Mikha 3:11

3:11 Her ¹  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ² 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ³  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ⁴ 

Disaster will not overtake ⁵  us!”

Mikha 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ⁶ 

you follow their policies. ⁷ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ⁸ 

the city’s ⁹  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ¹⁰ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ¹¹ 

Mikha 7:10

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

They say ¹²  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ¹³ 

Then they will be trampled down ¹⁴ 

like mud in the streets.

[3:11]  ¹ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ² tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ³ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

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

[6:16]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ¹¹ 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.

[7:10]  ¹² tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”