complete verse (Micah 6:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 6:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “The rich/powerful men in this city are rude/cruel
    and its people are speaking lies.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The rich people here are violent.
    All the people here speak lies.
    Their mouths speak deceitfully” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (plur.) wealthy people are violent, and all of you (plur.) are liars.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Micah 6:12

This verse is in effect a general summary of the accusations of the two previous verses. The possessive Your refers to the city addressed in verse 9. In many languages it will not be possible to speak of rich men being “full of violence” (Revised Standard Version), and many translators will need to follow Good News Translation in making a more general statement like exploit the poor. The Hebrew does not actually say who the rich men were exploiting, but it is reasonable to assume that it was the poor rather than other rich men. Many translators will need to make this explicit as Good News Translation does. Exploit means “to take advantage of,” “to mistreat,” or “to cheat.” If a language has a term that has this sort of meaning and that also implies rather violent actions, that will be particularly good.

In the second half of the verse, the two clauses of Revised Standard Version, “your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth,” are parallel statements with the same meaning. When translated literally, the second clause sounds very strange in most languages (including English!), and Good News Translation accordingly combines the two clauses into one: all of you are liars. This conveys the meaning very adequately and also carries something of the emotional impact of the Hebrew with the strong word liars. Translators should try to maintain this impact in some way appropriate to their own languages. Note that the first part of the verse mentions only the rich men, but the second part speaks of all the inhabitants, apparently including both rich and poor.

Some translations place verse 12 between verses 9 and 10 (Moffatt, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible), but ordinarily there is no need to do this.

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 6:12

6:12a

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence: This clause is an accusation of the LORD against the rich people of Jerusalem.

This clause is more literally “that/which its rich are full [of] violence.” The word “that/which” refers back to the city or city and nation. However, its function here is unclear. Here are some ways to translate this word:

• As a relative pronoun that refers back to the city or city and nation. For example:

Whose rich men are full of lawlessness (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

• As a word that introduces more information about the wicked people described in 6:10–11. For example:

For the rich men of the city are full of violence (New American Standard Bible)

Many versions leave this word implied. For example:

Your rich men are full of violence (English Standard Version)

Translate the connection of this clause to the previous verses in a natural way in your language.

the wealthy of the city: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “its(fem) rich.” This phrase refers to the wealthy men and women of high status in the city or the city and nation.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

The city’s rich men (NET Bible)
-or-
The rich among you (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Your rich people (Good News Translation)

full of violence: This phrase is a figurative expression that means there was much violence throughout the city. In Hebrew, the word violence refers to wrongful actions motivated by sin. It may include physical force, brutality, and violation of the personal rights of others. Here it may refer particularly to the brutal exploitation of the weak in Israelite society by the ruling class and rich landowners.

The phrase full of violence may be unnatural in some languages. Here are some other ways to translate it:

become wealthy through extortion and violence (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
do cruel things (New Century Version)

6:12b–c

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

12b and its residents speak lies;

12c
their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.

In these lines, the LORD accused the inhabitants of Jerusalem of speaking lies.

speak lies…their tongues are deceitful in their mouths: The phrase speak lies means to lie, deceive or defraud instead of speaking truth. The phrase their tongues are deceitful in their mouths is another way to say that they speak lies. However, the longer phrase uses a figure of speech (metonymy) about the tongue and mouth. This figure of speech gives emphasis to how utterly corrupt their speech is. Try to keep this figure of speech in your translation if possible.

If this figure of speech is unnatural in your language or it gives the wrong meaning, here are some other ways to translate it:

• Translate the figure of speech using an expression in your language that has the same meaning.

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

they do not tell the truth (New Century Version)
-or-
and their words are deceitful

General Comment on 6:12b–c

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these lines. For example.

12b–c and everyone tells lies (Contemporary English Version)

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