Mikha 6:6

6:6 With what should I ¹  enter the Lord’s presence?

With what ²  should I bow before the sovereign God? ³ 

Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,

with year-old calves?

Mikha 7:12

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people ⁴  will come to you ⁵ 

from Assyria as far as ⁶  Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, ⁷ 

from the seacoasts ⁸  and the mountains. ⁹ 

Mikha 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹⁰ 

You ¹¹  forgive sin

and pardon ¹²  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹³ 

You do not remain angry forever, ¹⁴ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

[6:6]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “the exalted God.”

[7:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “they.” The referent has been specified as “people,” referring either to the nations (coming to God with their tribute) or to the exiles of Israel (returning to the Lord).

[7:12]  ⁵ tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.

[7:12]  ⁶ tc The MT reads וְעָרֵי (vÿ’arey, “and the cities [of Egypt]”), but the parallel line indicates this is a corruption of וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “even to”).

[7:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).

[7:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”).

[7:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).

[7:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ¹² tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”