In Micah’s day, society was mainly agricultural, and wealth was therefore mainly in the form of land. Each family had its own ancestral land, which had originally been distributed by lot after the conquest under Joshua. It had been intended that this family land would never change owners but would remain in the possession of the family forever (see, for instance, Lev 25.23-28; Num 27.1-11; 33.54; 36.1-12). As long as each family did have its own land, the standard of living everyone enjoyed was about the same throughout the community. But after the monarchy was established, the people of the towns and especially of the court began to grow richer than the people of the rural areas. Farmers often did not have enough wealth to enable them to survive a series of bad harvests. They had to sell their ancestral land, which in this way would pass to the rich. It soon happened that the rich were no longer content to wait for misfortune to compel the poor people to sell their land; they would devise ways of forcing them to sell, and would even steal the land if necessary (see Isa 5.8). The courts were in the power of the same rich people (see Micah 3.11; 7.3), and there was no justice for the poor (Amos 5.10-12). The outstanding example of this kind of behavior is recorded in 1 Kings 21, where Ahab and Jezebel had Naboth murdered in order to take over his vineyard. This crime earned God’s judgment, proclaimed through the prophet Elijah.

This oracle of Micah opens quite abruptly with the announcement that those who do … evil to others will soon have the same thing done to them. If the rich could not sleep at night, they would lie awake and plan evil (compare Psa 36.4) instead of thinking about God as the psalmist did (Psa 63.6). During the daylight they would put their plans into effect as soon as they have the chance.

How terrible …: in Hebrew this word is used when expressing great sorrow because someone has died. The Good News Translation translation gives the meaning better than Revised Standard Version, because Revised Standard Version “Woe to” can easily be misunderstood as a wish that evil may come to someone. The Hebrew prophets took this expression, which was usually used at funerals, and used it to make their messages more vivid. God had showed them what was going to happen to the people who did evil. When the prophets cried out, using this word, they were acting as though this punishment had already happened and the sinners were already dead. Many languages have words that are used to express sorrow for someone who has died, and it may be very effective to use these words here. In other languages translators could try to find an expression like Good News Translation‘s How terrible, which will sound as though the prophet is crying out because he has just seen something very bad happen to the people.

The main reason these people are criticized is of course that they plan evil, and not that they lie awake. Their thoughts are so full of their evil plans that they cannot even sleep. Plan evil means to “think of bad things to do to other people.” In some languages it may be necessary to say that this is at night, during the time that they should be sleeping.

It may be necessary for some translators to describe these evil people first, and then to say “Woe to them” at the end of the sentence.

These people can hardly wait for morning to come, so they can do the evil they have planned. The Good News Translation clause as soon as they have the chance fits well into this meaning and is certainly not wrong. The idea is that they may not always be able to carry out their plans immediately. They may have to wait for just the right moment, but they will do these evil things as soon as they can.

However, this clause is translated by Revised Standard Version as “because it is in the power of their hand,” and most other English translations interpret this clause in basically this same way. This is probably a reference to the fact that these rich people are in a position to do whatever they want. No one can or will stop them. This may be translated as “because they can do whatever they want to do,” or as New English Bible says, “knowing that they have the power.”

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 .

In verse 10 the prophet returns to the image of birth pains and tells the people of Jerusalem (literally “daughter of Zion,” Revised Standard Version) that they will indeed have to suffer pain like a woman giving birth to a child.

There are two points in these phrases where the Hebrew wording is the same as in an earlier verse, but where Good News Translation has translated slightly differently. In the Hebrew the prophet speaks to the “daughter of Zion” both here and in verse 8. In verse 8, where the city as a place is in focus, Good News Translation translates this as Jerusalem. Here, where we are told that the people will leave the city, “Jerusalem” alone would not make sense, and Good News Translation has people of Jerusalem. Also Good News Translation‘s two expressions, like a woman in labor (verse 9) and like a woman giving birth (verse 10), are translations of the same Hebrew expression. The two English expressions mean almost the same thing, and Good News Translation has probably used different expressions because it sounds better in English, rather than to suggest any difference in meaning. Translators may use the same or different expressions in these two verses, according to what sounds best in their languages.

