴⁶ 

For this land is not secure! ⁴⁷ 

Sin will thoroughly destroy it! ⁴⁸ 

Mikha 1:7

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

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ⁴⁹ 

I will make a waste heap ⁵⁰  of all her images.

Since ⁵¹  she gathered the metal ⁵²  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ⁵³ 

Mikha 4:4

4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine

or under his own fig tree without any fear. ⁵⁴ 

The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. ⁵⁵ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ³ 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.

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “rises up against.”

[7:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).

[2:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”

[2:9]  ⁸ 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 Lord bestowed on each Israelite family by giving them a share of his land to be inherited perpetually from one generation to another within each family. The term הָדָר (hadar) may refer to possessions that a person prizes (Lam 1:6).

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[6:4]  ¹² tn Heb “before you.”

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).

[6:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.

[6:16]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ²² tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ²³ tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[6:16]  tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.

[6:10]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”

[6:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”

[6:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”

[6:10]  sn Merchants would use a smaller than standard measure so they could give the customer less than he thought he was paying for.

[3:12]  ²⁷ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ²⁸ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”

[1:14]  ³¹ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ³² tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.

[1:14]  ³³ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ³⁴ sn The place name Achzib (אַכְזִיב, ’akhziv, “place on the dried up river”; see HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב) creates a word play on the similar sounding term כָּזָב (kazav, “lie, deception”; HALOT 468 s.v. כָּזָב). Like the dried up river upon which its name was based, the city of Achzib would fail to help the kings of Israel in their time of need.

[1:14]  ³⁵ tn Or “will be a deception.” The term אַכְזָב (’akhzav) is often translated “deception,” as derived from the verb I כָּזָב (“to deceive, lie”; HALOT 467-68 s.v. I כזב). However, it probably means “what is dried up,” since (1) the noun elsewhere refers to an empty well or dried river in summer (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15-20) (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); (2) the place-name “Achzib” (אַכְזִיב) literally means “place on the אַכְזָב [dried up river]” (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); and (3) it is derived from the verb II כָּזָב (“to dry up [brook]”; Isa 58:11), which also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. The point of the metaphor is that Achzib will be as disappointing to the kings of Israel as a dried up spring in the summer is to a thirsty traveler in the Jordanian desert.

[1:14]  ³⁶ sn Because of the enemy invasion, Achzib would not be able to deliver soldiers for the army and/or services normally rendered to the crown.

[4:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[4:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “ways.”

[4:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”

[4:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[4:2]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:8]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tc The passive participle שׁוּבֵי (shuvey) is unattested elsewhere and should be emended to a participle שָׁבִים (shavim).

[2:8]  tn Heb “from those passing by peacefully, returnees from war.” Actual refugees, however, are probably not in view. The second line compares those who pass by peacefully with individuals returning from war. The battle is over and they do not expect their own countrymen to attack them.

[5:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Asherah poles.”

[5:14]  sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4). The Lord states that he will destroy these images, something the Israelites themselves should have done but failed to do.

[5:14]  ⁴⁵ tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).

[2:10]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “for this is no resting place.” The Lord speaks to the oppressors.

[2:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “uncleanness will destroy, and destruction will be severe.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ⁵¹ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁵² tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ⁵³ 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.

[4:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”

[4:4]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”