Mikha 7:13

7:13 The earth will become desolate ¹ 

because of what its inhabitants have done. ² 

Mikha 1:16

1:16 Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ³ 

shave your foreheads as bald ⁴  as an eagle, ⁵ 

for they are taken from you into exile.

Mikha 5:15

5:15 I will angrily seek vengeance

on the nations that do not obey me.” ⁶ 

Mikha 3:8

3:8 But I ⁷  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ⁸ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ⁹ 

Mikha 5:1

5:1 (4:14) ¹⁰  But now slash yourself, ¹¹  daughter surrounded by soldiers! ¹² 

We are besieged!

With a scepter ¹³  they strike Israel’s ruler ¹⁴ 

on the side of his face.

Mikha 7:8

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ¹⁵  do not gloat ¹⁶  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ¹⁷ 

Mikha 5:6

5:6 They will rule ¹⁸  the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod ¹⁹  with a drawn sword. ²⁰ 

Our king ²¹  will rescue us from the Assyrians

should they attempt to invade our land

and try to set foot in our territory.

[7:13]  ¹ tn Or “will be ruined.”

[7:13]  ² tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “over the sons of your delight.”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “make wide your baldness.”

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Or “a vulture” (cf. NIV, TEV); CEV “a buzzard.” The Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) refers to the griffon vulture or eagle.

[5:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will accomplish in anger and in rage, vengeance on the nations who do not listen.”

[3:8]  ⁷ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:1]  ¹⁰ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).

[5:1]  sn Slash yourself. Slashing one’s body was a form of mourning. See Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5.

[5:1]  ¹² tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”

[5:1]  sn The daughter surrounded by soldiers is an image of the city of Jerusalem under siege (note the address “Daughter Jerusalem” in 4:8).

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”

[5:1]  sn Striking a king with a scepter, a symbol of rulership, would be especially ironic and humiliating.

[5:1]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).

[7:8]  ¹⁵ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ¹⁶ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[5:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”

[5:6]  ¹⁹ sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.

[5:6]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).

[5:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.