Here the prophet speaks again in the first person, as in verse 1, but this time his words are full of confidence and hope in contrast to the despair of the earlier verse.

The opening words “But as for me” (Revised Standard Version) convey quite a strong break from the previous verse. Whatever the problems of family life, perhaps even within his own family, Micah himself asserts that he will watch for the LORD. In some languages this may sound incomplete, and it may be necessary to complete the sense by saying “I will watch for the Lord to act” or something similar. It is possible that in some languages watch for will suggest too strongly that Micah expected actually to see God. If this is a problem, “wait for” can be used in this line as well as in the second line.

In the second half of the sentence, the meaning of the phrase “the God of my salvation” (Revised Standard Version) is rather obscure, and so Good News Translation makes the relations between participants clear, with God, who will save me. However, it may be necessary to restructure and say something like “I will wait for God because I am sure he will save me.” Save can be translated as “rescue,” “deliver,” or even “help me to stay alive.”

The final sentence, My God will hear me, may also need slight expansion in some languages in which one speaks of hearing a person’s words rather than hearing the person. An expression like “My God will hear my prayer” will probably be suitable. In many languages My God will be a meaningful expression that suggests an intimate relationship with God. In other languages, however, it may be necessary to say “God, whom I worship” or something similar.

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 .