The people are told to Twist and groan. Twist means to move one’s body back and forth because the pain is so great. This is of course figurative language to show the agony of the people, and the translator should feel free to use words in his own language that will convey the picture of the pains of the woman in childbirth.

The cause of this agony is that the people will have to leave the city. This is a plain reference to the exile. The reason that the people have to leave the city is that enemies will force them to leave. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear in the translation. There will be severe hardships on the journey, as the people will have nowhere to stay but will live in the open country. The open country refers primarily to land that is away from the towns and villages, so that there is no place for shelter from the weather. It is also open in the sense of having few trees, but this is not particularly important in this context, and the translator will not need to stress this point if it is a problem in his language.

The destination of the people will be Babylon. Again, in some languages it may be clearer to say “you will be taken away to Babylon” or “your enemies will take you to Babylon.” Babylon is a very distant land, and their exile there might lead the people to suppose that they would be separated from the Lord. But the prophet assures them that this is not so. Even there the LORD will save you from your enemies, presumably the Babylonians themselves. Those whom the Lord saves will become the remnant with whom he will make the new beginning spoken of in verse 7.

Save in Good News Translation translates two Hebrew verbs, given as “rescued” and “redeem” in Revised Standard Version. The root of the verb “redeem” is the same as that used of Boaz in his responsibilities towards Naomi and Ruth in the Book of Ruth (see A Handbook on The Book of Ruth, page 41, for further details). If a language has a expression that implies helping a relative who is in great danger, such a term may be excellent here. In other languages it is probably best not to make a special effort to emphasize this point, as it is not especially emphasized in the Hebrew. When choosing the term or terms to translate what the Lord will do, one should imagine the situation. Some of your people are in the hands of your enemies, and you must save them by an act of strength. What would be the appropriate terms to describe this?

The word “redeem” (Revised Standard Version) in English sometimes implies that money will be paid to the enemies, as does “ransom,” used by Jerusalem Bible. But this is merely figurative language, and the translator should not suggest that God is going to pay the Babylonians to free his people.

The expression from your enemies is literally “from the hand of your enemies.” The more literal wording may sound more natural in some languages.

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 .

This verse repeats the accusation that the people have been disloyal to God, and it also repeats the threat that God will punish them.

Here the people’s sin is stated in terms of a historical example. They had “kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab” (Revised Standard Version). Omri was politically one of the most important kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. He ruled from 885 to 874 B.C. and was followed by his son Ahab from 874 to 853 B.C. The family of Omri held the throne longer than any other family in the northern kingdom, yet they were outstanding for their wickedness. Ahab encouraged people to worship foreign gods because he was under the influence of his pagan wife Jezebel. He is condemned especially for this in 1 Kgs 16.23-24; 21.25-26.

Notice how Good News Translation has built into its translation some of the information that is only implicit in the Hebrew. The words This will happen because link this verse with those that precede. In the rest of the sentence, you have followed the evil practices of King Omri and of his son, King Ahab, the words evil, King, and his son are all added to make explicit to the modern reader information that was already known to the original hearers or readers. Most translators will find it helpful to their readers if they do the same. Followed means “to do the same thing that someone else does,” or “to copy.” Evil practices could be translated as “the evil things they did.”

On the other hand, Good News Translation has translated the literal “of the house of Ahab” as of his son, King Ahab. “The house of Ahab” means Ahab and the others of his family who became kings. Ahab was followed as king first by one son, Ahaziah, then by another son, Joram or Jehoram. These were the last kings of Israel who came from the family of Omri and Ahab. Both Ahaziah and Joram are called evil kings (see 1 Kgs 22.52 and 2 Kgs 3.2). The whole line can be restructured as “you have done the same evil things that King Omri and his son King Ahab and the others of their family did.” Or it may be easier in some languages to say “… and his son King Ahab and his sons did.”

