Mikha 5:1
Konteks5:1 (4:14) 1 But now slash yourself, 2 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 3
We are besieged!
With a scepter 4 they strike Israel’s ruler 5
on the side of his face.
Mikha 5:6
Konteks5:6 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.
[5:1] 1 sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[5:1] 2 tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).
[5:1] sn Slash yourself. Slashing one’s body was a form of mourning. See Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5.
[5:1] 3 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
[5:1] sn The daughter surrounded by soldiers is an image of the city of Jerusalem under siege (note the address “Daughter Jerusalem” in 4:8).
[5:1] 4 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
[5:1] sn Striking a king with a scepter, a symbol of rulership, would be especially ironic and humiliating.
[5:1] 5 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).
[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.