Mikha 7:8-13

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ¹  do not gloat ²  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ³ 

7:9 I must endure ⁴  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ⁵  he will defend my cause, ⁶ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ⁷  his deliverance. ⁸ 

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ⁹  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ¹⁰ 

Then they will be trampled down ¹¹ 

like mud in the streets.

7:11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;

in that day your boundary will be extended. ¹² 

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ¹³  will come to you ¹⁴ 

from Assyria as far as ¹⁵  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ¹⁶ 

from the seacoasts ¹⁷  and the mountains. ¹⁸ 

7:13 The earth will become desolate ¹⁹ 

because of what its inhabitants have done. ²⁰ 

[7:8]  ¹ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ² tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ³ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[7:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”

[7:11]  ¹² sn Personified Jerusalem declares her confidence in vv. 8-10; in this verse she is assured that she will indeed be vindicated.

[7:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “they.” The referent has been specified as “people,” referring either to the nations (coming to God with their tribute) or to the exiles of Israel (returning to the Lord).

[7:12]  ¹⁴ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reads וְעָרֵי (vÿ’arey, “and the cities [of Egypt]”), but the parallel line indicates this is a corruption of וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “even to”).

[7:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).

[7:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “will be ruined.”

[7:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”