Mikha 1:13

1:13 Residents of Lachish, ¹  hitch the horses to the chariots!

You ²  influenced Daughter Zion ³  to sin, ⁴ 

for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ⁵  to you!

Mikha 2:7

2:7 Does the family ⁶  of Jacob say, ⁷ 

‘The Lord’s patience ⁸  can’t be exhausted –

he would never do such things’? ⁹ 

To be sure, my commands bring a reward

for those who obey them, ¹⁰ 

Mikha 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ¹¹ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Mikha 4:4

4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine

or under his own fig tree without any fear. ¹² 

The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. ¹³ 

Mikha 6:8

6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: ¹⁴ 

He wants you to ¹⁵  promote ¹⁶  justice, to be faithful, ¹⁷ 

and to live obediently before ¹⁸  your God.

Mikha 6:15

6:15 You will plant crops, but will not harvest them;

you will squeeze oil from the olives, ¹⁹  but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies; ²⁰ 

you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink. ²¹ 

Mikha 7:2-3

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ²²  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ²³ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ²⁴ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ²⁵ 

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ²⁶ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ²⁷ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ²⁸ 

Mikha 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ²⁹ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ³⁰ 

in ancient times. ³¹ 

[1:13]  ¹ sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “she”; this has been translated as second person (“you”) in keeping with the direct address to the residents of Lachish in the previous line.

[1:13]  ³ sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’

[2:7]  ⁷ tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).

[2:7]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the Lord, but here it seems to have an abstract sense, “patience.” See BDB 925 s.v. 3.d.

[2:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Has the patience of the Lord run short? Or are these his deeds?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No, of course not.” The people contest the prophet’s claims that the Lord’s judgment is falling on the nation.

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The Lord begins his response to the claim of the house of Jacob that they are immune to judgment (see v. 7a). He points out that the godly are indeed rewarded, but then he goes on to show that those in the house of Jacob are not godly and can expect divine judgment, not blessing (vv. 8-11). Some emend “my words” to “his words.” In this case, v. 7b is a continuation of the immediately preceding quotation. The people, thinking they are godly, confidently ask, “Do not his [God’s] words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?”

[3:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:4]  ¹² tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”

[4:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”

[6:8]  ¹⁴ sn What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.

[6:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”

[6:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”

[6:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”

[6:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you will tread olives.” Literally treading on olives with one’s feet could be harmful and would not supply the necessary pressure to release the oil. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 119. The Hebrew term דָּרַךְ (darakh) may have an idiomatic sense of “press” here, or perhaps the imagery of the following parallel line (referring to treading grapes) has dictated the word choice.

[6:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”

[6:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “and juice, but you will not drink wine.” The verb תִדְרֹךְ (tidrokh, “you will tread”) must be supplied from the preceding line.

[7:2]  ²² tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ²³ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ²⁵ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.

[7:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ²⁸ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

[7:20]  ²⁹ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”