וְהָיָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים יִהְיֶה הַר בֵּית־יְהוָה נָכֹון בְּרֹאשׁ הֶהָרִים וְנִשָּׂא הוּא מִגְּבָעֹות וְנָהֲרוּ עָלָיו   4:1 עַמִּים׃

Mica. 4:1   But it shall be at the end of days,

                            the mount of the house of the Lord shall be established atop the mountains,

                     that it shall be exalted more than the hills,

                            and peoples shall stream upon it.

וְהָלְכוּ גֹּויִם רַבִּים וְאָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַעֲלֶה אֶל־הַר־יְהוָה וְאֶל־בֵּית אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב וְיֹורֵנוּ מִדְּרָכָיו וְנֵלְכָה   4:2         בְּאֹרְחֹתָיו כִּי מִצִּיֹּון תֵּצֵא תֹורָה וּדְבַר־יְהוָה מִירוּשָׁלִָם׃

Mica. 4:2   And many nations shall proceed,

                            and they shall say,

                    “Come, and we will go up to the mount of the Lord,

                            and to the house of the God of Jacob,

                     that He may teach us from His ways,

                            and we can walk on His paths.”

                     For the Torah shall go forth from Zion

                            and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

This verse and the next two form an oft-quoted prophecy by both Jews and Christians.

וְשָׁפַט בֵּין עַמִּים רַבִּים וְהֹוכִיחַ לְגֹויִם עֲצֻמִים עַד־רָחֹוק וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבֹתֵיהֶם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתֹתֵיהֶם   4:3       לְמַזְמֵרֹות לֹא־יִשְׂאוּ גֹּוי אֶל־גֹּוי חֶרֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְדוּן עֹוד מִלְחָמָה׃

Mica. 4:3   And He shall judge between many peoples,

                             and decide for mighty nations even remote,

                    and they shall beat their swords to plowshares

                             and their spears to pruning hooks.

                    They shall not lift up a sword, nation to nation,

                             and shall learn war no more.

וְיָשְׁבוּ אִישׁ תַּחַת גַּפְנֹו וְתַחַת תְּאֵנָתֹו וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד כִּי־פִי יְהוָה צְבָאֹות דִּבֵּר׃   4:4

Mica. 4:4   And they shall sit,

                             each one beneath his vine and beneath his fig tree,

                    and there shall be no cause for fear.

                             For the “mouth” of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

כִּי כָּל־הָעַמִּים יֵלְכוּ אִישׁ בְּשֵׁם אֱלֹהָיו וַאֲנַחְנוּ נֵלֵךְ בְּשֵׁם־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְעֹולָם וָעֶד׃   4:5

Mica. 4:5   Let all the peoples walk,

                             each one in the name of its god,

                    but we shall walk in the name of the Lord, our God,

                              forever and ever.

בַּיֹּום הַהוּא נְאֻם־יְהוָה אֹסְפָה הַצֹּלֵעָה וְהַנִּדָּחָה אֲקַבֵּצָה וַאֲשֶׁר הֲרֵעֹתִי׃   4:6

Mica. 4:6   “In that time,” declares the Lord,

                              “I shall receive the lame one,

                    and I shall gather the banished one

                              and the one whom I have injured,

וְשַׂמְתִּי אֶת־הַצֹּלֵעָה לִשְׁאֵרִית וְהַנַּהֲלָאָה לְגֹוי עָצוּם וּמָלַךְ יְהוָה עֲלֵיהֶם בְּהַר צִיֹּון מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עֹולָם׃   4:7

Mica. 4:7   and I shall set the lame one for a remnant,

                               and the cast off one for a mighty nation.”

                    And the Lord shall reign over them

                               on Mount Zion from then and until eternity.”

וְאַתָּה מִגְדַּל־עֵדֶר עֹפֶל בַּת־צִיֹּון עָדֶיךָ תֵּאתֶה וּבָאָה הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה הָרִאשֹׁנָה מַמְלֶכֶת לְבַת־יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃   4:8

Mica. 4:8   And you, Migdal-eder, hill of the daughter of Zion,

                               she shall come up to you,

                    yet the former dominion shall come,

                               the daughter's kingdom of Jerusalem.

