The people here address the Lord in his role as their shepherd. This is an important Old Testament picture of the Lord’s relationship to his people, best known in Psalm 23. Here the shepherd is asked to fulfill his task of taking care of the people who are called “the flock of thy inheritance” (Revised Standard Version). The means of doing this is “with thy staff,” that is, with the usual equipment of a shepherd. (Contrast the expression “shepherd Assyria with the sword” in 5.6, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible.) Good News Translation does not mention the staff as the instrument the shepherd uses, but it conveys the idea of protection by using a noun rather than a verb and saying Be a shepherd to your people. In areas where sheep are not kept, it will probably be good for translators to follow this example. But it may be necessary to change the figure of speech from a metaphor to a simile and say “Be like a shepherd to your people” or “Look after your people as a shepherd looks after his sheep.” Another possibility is to mention the staff or crook and state its purpose, as Jerusalem Bible does: “With shepherd’s crook lead your people to pasture.” A shepherd is simply a man who takes care of a flock of sheep, or who looks after them. His “staff” is a long, straight pole, which he used mainly as a walking stick and as a support while he was standing watching the flock. This verse suggests that he may also have used it to guide the sheep or to protect them.

Revised Standard Version “flock of thy inheritance” is a literal translation that continues the metaphor. “Thy inheritance” here means “belonging to you in a special way.” Good News Translation drops the figure in this phrase and states the plain meaning with the people you have chosen. If a simile has been used in the opening clause, it can well be continued here by saying “we are like a flock that you own” or “your very own flock.” Even if a translator decides not to use the figure, it may be helpful in some languages to say “the people you have chosen to be your own.” In any case, translators should be careful not to use a word meaning “inheritance” if this will suggest that someone has to die before the heir can take possession.

The middle part of the verse is less clear in meaning. For Revised Standard Version‘s “forest” and “garden land” Good News Translation has wilderness and fertile land. The basic contrast is between cultivated and uncultivated land, and in the majority of languages there will be little difficulty in expressing this distinction. The sentence seems to describe the Lord’s people as dwelling only in the rather barren uplands of Judah. It is therefore an implied request for the extension of their territory, as mentioned in verse 11, to include the better land in surrounding areas such as the coastal plain, the plain of Jezreel, and the Jordan valley.

The word apart or “alone” (Revised Standard Version) is probably used to stress that they are not living in a good situation. Not only is their ground poor, but they are cut off from other peoples and cannot get goods or help from them. Some commentators see this as a reference to the people of Israel being set apart as a special people of God, but that is probably not the main meaning here.

The third sentence continues the metaphor of the first with its plea Let them go and feed. The reference to Bashan and Gilead supports the view that the people are asking to extend their territory. As Good News Translation makes explicit, these were areas of rich pastures. They were located on the east of the River Jordan and were among the first areas to come into the possession of the Israelites at the conquest. They had been lost to invaders in the eighth century. The prayer for their restoration in effect suggests a picture of a future that will be as glorious as the past, when the united monarchy was at the height of its power under King Solomon.

The translation of Good News Translation is rather surprising here, since it continues with the metaphor of the people as a flock of sheep who are going to feed, after having dropped this metaphor earlier and not actually having called the people a “flock.” It will probably be better for translators to be consistent. Either the picture should be kept throughout the verse, or else it should be dropped here at the end as well as in the reference to the people. If it is dropped, it is enough to say “Let them go and live in the rich land of Bashan and Gilead.” Rich in reference to pastures or fields means that the land is very fertile. Pastures are large fields with good grass for the sheep to eat.

Though the individual clauses of this verse make sense in themselves, it is not easy to see what the relationships are between them. Good News Translation tries to make these clearer by its use of Although. The sequence of thought is a follows: at this time the Lord’s people occupy only a small territory, but there is better land in neighboring areas; therefore they ask the Lord to allow them to expand and use it again, as they did long ago.

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 .