The differences between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation in this verse may need explanation, as Good News Translation has adopted a different understanding of one clause and has reordered the four parts of the verse so as to bring together those parts related in meaning. First, in the second part of verse 4, Revised Standard Version takes “valleys” as the subject of the verb “be cleft.” Good News Translation, however, understands valleys as showing the place into which the melting mountains will crumble and pour down. This interpretation gives a better parallel between the two statements and links them together in a clearer logical sequence.

Second, in the Hebrew two statements are made in the first half of verse 4, and two similes or comparisons are added in the second half. The first simile relates to the first statement, and the second simile to the second statement. This is a type of Hebrew poetic structure that is not clear in meaning when transferred in the same order into English and many other languages. Good News Translation has therefore reordered the elements in the verse so that the first statement, the mountains will melt, is followed immediately by its related simile, like wax in a fire. The second statement, they will pour down into the valleys, is then followed by its related simile, like water pouring down a hill.

This type of adjustment makes the meaning much plainer to the reader and has been made frequently in the Good News Translation Old Testament. It is probably best to follow the Good News Translation order in most other languages.

The Lord is described in verse 3 as walking on the tops of the mountains, as though he is a great giant who can step from the top of one mountains to the top of another. When he steps on the mountains they melt. Melt can be translated as “dissolve” or “become like water.” The picture of hills or mountains melting in the presence of the Lord is quite common in the Old Testament. The idea is that God in his holiness is like a fire that destroys his enemies. Even the earth itself cannot remain unchanged by the Lord’s presence. See especially Psa 97.2-5.

This is compared to the way that wax melts in a fire, which gives the picture of something that happens very quickly. Wax is probably beeswax, but any term for wax can be used here. Most people today probably know candles, but if wax is not known, anything that melts quickly in a fire may be substituted. The picture of wax melting in a fire may be intended to remind the reader of a stream of lava from a volcano, while the next picture, water pouring down a hill, is probably intended to bring to mind a heavy thunderstorm.

If we follow the understanding of Good News Translation, the picture describes the liquid from these melted mountains pouring down into the valleys in a great rush, like water pouring down a hill. Valleys are the low places between the mountains, or at the feet of mountains. Hill can be translated as “cliff” or “steep place” if there is a term for some place where water might run especially fast. If there is no way to distinguish between hills and mountains, and no other appropriate word to use, it is of course quite all right to say “mountain” again in the last line.

If the meaning of Revised Standard Version is preferred, the second line refers to the valleys being split. This can be understood as the ground opening up, as it might do in a strong earthquake; but then it is difficult to connect it closely with the fourth line. In that case, the fourth line must be understood as another description of the melted mountains.

Another possibility is the meaning of New English Bible, which says “valleys are torn open, as when torrents pour down the hillside.” This suggests that the comparison is with the erosion caused by a large amount of water, which actually creates valleys as it runs down. This interpretation has the advantage of connecting lines 2 and 4, as Good News Translation does, and is probably the best one to follow.

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 .

The opening part of verse 9 is almost identical with the parallel part of verse 1. Here the verb Listen has an object, “this,” which is absent in verse 1, and here, too, “house” is applied to both Jacob and Israel, whereas it is applied only to Israel in verse 1. There is no significant difference in meaning, however, and the double name is rendered in Good News Translation exactly as in verse 1 with the single expression you rulers of Israel. Translators should try to keep the beginning of verse 9 as similar as possible to the beginning of verse 1, as a small clue to the structure of this chapter.

The latter part of verse 9 repeats the general meaning of the opening part of verse 2, but in even stronger terms. The rulers of the nation do not merely hate the good and love the evil; they actually hate justice and turn right into wrong. Justice is both a reflection of the character of the Lord and the foundation of a stable society. By their attitudes and actions the rulers were really undermining the whole social structure of the nation and their own position within it. Hate justice might be translated as “hate to do what is right.” They are not content with bending the Law in their own interest, but by turning right into wrong they openly defy the Law’s most basic provisions. For similar expressions from other prophets, see Isa 5.20 and Amos 6.12. Turn right into wrong can be translated as “you act as though evil actions are good.” In some languages a figure of speech may be effective here, such as “you take what is straight and twist it.”

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 actual words of the Lord, so Good News Translation has added the words The LORD says to make this clear. The Lord opens his case, but instead of a series of accusations, he starts with questions that are defensive in nature. It is as though Israel were accusing the Lord rather than the other way round. The assumption is that the people by their conduct have already acted as though the Lord had not kept his side of the covenant. Therefore he asks his questions, My people, what have I done to you? How have I been a burden to you? to demand an explanation of their apparent grievances. To be a burden is literally “to weary” or “to make someone tired.” It can be translated as “to give trouble to” or “to make someone’s life difficult or heavy.”

The questions are followed by the command Answer me, but the people give no answer. (Compare the German common language translation [Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch], “Why do you not answer?”) The implication is that, since the people really have nothing to complain about, they cannot answer, and so their behavior is not justified. Once this point has been made, the way is open for the Lord to state how he has kept his side of the covenant and blessed his people. This makes the people’s failure to serve the Lord stand out very clearly, and thus the whole paragraph (verses 3-5) amounts to an indirect but very effective accusation.

