The outburst of praise continues in verse 19 along the same lines. First is the general statement that the Lord will be merciful to us once again. Be merciful or “have compassion” (Revised Standard Version) refers to the concern and care that a person gives to someone weaker than he is, someone for whom he feels responsible. In many languages the usual word for “love” often has a meaning quite close to this. Once again refers back to the time before God began to punish Israel for their sins, when he had been merciful to them as he will be again.

Then come further pictures of how he forgives sins and removes them completely. The first picture says that the Lord will trample our sins underfoot. This action demonstrates his complete victory over our sin. The theme recalls the treatment of the enemies of God’s people in verse 10, though the words used here are different. The symbolic meaning of the treading will probably be clear in most languages. If it is not, it can be made clearer by turning the metaphor into a simile and saying “You will conquer our sins as if you trampled them underfoot.” Some languages will have a single word that means “trample underfoot.”

The second picture speaks of sins being “cast … into the depths of the sea” (Revised Standard Version). The point is that sins are totally and permanently removed. Again, the meaning should be clear, but if necessary the metaphor can be turned into a simile. A translation base may be “You will remove our sins as if you dropped them to the bottom of the sea.”

The themes of verses 18 and 19 recur in the form of a simple pattern. This is shown as follows, quoting the keywords from Revised Standard Version:

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 .