Mikha 6:9-12

6:9 Listen! The Lord is calling ¹  to the city!

It is wise to respect your authority, O Lord! ² 

Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city! ³ 

6:10 “I will not overlook, ⁴  O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, ⁵ 

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. ⁶ 

6:11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,

or a bag of deceptive weights. ⁷ 

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ⁸ 

her inhabitants lie, ⁹ 

their tongues speak deceptive words. ¹⁰ 

[6:9]  ¹ tn Or “the voice of the Lord is calling.” The translation understands קוֹל (qol, “voice”) as equivalent to an imperative.

[6:9]  ² tn Heb “one who sees your name is wisdom.” It is probably better to emend יִרְאֶה (yir’eh, “he sees”) to יִרְאָה (yir’ah, “fearing”). One may then translate, “fearing your name is wisdom.” The Lord’s “name” here stands by metonymy for his authority.

[6:9]  ³ tn Heb (apparently) “Listen [to] the staff and the one who appointed it.” Verse 10 then begins with עוֹד (yod, “still” or “again”). The translation assumes an emendation to שִׁמְעוּ מַטֶּה וּמוֹעֵד הָעִיר (shim’u matteh umo’ed ha’ir, “listen, O tribe and the assembly of the city”).

[6:10]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”

[6:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”

[6:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”

[6:10]  sn Merchants would use a smaller than standard measure so they could give the customer less than he thought he was paying for.

[6:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis.

[6:11]  sn Merchants also used rigged scales and deceptive weights to cheat their customers. See the note at Amos 8:5.

[6:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”

[6:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “speak lies.”

[6:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”