Mikha 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ¹  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ²  distant nations. ³ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ⁴ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ⁵ 

Nations will not use weapons ⁶  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Mikha 7:1

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

7:1 I am depressed! ⁷ 

Indeed, ⁸  it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested. ⁹ 

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much. ¹⁰ 

[4:3]  ¹ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ² tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ⁴ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[4:3]  ⁵ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “take up the sword.”

[7:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Or “for.”

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my appetite craves.”