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 7:4

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ⁷ 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ⁸ 

and then you will experience confusion. ⁹ 

[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.”

[7:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

[7:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

[7:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”