Chapter Two

1–2. Accusation of the rulers of Judah. 3–5. Announcement of punishment. 6–7. Address to false prophets. 8–11. Crimes of the powerful and thoughtlessness of the people. 12–13. Promise of deliverance from captivity.

In chapter II the prophet clarifies the causes of the judgment he announced in chapter I. To this end he describes the moral state of the Jewish people. The prophet, first of all, speaks of the rulers of Judah, whom he accuses of injustice and oppression, and then accuses the false prophets and the whole people. Next the prophet announces punishment to the people for their impiety (verses 4–5, 11), and concludes his entire speech with a promise of salvation (Mic 2:12-13).

Micah 2:1. Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds; when the morning dawn appears, they accomplish it, because they have power in their hands! Desiring to depict the depth of impiety of the rulers of Judah, the prophet represents them at night devising plans of evil deeds, and during the day carrying out these plans. The Septuagint read the Hebrew hoj (woe) as hajju (were); therefore in Slavonic instead of the Russian text “woe to those devising iniquity” we read: “there were those devising troubles” (konos, misfortune, hardship). – “Because they have power in their hands” (leel): the word el is understood by the Vulgate and some translators in this passage as the name of God. The Septuagint understood the word in the same sense, and wishing to soften the expression (“because their hand is their God”), changed its meaning; hence in Slavonic “because they did not raise their hands to God.” According to the Septuagint text, the cause of the iniquities of the rulers of Judah is that they did not turn to God in prayer (“did not raise their hands to God”).

Micah 2:2. They covet fields and seize them; and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. The violence of the rulers of Judah manifested itself in the appropriation of other people’s fields, houses, and other people’s inheritance. The Septuagint, wishing to clarify the prophet’s speech, added after the verb gasalu (seize) the noun ὀρφανοὺς, for which reason in Slavonic we read – “and robbed the orphans” (instead of Russian “and seize them”).

Micah 2:3. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am devising against this family calamity from which you cannot remove your necks; nor will you walk erect; for it is an evil time. The prophet speaks in verse 3 of the impending invasion of enemies and captivity. The prophet compares this calamity to a yoke that cannot be cast off from the neck.

Micah 2:4. On that day they will take up a taunt-song concerning you and wail with a bitter lamentation, saying, “We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To the apostate he divides our fields. The prophet continues to depict the punishment coming upon the people. The calamity of the people, according to the prophet’s word, will find expression in a mournful song, which at the same time will be a taunt-song or satire upon the people. The prophet composes this taunt-song. – “On that day,” that is, on the day when punishment strikes the people. – “And wail with a bitter lamentation.” The Hebrew expression nahah nehi nibjah is difficult to understand and is translated differently. The Septuagint and Vulgate understood nihjah as a noun and translated it with the word μέλο я (Slavonic “and will lament with a song of lamentation,” ἐἐ μέλει) and suavitas (Vulgate with suavity). Modern commentators regard nihjah as a participial form (infal) from the verb hajah to be and translate it: done, became, completed, and give to the following verb amar (Russian “will say”) the meaning of the Latin inquit “so it turned out,” they will say, “we are utterly ruined” (Ewald, Hitzig, Knabenbauer). Russian translators took nihjah for another form of the noun nehi lamentation and translated all the expression nahah nehi nilijah as: “and wept with weeping a lamentation,” or “bitter lamentation.” The Jews had the custom of composing mournful songs or kinoth at the death of heroes and at the destruction of cities (cf. Amos 5:1). From this custom the image of the prophet was borrowed, – “We are utterly ruined!” The Septuagint and Slavonic literally render the Hebrew text of the expression, translation – “we have suffered disaster.” – “The portion of my people has been changed” (jamir) to others: (the speech, according to the meaning of the Russian text, from the mouth of the source or composer of the mournful song). The Septuagint probably read yamid instead of jamir, κατεμετρήθη (from madad to measure) and for clarity added the word ἐν σχοινίῳ – with a rope; hence in Slavonic “the portion of the people of mine was measured with a rope.” – “How (ech) it will return to me”: the Septuagint apparently read the Hebrew ech as ain (no) and therefore translated the expression καὶ οὐκ ῆν; instead of li (to me) they read lо (to him); the word leschovev, referring to the following sentence, they took as an infinitive from schuv (to return); hence in Slavonic “and there was nothing preventing its being turned away,” that is, nothing preventing the taking away of it. – “Our fields have been divided among the apostate” (leschovev): the last word was referred by the Septuagint to the previous sentence and understood in the sense of a verb; therefore the end of verse in Slavonic reads: “your fields have been divided.”