The people of Micah’s day, about 150 years later than Omri and Ahab, had followed the bad example of these kings and could thus be said to have continued their policies. Policies means “their usual way of acting.” Because of their evil deeds, the Lord would bring these people to ruin. This can be translated as “destroy your country.” The prophets probably thought that this would happen by sending an enemy army to conquer them. When this happened, all the neighboring nations would despise them. This is the meaning of the expression “make … your inhabitants a hissing” (Revised Standard Version). In places where hissing is used as a sign of scorn, translators may be able to mention hissing, but even then they will probably need to expand the sentence and say “I will make the people of other nations hiss at you.”

The last sentence of the verse repeats the sense of the previous one. Good News Translation has restructured the literal translation of Revised Standard Version into simple and natural modern English: People everywhere will treat you with contempt. People everywhere refers to “the people of other nations.” If this group has just been mentioned in the previous line, translators could just refer to them with a pronoun, “they,” or perhaps one could even combine the last two lines of this verse, since the meaning of the two is so similar.

As the footnotes in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation show, the reading “peoples” or People everywhere follows the ancient Greek translation. If the Hebrew text is followed, the meaning of the final line is as in Good News Translation‘s second footnote. The thought is then that the people of Israel deserve to be scorned by other nations, even though they are God’s people, because they have disobeyed him.

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 .

Verses 12 and 13 form a marked contrast in theme with those that precede and follow. They speak of the restoration of the nation from its place of exile. The contrast has led many scholars to consider them a later addition to the text, but this problem does not really affect the translation. Verse 12 is in the first person, and for this reason is included within quotation marks in Good News Translation as being a continuing part of the Lord’s words beginning in verse 8. Good News Translation ends this quotation at the end of verse 12, because verse 13 is in the third person and is taken as the prophet’s comment on or expansion of verse 12. Such changes of person are quite common in prophetic writings and are not necessarily a conclusive guide to a change of speaker, though it does seem the most probable interpretation in this case. Most English translations do not use quotation marks here and therefore do not commit themselves on this point. However, New International Version places all of verses 12 and 13 within quotes and thus seems to regard them as the words of the Lord in a prophecy separate from verses 6-11. Another view is that these two verses are spoken by Micah’s opponents, the false prophets. If this is the case, then they are a response to the threat of exile in verse 10 and offer the people of Israel only a false sense of security. This is the view of de Waard.

Verse 12 is addressed to “Jacob” and “the remnant of Israel” (Revised Standard Version). (For a discussion of the term “remnant,” see comments on 4.7.) These two terms together signify the entire nation, or at least all those members of it that are left. The you (plural) of this verse does not refer to the same group of people who were addressed in verses 8-10. Here the whole nation is addressed, though it is not likely that the oppressors of verses 8-10 will be included in those that are left (see verse 5). Note that Good News Translation has felt that it is clearer to use only the single name Israel to refer to the people.

The Lord’s promise is that he will gather them all together. This is then repeated in synonymous terms, I will bring you together, and expanded with a lengthy simile. The second verb used in the Hebrew, translated bring … together in Good News Translation, is the verb most commonly associated in the writings of the prophets with the restoration of Israel from exile. See for instance Isa 43.5; Jer 23.3; 31.8. As in verse 5, it is assumed that the whole nation will be going into exile. This has not really been stated in the preceding verses, and a reader may have thought that only the oppressors will be punished, although verse 10 may imply the whole country being destroyed. It may be necessary for some translators to make this explicit in verse 12 and say “I will bring you together from the places where you have been exiled.” (Good News Translation has made the exile explicit in verse 13.)

The simile used in the latter part of the verse is that of sheep returning to the fold. The sheep of course stand for the Lord’s people, and the fold for the land of Israel. Just as a pasture is full of sheep, so the land will once again be filled with many people. The Hebrew implies a scene of “noisy” (Revised Standard Version) and bustling activity, as of a thriving community. A fold is an area enclosed by walls where the sheep may be taken for protection at night. A pasture is an area with plenty of grass, where the sheep spend most of their time. It is not enclosed by walls. In Revised Standard Version the two comparisons with “sheep in a fold” and “a flock in its pasture” seem to be a parallelism, which a translator will not necessarily have to translate twice. But Good News Translation has understood these to be two separate comparisons. The people being brought back from exile are like sheep returning to the fold. The land … filled with many people is compared to a pasture full of sheep. The Hebrew text again has some uncertainties of detail, but the overall meaning is plain.

