Micah 6

Footnotes

1. 1 Or “plead your case” (, , ); “present your plea”; “state your case.” Defend yourself. The Lord challenges Israel to defend itself against the charges he is bringing.
2. 2 As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.
3. 3 Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”
4. 4 This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.
5. 5 Heb “My people, what have I done to you?”
6. 6 Heb “before you.”
7. 7 Heb “remember what Balak … planned.”
8. 8 Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the Lord.” Something appears to be missing at the beginning of the line. The present translation supplies the words, “Recall how you went.” This apparently refers to how Israel crossed the Jordan River (see Josh 3:1; 4:19–24).
9. 9 With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? The prophet speaks again, playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper who wants to know what God really desires from his followers.
10. 10 The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.
11. 11 Or “the exalted God.”
12. 12 Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”
13. 13 What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.
14. 14 Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except.…”
15. 15 Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”
16. 16 Heb “to love faithfulness.”
17. 17 Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”
18. 18 Or “the voice of the Lord is calling.” The translation understands קוֹל (qol, “voice”) as equivalent to an imperative.
19. 19 Heb “one who sees your name is wisdom.” It is probably better to emend יִרְאֶה (yir’eh, “he sees”) to יִרְאָה (yir’ah, “fearing”). One may then translate, “fearing your name is wisdom.” The Lord’s “name” here stands by metonymy for his authority.
20. 20 Heb (apparently) “Listen [to] the staff and the one who appointed it.” Verse 10 then begins with עוֹד (yod, “still” or “again”). The translation assumes an emendation to שִׁמְעוּ מַטֶּה וּמוֹעֵד הָעִיר (shim’u matteh umo’ed ha’ir, “listen, O tribe and the assembly of the city”).
21. 21 The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”
22. 22 Heb “the treasures of sin”; “treasures of wickedness”; “ill-gotten treasures.”
23. 23 Heb “the accursed scant measure.” Merchants would use a smaller than standard measure so they could give the customer less than he thought he was paying for.
24. 24 Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis. Merchants also used rigged scales and deceptive weights to cheat their customers. See the note at .
25. 25 Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”
26. 26 Heb “speak lies.”
27. 27 Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”
28. 28 Heb “and also I, I will make you sick, striking you.”
29. 29 The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, véyeshkhakha) is obscure. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַ-וְיֶשׁ (véyesh-koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).
30. 30 The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vétasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), .
31. 31 The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.
32. 32 Heb “you will tread olives.” Literally treading on olives with one’s feet could be harmful and would not supply the necessary pressure to release the oil. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 119. The Hebrew term דָּרַךְ (darakh) may have an idiomatic sense of “press” here, or perhaps the imagery of the following parallel line (referring to treading grapes) has dictated the word choice.
33. 33 Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”
34. 34 Heb “and juice, but you will not drink wine.” The verb תִדְרֹךְ (tidrokh, “you will tread”) must be supplied from the preceding line.
35. 35 Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”
36. 36 Heb “and you walk in their plans.” The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.
37. 37 The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.
38. 38 Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39. 39 Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.
40. 40 The translation assumes an emendation of the ’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”). Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13–15.