forget

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “forget” in English is translated in Noongar as dwangka-anbangbat, lit. “ear-lose.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also remember and forget (Japanese honorifics).

greedy for money / dishonest/selfish/unjust gain / bribery

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “greedy for money,” “dishonest/selfish/unjust gain,” “bribery,” or similar in English is translated in these verses in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version and the Catholic Sigao version with a historical Chinese idiom: bùyìzhī cái (不義之財 / 不义之财) or “ill-gotten gains.” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

The Catholic Sigao version additionally uses the idiom in the referenced verses in Sirach.

complete verse (Micah 6:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 6:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “God is saying,
    ‘There is a wealth of/from theft in the houses of sinners.
    My stomach is churning over those ways of lies/falsehood.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Oh wicked House, Shall I forget the treasures which you have gained through your wickedness
    and the dishonest measure that is abominable?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) are wicked people! I could not forget the wealth which you (plur.) have-gathered in a bad way. You (plur.) use not a right measuring-thing — the work that I curse.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Micah 6:10

This verse also has textual problems, as is shown by the footnotes in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. The first word in the Hebrew, haʾish, may mean “Are there?” (as in King James Version) but is usually taken to be a short form of writing a longer word. This is thought to be either haʾeshsheh “Can I forget” (Revised Standard Version; compare Moffatt, New English Bible, New International Version; and among commentators, Smith, Allen, and Mays) or haʾessa “Can I bear?” (compare New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Deissler). Many translators and commentators also think that the Hebrew words translated in Revised Standard Version, “in the house of the wicked,” are too repetitive, and they therefore omit them (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Moffatt, Mays, Deissler). However, despite these uncertainties the Hebrew text can make sense as it stands, and Good News Translation translates it without any changes or omissions.

Note, however, that the Hebrew is in the form of a question, to which the answer “Yes” is clearly expected. Good News Translation turns this into a positive statement in order to avoid any misunderstanding of the question.

The theme of this verse is opposite of what the Lord required in verse 8. Evil men have in their houses treasures which they got dishonestly. These treasures included not only money but also all the rich goods and luxuries that money can buy. The adverb dishonestly may need to be expanded into “by cheating in business.” The following sentence shows that this is indeed its meaning.

The particular form of cheating mentioned here involved the use of false measures. These were measuring containers that held less than they should. When a customer bought something that needed to be measured, the merchant would measure it out with false measures, and the customer would get less than he had paid for. If it is difficult to express this concept in this way, a translator can try to describe what happened: “merchants cheat their customers by giving them less than they have paid for,” or something like that.

The Lord says that this is a thing that I hate. Thing here refers to the false measures, but if this is not mentioned in a translation, and the action of cheating is described instead, then a different word will have to be used in place of thing. A translator may say, for instance, “This kind of behavior is something I hate.” This type of cheating is mentioned frequently in the writings of the prophets (Hos 12.7; Amos 8.5).

Although the use of false measures was one way that the evil men became rich, it was obviously not the only way. The various things mentioned in this verse and in verses 11 and 12 should probably be understood as a list of various sins that are typical of the rich people. Good News Translation‘s wording of this verse does not mean that all the treasures of the evil men were acquired simply by using false measures.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Micah 6:10

6:10

Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?: This verse is a rhetorical question. Its function is to express two accusations of the LORD against the people. It is not a request for information.

Here are some ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• As one or more rhetorical questions. You may use slightly different questions if that is more natural in your language. For example:

…can I forgive the false measure, the accursed short bushel? (Revised English Bible)
-or-
How can I forget dishonest gain by wicked people? How can I ignore the fraudulent scales that I hate so much?

• As a statement. For example:

You store up stolen treasures and use dishonest scales. (Contemporary English Version)

6:10a

Can I forget any longer: There is a textual issue with the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forget. There are three main options:

(1) Some scholars think that the original word was “forget/overlook.” For example:

Can I overlook the false measure (New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) The Masoretic Text has “there is/are.” For example:

In the houses of evil people are treasures (Good News Translation)

(3) Some scholars say that the original word was “forgive/bear.” For example:

Am I to bear any longer criminal hoarding (New American Bible)

(New American Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with a slight majority of versions. However, option (2) and (3) are also acceptable. All have support from scholars and fit the context well.

O house of the wicked: There are two main interpretations of the referent of the word house :

(1) It refers to a literal house where wicked people store their stolen treasures. For example:

In the houses of evil people are treasures which they got dishonestly. (Good News Translation)

(2) It refers to the wicked people. For example:

O wicked house (New International Version)

Some versions, such as the New Revised Standard Version, are ambiguous.

You may follow either interpretation. The word house can refer to either a building or to a group of people.

the treasures of wickedness: This phrase probably refers to wealth or luxuries that people obtained by wicked means. It does not specify the kind of wickedness. The following context suggests that it refers to cheating, dishonesty, violence, deceit, and lying.

6:10b

and the short ephah: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “and an ephah of scantness.” The standard dry measure of that time was the ephah. An ephah of scantness was a container that held less than an ephah of grain or other product. Some merchants cheated their customers by saying that the container held a full ephah.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the smaller-than-standard measure (NET Bible)
-or-
They use false measures (Good News Translation)
-or-
they cheat their customers by giving them less than they have paid for

which is accursed: In this context, the word accursed probably means that this kind of cheating was a violation of the law of Moses and was detestable to God. See Leviticus 19:35–36.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

I hate so much (NET Bible)
-or-
a thing that I hate (Good News Translation)
-or-
that abomination (New Jerusalem Bible)

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