| 7:1 | 7:1 I am depressed!284 tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”
Indeed,285 tn Or “for.” it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,
and the grapes have been harvested.286 tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”
There is no grape cluster to eat,
no fresh figs that I crave so much.287 tn Heb “my appetite craves.”
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| 7:2 | 7:2 Faithful men have disappeared288 tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.” from the land;
there are no godly men left.289 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;290 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
they hunt their own brother with a net.291 sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.
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| 7:3 | 7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;292 tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”
government officials and judges take bribes,293 tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”
prominent men make demands,
and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.294 tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.
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| 7:4 | 7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;
the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes.295 tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.
The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –
your appointed time of punishment – is on the way,296 tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”
and then you will experience confusion.297 tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”
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| 7:5 | 7:5 Do not rely on a friend;
do not trust a companion!
Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms!298 tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”
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| 7:6 | 7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,
a daughter challenges299 tn Heb “rises up against.” her mother,
and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are his own servants.300 tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”
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| 7:7 | 7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;
I will wait for the God who delivers me.
My God will hear my lament.301 tn Heb “me.” In the interest of clarity the nature of the prophet’s cry has been specified as “my lament” in the translation.
Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated
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| 7:8 | 7:8 My enemies,302 tn The singular form is understood as collective. do not gloat303 tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.” over me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.304 sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.
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| 7:9 | 7:9 I must endure305 tn Heb “lift, bear.” the Lord’s anger,
for I have sinned against him.
But then306 tn Heb “until.” he will defend my cause,307 tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”
and accomplish justice on my behalf.
He will lead me out into the light;
I will experience firsthand308 tn Heb “see.” his deliverance.309 tn Or “justice, vindication.”
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| 7:10 | 7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.
They say310 tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons. to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
I will gloat over them.311 tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”
Then they will be trampled down312 tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”
like mud in the streets.
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| 7:11 | 7:11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;
in that day your boundary will be extended.313 sn Personified Jerusalem declares her confidence in vv. 8-10; in this verse she is assured that she will indeed be vindicated.
A Closing Prayer
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| 7:12 | 7:12 In that day people314 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). will come to you315 tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee.
from Assyria as far as316 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”). Egypt,
from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River,317 tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV).
from the seacoasts318 tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”). and the mountains.319 tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”).
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| 7:13 | 7:13 The earth will become desolate320 tn Or “will be ruined.”
because of what its inhabitants have done.321 tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.”
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| 7:14 | 7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod,322 tn Or “with your scepter” (the Hebrew term can mean either “rod” or “scepter”).
the flock that belongs to you,323 tn Heb “the flock of your inheritance.”
the one that lives alone in a thicket,
in the midst of a pastureland.324 tn Or “in the midst of Carmel.” The Hebrew term translated “pastureland” may be a place name.
Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead,325 sn The regions of Bashan and Gilead, located in Transjordan, were noted for their rich grazing lands.
as they did in the old days.326 tn Heb “as in the days of antiquity.”
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| 7:15 | 7:15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,
I will show you327 tn Heb “him.” This probably refers to Israel in a collective sense. Because the switch from direct address to the third person is awkward, some prefer to emend the suffix to a second person form. In any case, it is necessary to employ a second person pronoun in the translation to maintain the connection for the English reader. miraculous deeds.”328 sn I will show you miraculous deeds. In this verse the Lord responds to the petition of v. 14 with a brief promise of deliverance.
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| 7:16 | 7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by329 tn Or “be ashamed of.” all their strength,
they will put their hands over their mouths,
and act as if they were deaf.330 tn Heb “and their ears will be deaf.” Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the Lord’s power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.
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| 7:17 | 7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like serpents crawling on the ground.331 tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view.
They will come trembling from their strongholds
to the Lord our God;332 tn The translation assumes that the phrase אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (’el-yÿhvah ’elohenu, “to the Lord our God”) goes with what precedes. Another option is to take the phrase with the following verb, in which case one could translate, “to the Lord our God they will turn in dread.”
they will be terrified333 tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.” of you.334 tn The Lord is addressed directly using the second person.
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| 7:18 | 7:18 There is no other God like you!335 tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”
You336 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. forgive sin
and pardon337 tn Heb “pass over.” the rebellion
of those who remain among your people.338 tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”
You do not remain angry forever,339 tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”
but delight in showing loyal love.
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| 7:19 | 7:19 You will once again340 tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy. have mercy on us;
you will conquer341 tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues. our evil deeds;
you will hurl our342 tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty. sins into the depths of the sea.343 sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).
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| 7:20 | 7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob
and extend your loyal love to Abraham,344 tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.
which you promised on oath to our ancestors345 tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.
in ancient times.346 tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”
Nahum Introduction
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Mikha 7 - NET Bible [draft] Lab