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 .

Verse 9 expresses much the same ideas as verse 8, but in simpler language. Some translators may prefer to make the connection between verse 8 and verse 9 clearer. This can be done by beginning verse 9 with something like “In the same way” or “In this way.”

“Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries” (Revised Standard Version) describes a sign of victory (see Exo 17.11-13, where the people of Israel were victorious in battle as long as Moses kept his arms raised). To say “your enemies shall be cut off” is to speak of their utter defeat. The Hebrew verb for “cut off” is often used in this way, and its occurrence here foreshadows its use four times in verses 10-13. Good News Translation avoids mention of the symbolic gesture of raising the hand in victory, and also avoids the figurative use of “cut off.” Thus it expresses the sense of the verse in plain language as Israel will conquer her enemies and destroy them all. Israel means of course “the people of Israel.” Good News Translation refers to Israel as her in the expression her enemies, but translators should use whatever pronoun is natural in their own languages.

In Hebrew, the prophet speaks directly to the people of Israel in this verse, as shown by “Your hand” in Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation has felt that it is easier to translate this verse in the third person, but translators can keep the direct address by showing in their translations who it is that is spoken to: “Israel, you will conquer.”

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 .

This verse begins the second paragraph of the section, in which the prophet addresses the people to encourage them in their hope in the Lord. Again the people are addressed as collective singular, and again this is translated with English plural forms in Good News Translation. Good News Translation has added the words People of Jerusalem in order to make clear to whom this is addressed. The promise is that the time to rebuild the city walls is coming. This actually took place under Nehemiah, probably beginning about 445 B.C. In areas where walled cities are unknown, it may be sufficient to say “the defenses of your city.”

Not only will the city itself be restored, but also At that time the territory held by the Lord’s people will be enlarged. Perhaps this means that they will be given back all the lands ruled by King Solomon when the monarchy was at the height of its power. In languages with no passive forms, this may be restructured to “the territory you hold will be much greater than it is now.”

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 .

Since idolatry was the cause of this punishment, the precious idols will be singled out for particular attention and smashed to pieces. Gifts given to the temple prostitutes by their clients will be destroyed by fire. It is not certain what these gifts were, whether they were objects for use in religious ceremonies, or gifts that were sold to pay for the making of more idols.

The first and third poetic lines of verse 7 in Hebrew are very similar in meaning (see Revised Standard Version), and the translator may prefer to combine them into one sentence. Idols and images are the carved statues of gods, made of wood of stone and sometimes covered with metal such as gold, silver, or bronze. They will be broken into small pieces by these enemies that are coming. The verb used should be one that fits with breaking up stone, as this seems to be the main idea here. When the smashing is finished, they will just be a desolate heap of rubble.

As well as destroying the idols, the enemies will burn up everything given to Samaria’s temple prostitutes. Since we do not know just what these items were, this is rather difficult to translate. They are called “hires” in Revised Standard Version, and similar terms are used in other translations (New American Bible [New American Bible] “wages”; Jerusalem Bible “earnings”). This word simply means that they were the pay that the women received from the men who came to sleep with them. From the context it sounds as though this pay still had some importance in the false worship. The “hires” do not refer to coins, however, since they will be burned, and in any case coins were not in common use at that time.

The basic idea seems to be that “the enemies will burn all the things that the worship place has received from the men who came to sleep with the sacred prostitutes.” Not all of this needs to be said, of course, if it can be made shorter in any way. If there is no expression for prostitutes in a language, they are “women who let men sleep with them as part of their false worship.”

