Mikha 1:7

1:7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces;

all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. ¹ 

I will make a waste heap ²  of all her images.

Since ³  she gathered the metal ⁴  as a prostitute collects her wages,

the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.” ⁵ 

Mikha 4:4

4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine

or under his own fig tree without any fear. ⁶ 

The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. ⁷ 

Mikha 4:12

4:12 But they do not know what the Lord is planning;

they do not understand his strategy.

He has gathered them like stalks of grain to be threshed ⁸  at the threshing floor.

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. ⁹ 

Mikha 7:1

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

7:1 I am depressed! ¹⁰ 

Indeed, ¹¹  it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested. ¹² 

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much. ¹³ 

Mikha 7:16

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by ¹⁴  all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf. ¹⁵ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and all her prostitute’s wages will be burned with fire.”

[1:7]  sn The precious metal used by Samaria’s pagan worship centers to make idols are here compared to a prostitute’s wages because Samaria had been unfaithful to the Lord and prostituted herself to pagan gods, such as Baal.

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “I will make desolate” (so NASB).

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:7]  ⁴ tn No object is specified in the Hebrew text; the words “the metal” are supplied from the context.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for from a prostitute’s wages she gathered, and to a prostitute’s wages they will return.” When the metal was first collected it was comparable to the coins a prostitute would receive for her services. The metal was then formed into idols, but now the Lord’s fiery judgment would reduce the metal images to their original condition.

[4:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”

[4:12]  ⁸ tn The words “to be threshed” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the Lord is planning to enable “Daughter Zion” to “thresh” her enemies.

[6:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “before you.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[7:1]  ¹² tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”

[7:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “my appetite craves.”

[7:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “be ashamed of.”

[7:16]  ¹⁵ 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.