Micah 2:5. Therefore there will be no one to cast a measuring line by lot for you in the assembly of the Lord. Verse 5 many commentators understand as words directed against the prophet by wicked people, irritated by his predictions. The enemies of the prophet express a desire that he die without leaving offspring (Hitzig, Orelli, Nowack). Other commentators (Yungerov, Hoonacker) consider verse 5 the conclusion of the mournful song laid out in the preceding verse. After the conquest of the land of Canaan the Hebrews cast lots to divide the land among the tribes (Josh 18:8-10) in the assembly at the door of the tabernacle in Shiloh. Borrowing from this fact the image of his expression, the prophet wants to say that at the time of the coming calamity all the land will pass into the hands of enemies, and the people will go into captivity, so that there will be no one to cast lots (Slavonic “there will be no one for you to measure out a lot”) to divide parcels.

Micah 2:6. Do not preach, they preach; they should not preach about these things, for shame will not depart from us. Verses 6–7 are very difficult to translate and interpret. Commentators understand these verses differently, and our Russian translation represents only one of the interpretations of these verses. The difficulty in interpreting verse 6 arises from the unclear meaning of the verb nataph used three times in the verse. The verb nataph means to pour, to drip, in the transferred sense – to pour, that is, to pronounce speeches, to preach, to speak. The Septuagint understood the verb in the sense of “to pour tears,” and hence in Slavonic arose: “do not weep tears, nor let tears fall on account of this.” As may be seen from further words (“for it will not reject reproach”) the Septuagint understood verse 6 as an invitation from the prophet not to shed tears because of the impending calamity in view of its inevitability. This resulted in a thought little suited to the context of the speech. Other translations and all modern commentators usually understand the verb nataph in verse 6 in a transferred sense – to speak, to prophesy. But the question arises: what kind of prophesying is being discussed in verse 6? According to the meaning of our translation, verse 6 discusses false prophesying: the prophet addresses an exhortation to false prophets not to prophesy, so that their prophecies, which usually announce peace and well-being, do not bring dishonor upon them, because these prophecies will not come true (cf. Deut 18:22). According to the Vulgate and according to the interpretation of modern commentators (Orelli, Nowack, Hoonacker), verse 6 represents an address to the prophet Micah himself or generally to true prophets from the false prophets or from wicked contemporaries. The meaning of the address is such: Micah should not prophesy, because shame will not befall the people (Vulgate: “do not prophesy; it will not rain upon them, shame will not come upon them”).

Micah 2:7. O house of Jacob, is it shortened, the Spirit of the Lord? Are such his works? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly? Verse 7, like the previous one, is very difficult to understand and is interpreted differently. The composers of the Russian translation apparently saw in verse 7 a censure by the prophet Micah of the false prophets, to whom the words of verse 6 are also addressed. The false prophets, calmly viewing the immorality of the people, explained the calamities befalling him by saying that the Spirit of Jehovah was diminished, that is, His power weakened, and He cannot save. Refuting such a view, the prophet addresses the entire house of Jacob and points out that God’s works are not like this, that they prove His omnipotence, and if He does not save the people, it is only because of the latter’s fault, for its impiety: the words of the Lord are good, but only for those who act justly (Yungerov). According to the Vulgate and according to the interpretation of the majority of commentators, verse 7 represents a rejoinder from the false prophets or all the people against the threatening prophecies of Micah and other true prophets. Against the truthfulness of Micah’s prophecy about the coming calamity, the prophet’s contemporaries (instead of the Russian text reading “O house of Jacob says” in the Vulgate: “the house of Jacob says”) put forward that the Spirit of the Lord, long suffering toward the people before, has not been diminished and is still now (that is, has not become less patient), and that the greatness of God’s deeds is not in destroying the people (“Are such his works?”). In answer to this the prophet from the mouth of the Lord says that the words of God are good only for those acting justly.

Micah 2:8. But lately my people arose as an enemy; you strip the mantle along with the garment from those who pass by peacefully, from those turning away from war. Verse 8 is difficult to understand and is translated in the Russian text provisionally. According to the meaning of the Russian translation, in unveiling the thought expressed at the end of the preceding verse about the fact that God is good only to those acting justly, the prophet shows in verse 8 how far the Judean people are from justice. The people has become as if an enemy to God, because they act against His commands: from peaceful wayfarers, from people turning away from war and violence, they take both upper and lower garments. Modern commentators translate verse 8 differently, permitting some corrections to the text; for example, according to Hoonacker: “but you are against my people, you help his enemy, before Salmaneser (Hebrew saimah eder, upper garment, Hoonacker reads salmanazar) you take from those who go confidently on their way the spoils of war”; according to Nowack: “you come out, as enemies, against my people, from friends you take away (the property) and from the carelessly passing the spoils of war.” The Greek and Slavonic texts give in verse 8 a thought deviating from the original and very unclear: “and before the people of Mine in enmity rose up, against peace his own: their skin you stripped, from which to take away hope, breaking (the) war.” According to the meaning of the Greek-Slavonic text, the prophet wants to say that because of the hostile relations of the people toward God, which relations contradict the well-being of the people itself, all is taken away from it – both property (its skin) and hope.

