1 Samuel 2:7

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

Nehemia 9:8

9:8 When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a ¹  covenant with him to give his descendants ²  the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, ³  for you are righteous.

Mazmur 31:1

Psalm 31 ⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Vindicate me by rescuing me! ⁵ 

Mazmur 71:2

71:2 Vindicate me by rescuing me! ⁶ 

Listen to me! ⁷  Deliver me! ⁸ 

Mazmur 143:1

Psalm 143 ⁹ 

A psalm of David.

143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my plea for help!

Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!

Mikha 6:4-5

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. ¹⁰ 

6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, ¹¹ 

how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.

Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,

so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” ¹² 

Mikha 6:2

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ¹³ 

Mikha 1:6

1:6 “I will turn Samaria ¹⁴  into a heap of ruins in an open field –

vineyards will be planted there! ¹⁵ 

I will tumble ¹⁶  the rubble of her stone walls ¹⁷  down into the valley,

and tear down her fortifications to their foundations. ¹⁸ 

Mikha 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹⁹  Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message ²⁰  during the reigns of ²¹  Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to ²²  Samaria ²³  and Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Yohanes 1:9

1:9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, ²⁵  was coming into the world. ²⁶ 

[9:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the” (so NAB).

[9:8]  ² tn Heb “seed.”

[9:8]  ³ tn Heb “your words.”

[31:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.

[31:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”

[71:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me and deliver me.” Ps 31:1 omits “and deliver me.”

[71:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[71:2]  ⁸ tn Ps 31:2 adds “quickly” before “deliver.”

[143:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[6:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “before you.”

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”

[6:5]  ¹² tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the Lord.” Something appears to be missing at the beginning of the line. The present translation supplies the words, “Recall how you went.” This apparently refers to how Israel crossed the Jordan River (see Josh 3:1; 4:19-24).

[6:2]  ¹³ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[1:6]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “into a planting place for vineyards.”

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “pour” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, NRSV “pour down”; NAB “throw down”; NLT “roll.”

[1:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “her stones.” The term stones is a metonymy for the city walls whose foundations were constructed of stone masonry.

[1:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will uncover her foundations.” The term “foundations” refers to the lower courses of the stones of the city’s outer fortification walls.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ²² tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ²³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “every man” (but in a generic sense, “every person,” or “every human being”).

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn Or “He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world.” The participle ἐρχόμενον (ercomenon) may be either (1) neuter nominative, agreeing with τὸ φῶς (to fw"), or (2) masculine accusative, agreeing with ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon). Option (1) results in a periphrastic imperfect with ἦν (hn), ἦν τὸ φῶς… ἐρχόμενον, referring to the incarnation. Option (2) would have the participle modifying ἄνθρωπον and referring to the true light as enlightening “every man who comes into the world.” Option (2) has some rabbinic parallels: The phrase “all who come into the world” is a fairly common expression for “every man” (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 31.6). But (1) must be preferred here, because: (a) In the next verse the light is in the world; it is logical for v. 9 to speak of its entering the world; (b) in other passages Jesus is described as “coming into the world” (6:14, 9:39, 11:27, 16:28) and in 12:46 Jesus says: ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα (egw fw" ei" ton kosmon elhluqa); (c) use of a periphrastic participle with the imperfect tense is typical Johannine style: 1:28, 2:6, 3:23, 10:40, 11:1, 13:23, 18:18 and 25. In every one of these except 13:23 the finite verb is first and separated by one or more intervening words from the participle.

[1:9]  sn In v. 9 the world (κόσμος, kosmos) is mentioned for the first time. This is another important theme word for John. Generally, the world as a Johannine concept does not refer to the totality of creation (the universe), although there are exceptions at 11:9. 17:5, 24, 21:25, but to the world of human beings and human affairs. Even in 1:10 the world created through the Logos is a world capable of knowing (or reprehensibly not knowing) its Creator. Sometimes the world is further qualified as this world (ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, Jo kosmos Joutos) as in 8:23, 9:39, 11:9, 12:25, 31; 13:1, 16:11, 18:36. This is not merely equivalent to the rabbinic phrase “this present age” (ὁ αἰών οὗτος, Jo aiwn Joutos) and contrasted with “the world to come.” For John it is also contrasted to a world other than this one, already existing; this is the lower world, corresponding to which there is a world above (see especially 8:23, 18:36). Jesus appears not only as the Messiah by means of whom an eschatological future is anticipated (as in the synoptic gospels) but also as an envoy from the heavenly world to this world.