Micah

aCf. Isa. 2.2–4. In the days to come,The Mount of GOD’s House shall standFirm above the mountains;And it shall tower above the hills.The peoples shall gaze on it with joy,

And the many nations shall go and shall say:“Come,Let us go up to the Mount of GOD,To the House of the God of Jacob;That we may be instructed in God’s ways,And that we may walk in godly paths.”For instruction shall come forthbinstruction shall come forth I.e., oracles will be obtainable. from Zion,The word of GOD from Jerusalem.

Thus [God] will judge among the many peoples,And arbitrate for the multitude of nations,However distant;And they shall beat their swords into plowsharescplowshares More exactly, the iron points with which wooden plows were tipped. And their spears into pruning hooks.Nation shall not take upSword against nation;They shall never again knowdknow Cf. Judg. 3.2. war;

But every family shall sitUnder its own vine and fig treeWith no one to disturb them.For it was GOD of Hosts who spoke.

Though all the peoples walkEach in the names of its gods,We will walkIn the name of the ETERNAL our GodForever and ever.

In that day—declares GOD—I will assemble the lame [sheep]And will gather the outcastAnd those I have treated harshly;

And I will turn the lame into a remnantAnd the expelledeexpelled Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “weaklings”; cf. Ezek. 34.4. into a populous nation.And GOD will reign over them on Mount ZionNow and for evermore.

And you, O Migdal-eder,fMigdal-eder Apparently near Bethlehem; see Gen. 35.19–21. Outpost of Fair Zion,It shall come to you:gOutpost of Fair Zion, / It shall come to you Meaning of Heb. uncertain. The former monarchy shall return—The kingship of Fair Jerusalem.hFair Jerusalem Emendation yields “the House of Israel”; cf. 5.1–2.

Now why do you utter such cries?Is there no king in you,Have your advisors perished,That you have been seized by writhingLike a woman in travail?

Writhe and scream,iscream Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Fair Zion,Like a woman in travail!For now you must leave the cityAnd dwell in the country—And you will reach Babylon.There you shall be saved,There GOD will redeem youFrom the hands of your foes.

Indeed, many nationsHave assembled against youWho think, “Let our eyeObscenely gazejObscenely gaze Meaning of Heb. uncertain. on Zion.”

But they do not knowGOD’s design,They do not divine the intent:They have been gatheredLike cut grain to the threshing floor.

Up and thresh, Fair Zion!For I will give you horns of ironAnd provide you with hoofs of bronze,And you will crush the many peoples.YoukYou Heb. -ti serves here as the ending of the second-person singular feminine; cf. Judg. 5.7 and note; Jer. 2.20; etc. will devote their riches to GOD,Their wealth to the Sovereign of all the earth.

Now you gash yourself in grief.lin grief Meaning of Heb. uncertain. They have laid siege to us;They strike the ruler of IsraelOn the cheek with a staff.