In other places, sentences that are questions in Hebrew can often be replaced by statements that convey the same meaning. However, in this passage such a procedure is unlikely to work. Here the questions are real questions, not merely rhetorical ones, and the absence of any answer to them is part of the logical development of the paragraph. If this form of argument will not be clear in the receptor language, it may be helpful to include a sentence at the end of verse 3 to the effect that “you cannot answer me.” Verse 4 can then begin with some expression of strong contrast such as “Far from being a burden to you, I have helped you (or, done only good to you). I brought you out of Egypt….”

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 .

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 .

The pun in the first half of this verse depends on the similarity of sound between the name Mareshah and the Hebrew word yoresh, translated “conqueror” in Revised Standard Version. Some scholars have thought that Mareshah is an alternative form of Moresheth, but it is best regarded as another village in Micah’s home area, the place named in Josh 15.44. These words are addressed directly to the people of Mareshah.

This is the only sentence in this section that is in the first person in Hebrew. The “I” here (Revised Standard Version) is the Lord speaking. When the prophets were giving a message about the Lord, they often made sudden changes from their own words to his words. In most languages this type of change will be hard to understand or may be understood as Micah himself speaking. It is better to do as Good News Translation has done here and identify the speaker as the Lord. Some translators may prefer to say “the Lord says he will hand you over.”

What the Lord says is that he will hand you over to an enemy, who is going to capture your town. This means that he will send an enemy army to conquer Mareshah, as Revised Standard Version suggests. Other versions have understood this line as meaning “I will send others to take your place” (New English Bible). This can be related to the idea of a conqueror if it means that the conquering people will take the people of Mareshah away into exile and bring others to live in their town.

Revised Standard Version and Jerusalem Bible understand that this conqueror will come to Mareshah “again.” If this is correct, it must refer to some previous incident that was the first time the conqueror came there. Other versions (King James Version, Moffatt, New American Bible, Modern Language Bible) translate this as “yet,” which must mean that it is something that has not happened yet, but it will happen. New American Standard Bible (“Moreover”) and New English Bible (“And you too”) seem to suggest that this is just a way of introducing this reference to Mareshah, by saying that there is a message for them, as there was a message for all the other towns that have been mentioned already. Good News Translation has simply omitted any translation here, as has New International Version. If “again” does not mean “a second time” in this verse, it may well be omitted in other languages, since the other alternatives are simply connecting words that do not add anything new to the sense.

The second half of the verse contains no pun that can now be recognized. The “glory of Israel” (Revised Standard Version) is best taken as a reference to the leaders of Israel rather than to the country’s wealth and power. Adullam was a fortified town not far from Achzib, but the reference here is to a nearby cave in which David took refuge when he was fleeing both from King Saul and from Achish, the Philistine king of Gath (1 Sam 22.1). It thus became a symbol for the last hope in a desperate situation. When Micah here says that The leaders of Israel will go and hide in the cave at Adullam, he means that their circumstances will be critical and hopeless, just as David’s had been. Of course, if the leaders of the nation were in such a position, the ordinary people would have been even worse off.

The British edition of Good News Translation has here “The glorious leaders.” This can be translated as “The great leaders” or “The most important people.” There may be some idea here that everything that made the country proud in the past is now only something to be ashamed of. In some languages this can be partly brought out by saying “The leaders, great as they are” or “Even though the leaders are so important, they must run away and hide.” If it is difficult to find a term for “great” or “important,” it is enough to say just “The leaders.”

As in verse 14, Israel here seems to refer more specifically to Judah, and it may be less confusing to call them “The leaders of Judah.”

Literally, the Hebrew says only that they “shall come to Adullam” (Revised Standard Version), but this will be meaningless for most readers who do not understand the importance of Adullam in Israel’s history. Good News Translation and New English Bible have made the meaning clearer in two ways. First, they have said that Adullam is a cave; and second, they have said that the leaders will go there to hide. Some translators may want to add one more point and say “just as King David did.” If all of the 400 people mentioned in 1 Sam 22.2 were with David inside this cave, it must have been a very large one. If a language does not have a word for cave, this may be translated as “a large hole like a room inside a mountain,” or else one may omit the word “cave” and just say “go and hide at Adullam.”

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 contains a number of figurative expressions that Revised Standard Version reproduces literally in English. These combine with an unnatural word order to make the verse almost unintelligible in that translation. The phrase “hill of the daughter of Zion” (Revised Standard Version) means simply Jerusalem and is translated as such in Good News Translation. The “hill” is in Hebrew ʿOphel (as in Jerusalem Bible), which refers particularly to the area of Jerusalem just south of the Temple, the district where the king lived. Here it stands for Jerusalem as a whole, which is very appropriate in a setting that speaks about the restoration of the city’s royal status.

