Mikha 1:5

1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion

and ¹  the sins of the nation ²  of Israel.

How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? ³ 

Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! ⁴ 

Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? ⁵ 

They are right in Jerusalem! ⁶ 

Mikha 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁷  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ⁸ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ⁹ 

People will stream to it.

Mikha 4:8

4:8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, ¹⁰ 

fortress of Daughter Zion ¹¹  –

your former dominion will be restored, ¹² 

the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.

Mikha 6:4

6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I delivered you from that place of slavery.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ¹³ 

Mikha 6:6

6:6 With what should I ¹⁴  enter the Lord’s presence?

With what ¹⁵  should I bow before the sovereign God? ¹⁶ 

Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,

with year-old calves?

[1:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and because of.” This was simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “house.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “What is the rebellion of Jacob?”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is it not Samaria?” The negated rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!” To make this clear the question has been translated as a strong affirmative statement.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “What are Judah’s high places?”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is it not Jerusalem?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “It certainly is!”

[1:5]  sn In vv. 2-5 Micah narrows the scope of God’s judgment from the nations (vv. 2-4) to his covenant people (v. 5). Universal judgment is coming, but ironically Israel is the focal point of God’s anger. In v. 5c the prophet includes Judah within the scope of divine judgment, for it has followed in the pagan steps of the northern kingdom. He accomplishes this with rhetorical skill. In v. 5b he develops the first assertion of v. 5a (“All of this is because of Jacob’s rebellion”). One expects in v. 5c an elaboration of the second assertion in v. 5a (“and the sins of the nation of Israel”), which one assumes, in light of v. 5b, pertains to the northern kingdom. But the prophet specifies the “sins” as “high places” and makes it clear that “the nation of Israel” includes Judah. Verses 6-7 further develop v. 5b (judgment on the northern kingdom), while vv. 8-16 expand on v. 5c (judgment on Judah).

[1:5]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[4:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Migdal-eder.” Some English versions transliterate this phrase, apparently because they view it as a place name (cf. NAB).

[4:8]  ¹¹ sn The city of David, located within Jerusalem, is addressed as Daughter Zion. As the home of the Davidic king, who was Israel’s shepherd (Ps 78:70-72), the royal citadel could be viewed metaphorically as the watchtower of the flock.

[4:8]  ¹² tn Heb “to you it will come, the former dominion will arrive.”

[6:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “before you.”

[6:6]  ¹⁴ sn With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? The prophet speaks again, playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper who wants to know what God really desires from his followers.

[6:6]  ¹⁵ tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.

[6:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the exalted God.”