Mikha 1:10

1:10 Don’t spread the news in Gath! ¹ 

Don’t shed even a single tear! ² 

In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! ³ 

Mikha 3:7

3:7 The prophets ⁴  will be ashamed;

the omen readers will be humiliated.

All of them will cover their mouths, ⁵ 

for they will receive no divine oracles.” ⁶ 

Mikha 6:1

The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself ⁷  before the mountains! ⁸ 

Present your case before the hills!” ⁹ 

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “Tell it not in Gath.” The Hebrew word for “tell” (נָגַד, nagad) sounds like the name of the city, Gath (גַּת, gat).

[1:10]  ² tn The Hebrew infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the prohibition.

[1:10]  ³ tc The translation assumes a masculine plural imperative. If one were to emend בְּבֵית (bÿvet) to בֵית (vet), Beth Leaphrah would then be the addressee and the feminine singular imperative (see Qere) could be retained, “O Beth Leaphrah, sit in the dust.”

[1:10]  tn Heb “roll about in mourning in the dust”; or “wallow about in mourning in the dust.” The verb פָּלַשׁ (palash, “roll about in mourning [in dust]”; HALOT 935 s.v. פלשׁ) is figurative (metonymy) for sitting as an outward sign of mourning.

[1:10]  sn To sit in the dust was an outward sign of mourning. The name Beth Leaphrah means “house of dust.”

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Or “seers.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”

[6:1]  sn Defend yourself. The Lord challenges Israel to defend itself against the charges he is bringing.

[6:1]  ⁸ sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”