This verse and v. 4:9 below contain some difficult Hebrew, and their interpretation is uncertain.  To some, v. 4:7 seems to be the end of the glorious prophecy, and these verses revert to a warning again to the people in Micah’s day.  Some commentators, however, connect v. 4:8 to v. 4:7 and assume that v. 4:9 starts the warning.  I agree with the latter interpretation.  Yet I’m still uncertain of the meaning of this verse.  The former dominion could be a reference to Solomon’s kingdom.  Incidentally, the name Migdal-eder translates to tower of the flock, thereby contributing to the metaphor of Israel as a sheep herd of the Lord’s.  The tower has been assumed to be real and was somewhere near Bethlehem.  See Gene. 35:21.

עַתָּה לָמָּה תָרִיעִי רֵעַ הֲמֶלֶךְ אֵין־בָּךְ אִם־יֹועֲצֵךְ אָבָד כִּי־הֶחֱזִיקֵךְ חִיל כַּיֹּולֵדָה׃   4:9

Mica. 4:9   Now why would you raise such a shout?

                               Is there no king in you?

                    Has your Counselor vanished,

                               that the pain has seized you like a woman in labor?

חוּלִי וָגֹחִי בַּת־צִיֹּון כַּיֹּולֵדָה כִּי־עַתָּה תֵצְאִי מִקִּרְיָה וְשָׁכַנְתְּ בַּשָּׂדֶה וּבָאת עַד־בָּבֶל שָׁם תִּנָּצֵלִי שָׁם   4:10    יִגְאָלֵךְ יְהוָה מִכַּף אֹיְבָיִךְ׃

Mica. 4:10   Writhe and bring forth, daughter of Zion,

                               as a woman in labor,

                       for now you shall go forth from the city and reside in the field,

                               and go as far as Babylon.

                      There you shall be rescued,

                                there the Lord shall redeem you from the palm of your enemies.

וְעַתָּה נֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַיִךְ גֹּויִם רַבִּים הָאֹמְרִים תֶּחֱנָף וְתַחַז בְּצִיֹּון עֵינֵינוּ׃   4:11

Mica. 4:11   But now many nations are assembled against you that are saying,

                                 “Let her be defiled, and let our eye gaze on Zion.”

The last Hebrew word in this verse is always translated as our eyes (plural).  Here it is the subject of the verb translated as let gaze (third from the end), which is singular.  One word or the other must be an unacknowledged error.

וְהֵמָּה לֹא יָדְעוּ מַחְשְׁבֹות יְהוָה וְלֹא הֵבִינוּ עֲצָתֹו כִּי קִבְּצָם כֶּעָמִיר גֹּרְנָה׃   4:12

Mica. 4:12   But they do not know the purposes of the Lord

                                 or understand His counsel,

                       for He gathers them as a sheaf to the threshing floor.

קוּמִי וָדֹושִׁי בַת־צִיֹּון כִּי־קַרְנֵךְ אָשִׂים בַּרְזֶל וּפַרְסֹתַיִךְ אָשִׂים נְחוּשָׁה וַהֲדִקֹּות עַמִּים רַבִּים   4:13                וְהַחֲרַמְתִּי לַיהוָה בִּצְעָם וְחֵילָם לַאֲדֹון כָּל־הָאָרֶץ׃

Mica. 4:13   “Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion,

                                 for I will make your horn iron,

                      and I shall make your hooves brass,

                                 and you will make dust of many peoples.

                      And I shall devote their wrongful gain to the Lord,

                                 and their wealth to the Master of all the earth.”

The word that I translate as And I shall devote (first word in the second Hebrew line) is translated by others as And you shall devote.  Presumably, the alternate translation does not depend on assuming the entire verse is uttered by the Lord.  The alternate pronoun you would have to be feminine singular, because its antecedent is the daughter of Zion.  The alternate translation makes more sense than mine, but then the Hebrew word וְהַחֲרַמְתִּי would have to be considered misspelled.  Therefore, I am in conflict over this verse and don’t know how to deal with it.

עַתָּה תִּתְגֹּדְדִי בַת־גְּדוּד מָצֹור שָׂם עָלֵינוּ בַּשֵּׁבֶט יַכּוּ עַל־הַלְּחִי אֵת שֹׁפֵט יִשְׂרָאֵל׃    4:14

Mica. 4:14   Now you shall gather in troops, daughter of a troop.

                                  A siege is set against us.

                      With a rod they strike the Judge of Israel on the cheek.

 

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Micah 4