Mikha 5:5

5:5 He will give us peace. ¹ 

Should the Assyrians try to invade our land

and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, ² 

we will send ³  against them seven ⁴  shepherd-rulers, ⁵ 

make that eight commanders. ⁶ 

Mikha 2:8

2:8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people. ⁷ 

You steal a robe from a friend, ⁸ 

from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. ⁹ 

Mikha 3:5

3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people

are as good as dead. ¹⁰ 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ¹¹ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ¹² 

Mikha 4:4

4:4 Each will sit under his own grapevine

or under his own fig tree without any fear. ¹³ 

The Lord who commands armies has decreed it. ¹⁴ 

Mikha 4:3

4:3 He will arbitrate ¹⁵  between many peoples

and settle disputes between many ¹⁶  distant nations. ¹⁷ 

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ¹⁸ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ¹⁹ 

Nations will not use weapons ²⁰  against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

[5:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).

[5:5]  ² tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿ’admatenu).

[5:5]  ³ tn Heb “raise up.”

[5:5]  ⁴ sn The numbers seven and eight here symbolize completeness and emphasize that Israel will have more than enough military leadership and strength to withstand the Assyrian advance.

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[5:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”

[2:8]  ⁷ tc Heb “Recently my people rise up as an enemy.” The MT is problematic in light of v. 9, where “my people” are the object of oppression, not the perpetrators of it. The form וְאֶתְמוּל (vÿ’etmul, “and recently”) is probably the product of fusion and subsequent suppression of an (ע) ayin. The translation assumes an emendation to וְאַתֶּם עַל (vÿ’attem ’al, “and you against [my people]”). The second person plural pronoun fits well with the second plural verb forms of vv. 8b-10. If this emendation is accepted, then יְקוֹמֵם (yÿqomem, the imperfect of קוּם [qum]) should be emended to קָמִים (qamim; a participle from the same root).

[2:8]  ⁸ tc Heb “From the front of a garment glory [or perhaps, “a robe”] you strip off,” but this makes little if any sense. The term מִמּוּל (mimmul, “from the front of”) is probably the product of dittography (note the preceding word, which ends in [ם] mem) and subsequent suppression of ע (ayin). The translation assumes an emendation to מֵעַל (me’al, “from upon”). The translation also assumes an emendation of שַׂלְמָה אֶדֶר (salmah ’eder, “a garment, glory [or robe]”) to שֹׁלְמִים אֲדֶרֶת (sholÿmim ’aderet, “[from] a friend the robe [you strip off]”). The MT’s אֶדֶר (’eder) is the result of misdivision (the article has erroneously been attached to the preceding word) and haplography (of the final tav, which also begins the following word).

[2:8]  ⁹ tc The passive participle שׁוּבֵי (shuvey) is unattested elsewhere and should be emended to a participle שָׁבִים (shavim).

[2:8]  tn Heb “from those passing by peacefully, returnees from war.” Actual refugees, however, are probably not in view. The second line compares those who pass by peacefully with individuals returning from war. The battle is over and they do not expect their own countrymen to attack them.

[3:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

[3:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.

[3:5]  ¹² tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

[4:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “and there will be no one making [him] afraid.”

[4:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”

[4:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “judge.”

[4:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”

[4:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”

[4:3]  ¹⁸ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[4:3]  ¹⁹ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[4:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “take up the sword.”