Some scholars interpret the “hires” in this second line (Revised Standard Version) as just another way of referring to the idols (compare New English Bible). If this interpretation is followed, then all of the first three lines of verse 7 say basically the same thing and may be combined in one sentence: “The enemies will smash the stone idols and burn the wooden ones, and only a heap of rubble will be left.”

The second half of verse 7 contains a figurative expression whose precise meaning is not clear. A literal translation is given in Revised Standard Version. The “hire of a harlot” refers to the false worship of which prostitution is frequently a picture in the Old Testament (see Ezek 16; Hos 1.2). Most likely literal prostitution was part of the false worship. This is the understanding that Good News Translation has expressed plainly with its mention of fertility rites and temple prostitutes. Whatever the details may mean, it is clear that the Lord’s intention is to make the punishment fit the crime. Thus the idols and images on which Samaria had spent its wealth will be taken away by its invaders to be used for temple prostitutes elsewhere.

The picture of the people of Israel being unfaithful to God as a woman may be unfaithful to her husband is used a number of times in the Old Testament. However, it is often difficult to translate without going into more detail than would fit the emphasis in some passages. It is because of the difficulty of keeping this picture that Good News Translation has left it out and simply given what it understands to be the meaning here.

Samaria is of course “the people of Samaria.” These things refer to the idols and other things used in worship that are mentioned in the first part of verse 7.

Fertility rites are the various ceremonies and other acts (including sacred prostitution) that were done as part of the false worship. Their purpose was to ensure that the gods would make the land fertile and make the women bear children. It may be difficult to try to give all of this meaning in translation, and if that is the case, it is probably enough here just to say “false worship.”

If the translator wants to try to keep the picture of the people of Israel being like a prostitute, there are several possibilities. A language may have a word meaning “unfaithful” that is usually used of a woman being sexually unfaithful, but which can also be used of people in relation to God. Then one can say “The people of Samaria have been unfaithful to me, and have acquired all of these things for worshiping other gods.” If there is no one word that can help to give this idea by itself, then it will be necessary to go into more detail, saying something like “the people of Samaria have gone after other gods just as a prostitute goes after many men, and that is how they have acquired all these things.”

Her enemies will carry them off for temple prostitutes elsewhere gives the probable meaning of the last line in verse 7. Elsewhere refers to the other country or countries that the enemies come from. The meaning is that they will take the idols and other things home with them to use in the immoral worship of their own false gods.

A translator must decide just what the prostitutes in this last line refers to. There seem to be at least two possibilities. One is that the enemy soldiers will take these things that they have captured, and use them as payment when they themselves go to the temple prostitutes. If this is the meaning, then these things really do become the “hire of a harlot” or “the pay for a prostitute.”

The second possibility is that the enemy people are being compared to prostitutes, just as the people of Israel were, because they worship false gods. If this is the meaning, it is better not to take it too literally, because it is not likely that Micah is suggesting that these enemy soldiers really ought to be worshiping the God of Israel. This meaning may be translated “but now these things will be carried off by people who are just as bad as the people of Samaria are, to use in the immoral worship of their own false gods.”

Moffatt has a particularly good rendering of these last two lines of verse 7, which seems to take this second meaning: “once the prize of faithless living, now the prey of faithless foes.” This is a good rendering for English because of the alliteration of “prize” and “prey,” and because “faithless” has two meanings that fit will here. We would not expect other translators to be able to follow this wording exactly, but it will be excellent if they can find a way to get the same effect in their own language.

If we say that the enemies will carry these things off, for whatever purpose, this sets up a logical clash with the earlier part of the verse if taken too literally; how could the idols and images once smashed or burnt be carried off for use somewhere else? These two statements are to be seen as alternative poetic ways of speaking of the ending of the false worship, together with the destruction of the city where it was carried out. There is no real contradiction. Such paradoxical statements occur elsewhere in Scripture and serve to emphasize a point. See, for instance, Micah 6.14 “You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything you do save…”; Mark 4.25 (Revised Standard Version) “from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away”; John 3.32-33 (Revised Standard Version) “… no one receives his testimony; he who receives his testimony….”

