The verse opens with a summons by the prophet to Listen. Here, as elsewhere in Micah (1.2; 3.1, 9), this word indicates the beginning of a new section. The verb is plural in Hebrew, but we are not told who is being spoken to. We may assume it to be the people of Israel.
The object of the verb Listen to is literally “what the LORD says” (Revised Standard Version), but Good News Translation has expanded this to the LORD’s case against Israel. The use of the legal term case prepares the reader for the court scene that follows, and many translators will find it helpful to use similar terminology. Case refers to any matter that a person may bring to a court of law. In some languages this idea will have to be expressed as a verb such as “accuse.” This may then be expressed as “Listen to what the Lord accuses Israel of doing.”
The second clause of the verse has the verb Arise in the singular, while Listen in the first clause is in the plural. This shows that someone different is being spoken to. If this clause is understood to be spoken by the Lord, as Revised Standard Version seems to understand it, then it is probably addressed to the nation of Israel. The singular would then be a figurative way of addressing the whole group. By this understanding the people would thus be summoned to state their case in answer to the accusation that the Lord is about to bring. Some scholars have understood the singular verb to be addressed to the prophet, calling him to speak as an advocate on behalf of the Lord. Others, however, point out that there is no parallel to this in other court scenes in the Old Testament. Good News Translation with its Arise, O LORD, and present your case understands this clause to be spoken by the prophet and addressed to the Lord. Since the clause that precedes and the one that follows are both the words of the prophet, it seems best to understand this middle clause also to be his words, and addressed to the Lord.
Arise means “Stand up,” as someone might do who was about to make a speech. It can be translated as “Get ready to speak,” or it can be omitted.
Present your case means to explain in court your understanding of the matter the court is supposed to make a judgment about. In this context it may be translated as “accuse the people.” It may seem strange that the Lord should present his case, as though someone could serve as judge over him, and it is possible to understand that the Lord himself is both the judge and the one who accuses the people. However, even if the Lord is seen as only one of the participants in the trial, we must remember that this language is figurative and is used to make a point more vividly. If we do not understand the Lord to be the judge, then we are not told who the judge is, and it is likely that the prophet was not concerned about filling out all the details of the picture.
The mountains and the hills are called upon as witnesses, as are other features of the natural world in other Old Testament court scenes (see also Deut 4.26; 30.19; 31.28; Psa 50.4; Isa 1.2; 41.1; Jer 2.12). In the Hebrew they are mentioned in separate clauses, but in Good News Translation the two nouns are put together in one clause, as this sounds better in English. Mountains and hills here are simply parallel expressions. If there are not two convenient terms in a language, it is quite acceptable to use only one term.
The Hebrew imperative verb translated let … hear is again in the plural, since its subject hills is plural. In some languages it may seem very strange to speak to the mountains and hills and to ask them to do things. This is of course only figurative language, but it is a major part of the total image being created by the prophet in these verses, and it will be good to keep it, if possible. In some cases it may be possible to turn the image into a simile and say “the mountains and hills should be like the witnesses in the trial.”
It is necessary to note that the mountains and the hills are not called to give evidence, like the witnesses in a modern law court. Rather they are called to witness or observe the trial itself. Some scholars think that they are called to witness the trial because they were in existence at the time the original covenant was made between the Lord and his people, and thus were in a sense witnesses at that time also.
Revised Standard Version “voice” is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The meaning is brought out plainly in Good News Translation what you say. Some translators will need to follow Good News Translation in dropping the figure of speech, but for many others a more literal translation of “voice” will be perfectly natural and will carry the right meaning clearly.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on Micah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .