Mikha 2:3

2:3 Therefore the Lord says this: “Look, I am devising disaster for this nation! ¹ 

It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck. ² 

You will no longer ³  walk proudly,

for it will be a time of catastrophe.

Mikha 3:11

3:11 Her ⁴  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ⁵ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ⁶  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ⁷ 

Disaster will not overtake ⁸  us!”

Mikha 5:8

5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples.

They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

which attacks when it passes through;

it rips its prey ⁹  and there is no one to stop it. ¹⁰ 

Mikha 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ¹¹ 

you follow their policies. ¹² 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ¹³ 

the city’s ¹⁴  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ¹⁵ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ¹⁶ 

Mikha 7:9

7:9 I must endure ¹⁷  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ¹⁸  he will defend my cause, ¹⁹ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ²⁰  his deliverance. ²¹ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “clan” or “extended family.”

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “from which you will not remove your neck.” The words “It will be like a yoke” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:3]  ³ tn Or “you will not.”

[3:11]  ⁴ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ⁸ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[5:8]  ⁹ tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ¹² tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.

[6:16]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ¹⁶ tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[6:16]  tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.

[7:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ²¹ tn Or “justice, vindication.”