complete verse (Micah 7:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 7:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Because a son despises his father
    and a (young) daughter hates her mother.
    Also a daughter-in-law gets up
    to refuse (reciprocally) her mother-in-law.
    People who are relatives hate one another.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The son despises his father
    and the daughter treats her mother badly.
    The daughter-in-law rebels against her mother-in-law.
    People’s enemies are the people in their own households.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “For this time, a son is not respecting his father, a daughter is fighting-against her mother, and a daughter-in-law is fighting-against her mother-in-law. Therefore a member itself of a family of a man is her/his enemy.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

Translation commentary on Micah 7:6

The prophet expands on the theme of the breakdown of family relationships and gives three examples. Good News Translation begins this verse with In these times, which is simply a way of reminding the reader that Micah is talking about a particular period of time in this passage. These words do not actually appear in the Hebrew and do not need to be translated in just this way, but a translator should be careful that the translation does not sound as though these statements are true for all times and places. Verse 6 is describing the general situation at that time. It is because of this terrible situation that the prophet gave his advice in verse 5. The important thing is that translators find some way to show the correct relationship between the two verses. In some languages it may sound better to describe the general situation first (verse 6), and then to tell what people should do because of it (verse 5), so that the order of the verses will be turned around. If a translator decides to do this, the two verses together should be numbered “5-6.”

Good News Translation, sons treat their fathers like fools, here catches well the emotional effect. Treat … like fools means to show no respect to them, or to look down on them, as though they were nothing but fools. Many languages may have one word that carries the meaning of these three English words (it is only one word in Hebrew). The corresponding attitude among women means that daughters oppose their mothers. Both actions involve breaking the commandment to respect your father and mother (Exo 20.12; Deut 6.16), so that this kind of behavior is in direct disobedience to God.

The third example involves young women who quarrel with their mothers-in-law. Since a daughter-in-law normally joined her husband’s family, it would naturally be the wives rather than the husbands who had most opportunity for contact with their in-laws and disagreement with them. This is why sons-in-law and fathers-in-law are not mentioned. In Hebrew the same verb (translated “rises up against” in Revised Standard Version) refers to the relation between the daughter and the mother and between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law. For variety in style, Good News Translation has translated this as oppose in the first case, and as quarrel with in the second, but there is no need to try to follow these meanings exactly in another translation. The point is that these women, like the young men, are not showing proper respect to the senior members of their families. The breakdown of normal family life is so complete that a man’s enemies are the members of his own family.

This verse was quoted several times by Jesus in his teaching (Matt 10.35-36; Luke 12.53; see also Matt 10.21; Mark 13.12), but the wording is somewhat different from passage to passage, and the translator should not try to make the various forms of the text identical with each other.

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 .