Mikha 1:4

1:4 The mountains will disintegrate ¹  beneath him,

and the valleys will be split in two. ² 

The mountains will melt ³  like wax in a fire,

the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. ⁴ 

Mikha 1:10

1:10 Don’t spread the news in Gath! ⁵ 

Don’t shed even a single tear! ⁶ 

In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! ⁷ 

Mikha 1:12-15

1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth ⁸  hope for something good to happen, ⁹ 

though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ 

1:13 Residents of Lachish, ¹¹  hitch the horses to the chariots!

You ¹²  influenced Daughter Zion ¹³  to sin, ¹⁴ 

for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ¹⁵  to you!

1:14 Therefore you ¹⁶  will have to say farewell ¹⁷  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ¹⁸  of Achzib ¹⁹  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ²⁰  to the kings of Israel. ²¹ 

1:15 Residents of Mareshah, ²²  a conqueror will attack you, ²³ 

the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam. ²⁴ 

Mikha 2:1-2

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ²⁵ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ²⁶ 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ²⁷ 

because they have the power to do so.

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ²⁸ 

They defraud people of their homes, ²⁹ 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ³⁰ 

Mikha 4:4

4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine

or under his own fig tree without any fear. ³¹ 

The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. ³² 

Mikha 4:11

4:11 Many nations have now assembled against you.

They say, “Jerusalem must be desecrated, ³³ 

so we can gloat over Zion!” ³⁴ 

Mikha 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ³⁵  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ³⁶ 

[1:4]  ¹ tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).

[1:4]  ² sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.

[1:4]  ³ tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.

[1:4]  ⁴ tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.

[1:10]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the prohibition.

[1:10]  ⁷ 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.”

[1:12]  ⁸ sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”

[1:12]  ⁹ tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).

[1:12]  tn Heb “[the residents of Maroth] writhe [= “anxiously long for”?] good.”

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.”

[1:13]  ¹¹ sn The place name Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team [of horses].”

[1:13]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn The epithet Daughter Zion pictures the city of Jerusalem as a young lady.

[1:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “She was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion.”

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for in you was found the transgressions of Israel.”

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.

[1:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ¹⁹ sn The place name Achzib (אַכְזִיב, ’akhziv, “place on the dried up river”; see HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב) creates a word play on the similar sounding term כָּזָב (kazav, “lie, deception”; HALOT 468 s.v. כָּזָב). Like the dried up river upon which its name was based, the city of Achzib would fail to help the kings of Israel in their time of need.

[1:14]  ²⁰ tn Or “will be a deception.” The term אַכְזָב (’akhzav) is often translated “deception,” as derived from the verb I כָּזָב (“to deceive, lie”; HALOT 467-68 s.v. I כזב). However, it probably means “what is dried up,” since (1) the noun elsewhere refers to an empty well or dried river in summer (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15-20) (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); (2) the place-name “Achzib” (אַכְזִיב) literally means “place on the אַכְזָב [dried up river]” (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); and (3) it is derived from the verb II כָּזָב (“to dry up [brook]”; Isa 58:11), which also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. The point of the metaphor is that Achzib will be as disappointing to the kings of Israel as a dried up spring in the summer is to a thirsty traveler in the Jordanian desert.

[1:14]  ²¹ sn Because of the enemy invasion, Achzib would not be able to deliver soldiers for the army and/or services normally rendered to the crown.

[1:15]  ²² sn The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.”

[1:15]  ²³ tn Heb “Again a conqueror I will bring to you, residents of Mareshah.” The first person verb is problematic, for the Lord would have to be the subject (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But the prophet appears to be delivering this lament and the Lord is referred to in the third person in v. 12. Consequently many emend the verb to a third person form (יָבוֹא, yavo’) and understand the “conqueror” as subject.

[1:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to Adullam the glory of Israel will go.” This probably means that the nation’s leadership will run for their lives and, like David of old, hide from their enemy in the caves of Adullam. Cf. NIV’s “He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam,” which sounds as if an individual is in view, and could be understood as a messianic reference.

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”

[2:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”

[4:4]  ³² tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”

[4:11]  ³³ tn Heb “let her be desecrated.” the referent (Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and let our eye look upon Zion.”

[7:16]  ³⁵ tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the Lord’s power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.