Mikha 2:4

2:4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you –

they will mock you with this lament: ¹ 

‘We are completely destroyed;

they sell off ²  the property of my people.

How they remove it from me! ³ 

They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ ⁴ 

Mikha 7:14

7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod, ⁵ 

the flock that belongs to you, ⁶ 

the one that lives alone in a thicket,

in the midst of a pastureland. ⁷ 

Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, ⁸ 

as they did in the old days. ⁹ 

[2:4]  ¹ tc The form נִהְיָה (nihyah) should be omitted as dittographic (note the preceding וְנָהָה נְהִי vÿnahah nÿhiy).

[2:4]  tn Heb “one will lament [with] a lamentation [and] say.”

[2:4]  ² tn Or “exchange.” The LXX suggests a reading יִמַּד (yimmad) from מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). In this case one could translate, “the property of my people is measured out [i.e., for resale].”

[2:4]  ³ tn Heb “how one removes for me.” Apparently the preposition has the nuance “from” here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[2:4]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew term שׁוֹבֵב (shovev, “the one turning back”) elsewhere has the nuance “apostate” (cf. NASB) or “traitor” (cf. NIV). The translation assumes an emendation to שָׁבָה (shavah, “captor”).

[2:4]  tn Heb “to the one turning back he assigns our fields.”

[7:14]  ⁵ tn Or “with your scepter” (the Hebrew term can mean either “rod” or “scepter”).

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the flock of your inheritance.”

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Or “in the midst of Carmel.” The Hebrew term translated “pastureland” may be a place name.

[7:14]  sn The point seems to be that Israel is in a vulnerable position, like sheep in a thicket populated by predators, while rich pastureland (their homeland and God’s blessings) is in view.

[7:14]  ⁸ sn The regions of Bashan and Gilead, located in Transjordan, were noted for their rich grazing lands.

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “as in the days of antiquity.”