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 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ⁶  But now slash yourself, ⁷  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ⁸ 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ⁹  they strike Israel’s ruler ¹⁰ 

on the side of his face.

Mikha 6:2

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ¹¹ 

Mikha 1:2

The Judge is Coming

1:2 Listen, all you nations! ¹² 

Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ¹³ 

The sovereign Lord will testify ¹⁴  against you;

the Lord will accuse you ¹⁵  from his majestic palace. ¹⁶ 

Mikha 7:2

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ¹⁷  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ¹⁸ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ¹⁹ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ²⁰ 

[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.”

[5:1]  ⁶ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  sn Slash yourself. Slashing one’s body was a form of mourning. See Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5.

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  sn The daughter surrounded by soldiers is an image of the city of Jerusalem under siege (note the address “Daughter Jerusalem” in 4:8).

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  sn Striking a king with a scepter, a symbol of rulership, would be especially ironic and humiliating.

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[6:2]  ¹¹ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[1:2]  ¹² tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ²⁰ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.