If possible a translator should simply allow the translation to follow the original, and not be worried about the seeming contradiction here. It may be that the prophet is simply predicting alternative possibilities. However, if it seems to create a serious problem in the language, it is possible to say that some idols will be smashed and burned and others will be carried off.

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 .

Micah points out that the confidence of the leaders is misplaced. Not only will harm come to them, it will come because of them. The Lord sees through their pretense and will bring judgment upon Jerusalem rather than allow their evil deeds to continue. The verse begins with And so or “Therefore” (Revised Standard Version), showing that the punishment now being declared is the natural result of the terrible situation that has just been described. Note that verse 11 talks about the various groups of leaders in the third person, while verse 12 now returns to direct speech, as in verses 9-10. In a situation like this it will usually be possible in translation to put verse 11 into direct speech also, to avoid confusion. If a translator can do this easily in the receptor language, then he may prefer to do so. However, many translators will probably find it rather difficult to turn verse 11 into direct speech because of the different groups and combinations of groups referred to. If verse 11 is kept as indirect speech, it may help to make clear in verse 12 who the you refers to, by saying “you rulers of Israel” again.

The punishment that is described resembles that which had already happened to Samaria (1.6). It is expressed in a parallel structure again, and here at the climax of the passage the parallelism in retained in English even in Good News Translation. Zion and Jerusalem here are used as synonyms. If a translator decides to mention both Zion and Jerusalem, the important thing is for readers to know that they are alternative names for the same city. This may not be clear, since different things are described as happening to them, as if they were two different places. It does seem inconsistent to omit the name Zion in verse 10 and to keep it in verse 12, especially since it is possible that verse 12 uses both names in order to refer back clearly to verse 10. Unless a translator has good reason to do different things in the two verses, it will probably be best to refer to the city in the same way in both places.

The city will be so emptied of inhabitants that its former area will be available to be plowed like a field. It will be destroyed so completely that it will be left as a pile of ruins. If these two statements are taken literally, they may seem to contradict each other, since it is difficult or impossible to plow a pile of ruins. However, it must be remembered that both statements are poetic in nature and express the completeness of the destruction (compare the comment on 1.7). We are not told who will plow the city, but we can assume that it is the people who take over the area after the city has been destroyed. Translators who need to use an active form of the verb can say simply “people will plow Zion.” If plowing is difficult to translate, it is enough to say that Zion will become a field for planting food.

Not even the Temple and the hill on which it stood would be spared. Since the leaders had corrupted the worship of the Lord by their evil conduct, even the Temple as the center of that worship had to be destroyed. The Temple hill will be so neglected that it will become a forest. In many languages a literal translation of forest can be misleading if it implies the lush growth of a tropical rain forest. This would be inconsistent with the climate of the Jerusalem area. The emphasis here is on the neglect and desertion of the area rather than on the type of vegetation growing there. Therefore it is better to avoid a specific but misleading term and use a more general expression such as “the Temple hill will be overgrown,” or “trees (or, even grass) will grow on the Temple hill.” Temple can be translated as “the Lord’s house,” or “the Lord’s big house of worship,” or something similar. (See the discussion of 1.2, though in that verse the Temple in Jerusalem is not referred to.)

Micah was the first prophet to threaten the destruction of Jerusalem. He saw clearly that the worship of the Lord could not be separated from right conduct. Under the rule of the prudent King Hezekiah, Micah’s words were heeded and religious reforms carried out (2 Kgs 18.1-8; 2 Chr 29–31). Micah’s words, especially those of verse 12, were remembered and recorded; but although Hezekiah improved the outward behavior of the nation and its leaders, he could not change their underlying attitudes. A hundred years later the prophet Jeremiah had to deliver to the nation a message very similar to that of Micah (Jer 7.14; 26.6). When Jeremiah was seized and charged with treason (Jer 26.7-15), the precedent given by the words of Micah 3.12 and the reaction of Hezekiah were used in his defense, and he was saved from being killed (Jer 26.16-19, 24).

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 .