Micah 7 (NET)

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

1 I am depressed!1

Indeed,2 it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested.3

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much.4

2 Faithful men have disappeared5 from the land;

there are no godly men left.6

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;7

they hunt their own brother with a net.8

3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;9

government officials and judges take bribes,10

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.11

4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes.12

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way,13

and then you will experience confusion.14

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!15

6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges16 her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants.17

7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament.18

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

8 My enemies,19 do not gloat20 over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.21

9 I must endure22 the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then23 he will defend my cause,24

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand25 his deliverance.26

10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say27 to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them.28

Then they will be trampled down29

like mud in the streets.

11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;

in that day your boundary will be extended.30

A Closing Prayer

12 In that day people31 will come to you32

from Assyria as far as33 Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River,34

from the seacoasts35 and the mountains.36

13 The earth will become desolate37

because of what its inhabitants have done.38

14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod,39

the flock that belongs to you,40

the one that lives alone in a thicket,

in the midst of a pastureland.41

Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead,42

as they did in the old days.43

15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,

I will show you44 miraculous deeds.”45

16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by46 all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf.47

17 They will lick the dust like a snake,

like serpents crawling on the ground.48

They will come trembling from their strongholds

to the Lord our God;49

they will be terrified50 of you.51

18 There is no other God like you!52

You53 forgive sin

and pardon54 the rebellion

of those who remain among your people.55

You do not remain angry forever,56

but delight in showing loyal love.

19 You will once again57 have mercy on us;

you will conquer58 our evil deeds;

you will hurl our59 sins into the depths of the sea.60

20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham,61

which you promised on oath to our ancestors62

in ancient times.63

1tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.” 2tn Or “for.” 3tn 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.” 4tn Heb “my appetite craves.” 5tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.” 6tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.” 7tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.” 8sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net. 9tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.” 10tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.” 11tn 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. 12tn 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. 13tn 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.” 14tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.” 15tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.” 16tn Heb “rises up against.” 17tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.” 18tn Heb “me.” In the interest of clarity the nature of the prophet’s cry has been specified as “my lament” in the translation. 19tn The singular form is understood as collective. 20tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.” 21sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter. 22tn Heb “lift, bear.” 23tn Heb “until.” 24tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.” 25tn Heb “see.” 26tn Or “justice, vindication.” 27tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons. 28tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.” 29tn Heb “a trampled-down place.” 30sn Personified Jerusalem declares her confidence in vv. 8-10; in this verse she is assured that she will indeed be vindicated. 31tn 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). 32tn The masculine pronominal suffix suggests the Lord is addressed. Some emend to a feminine form and take Jerusalem as the addressee. 33tc 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”). 34tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates River. This has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also NASB, NIV). 35tn Heb “and sea from sea.” Many prefer to emend this to מִיָּם עַד יָם (miyyam ’ad yam, “from sea to sea”). 36tn Heb “and mountain of the mountain.” Many prefer to emend this to וּמֵהַר עַד הַר (umehar ’ad har, “and mountain to mountain”). 37tn Or “will be ruined.” 38tn Heb “on account of its inhabitants, because of the fruit of their deeds.” 39tn Or “with your scepter” (the Hebrew term can mean either “rod” or “scepter”). 40tn Heb “the flock of your inheritance.” 41tn Or “in the midst of Carmel.” The Hebrew term translated “pastureland” may be a place name.sn The point seems to be that Israel is in a vulnerable position, like sheep in a thicket populated by predators, while rich pastureland (their homeland and God’s blessings) is in view. 42sn The regions of Bashan and Gilead, located in Transjordan, were noted for their rich grazing lands. 43tn Heb “as in the days of antiquity.” 44tn 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. 45sn I will show you miraculous deeds. In this verse the Lord responds to the petition of v. 14 with a brief promise of deliverance. 46tn Or “be ashamed of.” 47tn 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. 48tn Heb “like crawling things on the ground.” The parallelism suggests snakes are in view. 49tn Thetranslationassumesthatthe 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.” 50tn Heb “they will be in dread and afraid.” 51tn The Lord is addressed directly using the second person. 52tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!” 53tn 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. 54tn Heb “pass over.” 55tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.” 56tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.” 57tn 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. 58tn 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. 59tn 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. 60sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos). 61tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham. 62tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents. 63tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”