The phrase “tower of the flock” (Revised Standard Version) continues the figure of the shepherd and the sheep begun in verses 6 and 7, and refers to a watchtower from which a shepherd could guard his sheep. The meaning here is that Jerusalem is the place where God, like a shepherd from his lookout tower, watches over his people. The Hebrew metaphor is thus turned into a simile by the addition of the word like, and the basis of the comparison is made explicit, namely, God protecting his people as a shepherd protects his sheep.

Note that the words from his lookout tower are omitted from the British edition of Good News Translation. This is presumably a printing error, and they should be included. A lookout tower was a tall structure usually made of stone. However, in many areas of the world there are other types of structures that serve the same purpose, such as various kinds of raised platforms. Since this is only a comparison, it will be more important to use a term meaningful to the readers than to go into detail describing a structure strange to them.

The organization of this verse may give some problems. In some areas it may seem very strange to speak to a town in this way. If so, this verse can be put in the third person, describing what will happen to Jerusalem. In Good News Translation the figure of the lookout tower comes in the middle of the sentence, but this could be put in a separate sentence, either at the beginning or at the end of the verse.

The phrase “the former dominion” (Revised Standard Version) refers to the kingdom of Israel at its greatest extent under King David and King Solomon. Later generations looked back to this period as a golden age, and prophets often spoke of future blessings in terms of the power and dominion that David and Solomon had held, as the prophet does here. Such passages have strong overtones of looking toward the coming of the Messiah. The meaning is expressed simply and plainly in Good News Translation—Jerusalem will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours. Most translators will need to simplify the statement in a similar way in order to convey the meaning clearly. If there is no good expression for kingdom, this can be “the great land” or something similar. Capital can be “the most important city” or even “the biggest city,” or it can be “the city where the king lives.”

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 and the next give a series of statements parallel in structure. Each statement has two lines, or clauses, in the Hebrew. The first line describes some normal activity of the people, and the second line describes how the usual expected result of that activity will not happen. In these ways the people will be punished for their sins.

The main aspect of the punishment is hunger. The people will eat, but not be satisfied. Satisfied refers to the feeling of having had enough to eat. In some languages not be satisfied can be expressed as “you will still feel hungry.” In that case, this clause and the next will probably have to be combined.

The implication is that there will not be enough food, so that they will still be hungry. This second clause contains a word of unknown meaning. Revised Standard Version “hunger” and Good News Translation hungry are both guesses based on the context, and they fit the context well. New English Bible “your food shall lie heavy on your stomach” suggests indigestion rather than hunger, and matches neither the opening line nor the statements that follow.

The people will carry things off, but … will not be able to save them. The Hebrew does not indicate what kind of things are in mind. However, life in Micah’s day was mainly agricultural, and the references in the following verse are to farming, so that the things may refer to normal farm produce. If the people manage to keep anything long enough to save it, the Lord will destroy it in war. This is the meaning of the Hebrew “I will give to the sword” (Revised Standard Version). Such an expression usually refers to the killing of people, but it can also have an extended sense and refer to the destruction of property. This is the way Good News Translation seems to take it, and it fits with the suggestion above that the things in mind are the agricultural products of verse 15. This second half of verse 14 is then a general statement to which verse 15 adds specific examples. Carry … off is probably best understood as meaning “carrying away so that the things can be stored for future use,” as one might do with certain crops, for example.

The purpose of putting these things away is to save them, but something will happen to the things, and the people will not be able to save them. This seems to contradict the next statement, anything you do save, but it is a typical Hebrew way of speaking (compare 1.7). This contradiction may not bother readers in many languages, but if it is a problem, the translator can make some small adjustment. For example, one can say “You will hardly be able to save any of these things, and the things you do save I will destroy in war.” I will destroy in war can be translated as “I will send your enemies to destroy.”

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 takes up again the theme of verse 4 and announces the fate of the rich oppressors. It continues to be the word of the Lord, either directly if Good News Translation is followed, or indirectly through the prophet if Revised Standard Version is followed. The rich must Get up and go into exile. The commands are intended to resemble those which an enemy soldier would give to people about to be taken away as captives, and it will be effective if the translator can use terms that fit this sort of context.

The rich can expect to find no safety here (literally “no resting place,” as in New English Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) in the promised land any more. Their sins have finally caught up with them and doomed this place to destruction. Probably Jerusalem is the place in mind that is to be destroyed (compare Micah 3.12). Good News Translation shortens the repetitive structure of the Hebrew into more natural English, and most translators will need to follow this example.

The concept doomed … to destruction may be difficult to translate into some languages, and it may be more effective to use a wording closer to the Hebrew, if a language has expressions that can do this. The idea in Hebrew is that all of the evil acts of these people have made the land itself unclean (see Lev 18.24-28; Ezek 24.13), and the only possible result of this is for God to destroy the country. “Unclean” here means to be in a state or condition that God hates. The Hebrew uses special emphasis when referring to the destruction, so it may be good to use an expression like “terrible destruction” or “completely destroy.” Compare New International Version “it is ruined, beyond all remedy.”

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 .