Micah 1:9-11

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Micah 1:9 tn Heb “her.”
2. Micah 1:9 tc The MT reads the plural “wounds/plagues”; the singular is read by the LXX, Syriac, and Vg.
3. Micah 1:9 tn Heb “come to.”
4. Micah 1:9 tn Or “reached.”
5. Micah 1:9 tn Heb “the gate.” Kings and civic leaders typically conducted important business at the city gate (see 1 Kgs 22:10 for an example), and the term is understood here to refer by metonymy to the leadership who would be present at the gate.
6. Micah 1:10 tn Heb “Tell it not in Gath.” The Hebrew word for “tell” (נָגַד, nagad) sounds like the name of the city, Gath (גַּת, gat).
7. Micah 1:10 tn The Hebrew infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the prohibition.
8. Micah 1:10 tc The translation assumes a masculine plural imperative. If one were to emend בְּבֵית (b^evet) to בֵית (vet), Beth Leaphrah would then be the addressee and the feminine singular imperative (see Qere) could be retained, “O Beth Leaphrah, sit in the dust.”tn Or “wallow.” The verb פָּלַשׁ (palash, “roll about [in dust])” refers to a cultural behavior associated with mourning.sn The name Beth Leaphrah means “house of dust.”
9. Micah 1:11 tn The feminine singular participle is here used in a collective sense for all the residents of the town. See GKC 394 §122.s.
10. Micah 1:11 sn The place name Shaphir means “pleasant” in Hebrew.
11. Micah 1:11 tn Heb “have not gone out.” NIV “will not come out”; NLT “dare not come outside.” sn The place name Zaanan sounds like the verb “go out” in Hebrew.
12. Micah 1:11 sn The place name Beth Ezel means “house of nearness” or “house of proximity” in Hebrew.
13. Micah 1:11 tn Heb “the lamentation of Beth Ezel.” The following words could be the lamentation offered up by Beth Ezel (subjective genitive) or the mourning song sung over it (objective genitive).
14. Micah 1:11 tc The form עֶמְדָּתוֹ (ʿemdato) should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ (khamadto, “his (the conqueror’s) desire”).tn The precise meaning of the line is uncertain. The translation assumes: (a) the subject of the third masculine singular verb יִקַּח (yiqqakh, “he/it takes”) is the conqueror, (b) the second masculine plural suffix (“you”) on the preposition מִן (min, “from”) refers to the residents of Shaphir and Zaanan, (c) the final form עֶמְדָּתוֹ should be emended to חֲמַדְּתוֹ, “his (the conqueror’s) desire.”