Verses 9-12 stated the accusations of the Lord against his people, and verses 13-16 state the punishment. If we continue to use the legal language of the court scene, we can say that the verdict on the people is “guilty” and these verses state the verdict. Verse 13 is a general introduction, verses 14 and 15 give specific details of the punishment, and verse 16 forms a closing summary.

Verse 13 consist of two clauses, as in Revised Standard Version, but Good News Translation combines them into a single clause, and many translators will find it convenient to do the same. The Lord declares that he has already begun the set of events that will bring ruin and destruction on the city. Ruin perhaps refers more to commercial disaster, and destruction to military defeat, but the terms are general. More detail is given in the following verses. The reason for this punishment, because of your sins, is again emphasized. Note that in translating begun, Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are following the ancient Greek and Syriac translations. The Hebrew text says literally “I have made sick to smite you.” If this is followed, it must be understood in the sense of “deal you a crippling blow” (Allen), so the general meaning is about the same, whether one text is followed or the other.

Since the actions of this verse are expressed as nouns in English and the reason is given last, it may be necessary to restructure these ideas in some languages. The verse can become “(In all these ways) you have sinned, therefore I have already begun to punish you and to destroy you.” The optional “In all these ways” can be added to show the relation of this verse to verses 10-12, but it should be remembered that the list of sins given in these verses is probably only a sample of all the evil that had been done.

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 .