Yesaya 58:1

The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion

58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!

Yell as loud as a trumpet!

Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; ¹ 

confront Jacob’s family with their sin! ² 

Yehezkiel 22:2

22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, ³  are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? ⁴  Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

Mikha 3:8

3:8 But I ⁵  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ⁶ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

² tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

³ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.

⁴ tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.

⁵ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

⁶ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

⁷ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.