Micah 2:9. The women of my people you cast out from their pleasant homes; from their young children you take away my glory forever. The prophet points out other crimes of the people – the oppression or expulsion of women and children. What expulsion of women the prophet is speaking of is not clear. Hitzig supposes that the prophet is speaking of the refusal to provide shelter to women and children fleeing from the Israelite kingdom. But the prophet’s speech is of a general character. Probably, he has in mind both the expulsion of women for the purpose of divorce, and the expulsion of widows and orphans for the purpose of appropriating their property. This expulsion from homes could entail removal from the country, as a result of which exiled children would be deprived of the honor of belonging to God’s people. It is supposed that it is precisely this deprivation that the prophet means when he says: “from their young children you take away my glory forever.” Some commentators, however, understand the prophet’s last words in the sense of an indication of the deprivation of children of property (Yungerov). The Greek translators understood the Hebrew nschej (women) as an abbreviated nasiej (from nasi prince) and therefore referred the entire verse 9 to the elders; hence in the Slavonic text we read: “for this reason the elders of the people of mine will be cast out from their pleasant homes for evil deeds of theirs (meal ololejha from children, the Septuagint apparently read; meavel alilejha, from evil deeds of theirs) they were rejected. Draw near to the eternal mountains.” The last words, having no correspondence in the original, apparently contain a call to flee to the mountains in view of the impending calamity.

Micah 2:10. Rise and depart! For this is not a place of rest; because of uncleanness it will be destroyed, and that with a grievous destruction. The prophet threatens the lawless with captivity and directly calls upon them to depart from the land, defiled by the sins of those living in it and having ceased to be a land of rest (Deut 12:9; Isa 28:12). The Greek and Slavonic text transmit the thought of the original periphrастically (Slavonic “rise and depart, for neither is there for you this rest of uncleanness; you are destroyed with destruction”).

Micah 2:11. If a man walking in the spirit and speaking falsely were to say, “I will preach to you about wine and strong drink,” then he would be the preacher for this people. In censuring the people, the prophet realizes that his preaching arouses not the attention of the people, but irritation. In his soul there involuntarily arises a mournful thought about what kind of preaching the people would desire: preaching about wine and strong drink. The Greek and Slavonic text in verse 11 deviate from the original and give a thought little comprehensible. The beginning of verse 11 in the Slavonic text “you will be driven by none driven” arose because the Septuagint referred out of verse 11 the preceding verse the word nimraz (powerful, fierce), taking it for a form of the verb ruz (to run), and the first words of verse 11 lu isch holech (if someone walking) read lo isch helech (there is no one going or chasing). The further words of verse 11 in the Greek and Slavonic texts do not give a satisfactory meaning (“the spirit established a lie, dug for you in wine and drunkenness; and it will be, from the drop of these people”).

Micah 2:12. I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely assemble the remnant of Israel; I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the midst of pasture; they will make a loud noise because of the multitude of people. The connection of verses 12 and 13 with the preceding is understood differently by commentators. Many think that these verses, containing a joyful promise to Israel, represent the speech of false prophets (Michaelis, Ewald, Orelli): contrary to Micah’s prophecy about impending calamities, the false prophets announce God’s mercy toward the people and its glorious deliverance. But it is scarcely possible to regard verses 12–13 as the speech of false prophets; the latter are attributed in verse 11 to other speeches in general; moreover, verses 12–13 speak of return from captivity, while the false prophets did not even admit the thought of captivity. Hoonacker, regarding 12–13 as a prophecy of Micah himself, sees the meaning of this prophecy in the announcement to the people not of salvation, but of calamity and specifically of captivity. According to Hoonacker’s opinion, the prophet wants to say that the people will be gathered together in calamity, and that it will go into captivity under the leadership of the king. But such an understanding of verses 12–13, although establishing a direct connection of the verses with the general content of chapter II, which speaks of the inevitability of calamity, cannot be recognized as correct: the expressions at the beginning of verse 12 and the end of verse 13 (“and the Lord will be at their head”) clearly show that the speech is about salvation, not calamity, and Hoonacker must without any grounds separate the stated expressions as a gloss in order to defend his understanding. The prophet in verses 12–13 speaks, undoubtedly, of the gathering of Jacob and the remnants of Israel in captivity and of the deliverance of the people from captivity. There is no need to regard the verses under consideration as a later insertion (Nowack and others) or to suppose that they are transferred to the end of chapter 11 from another place in the book of Micah (Steiner, Rissel). Transitions from the prediction of calamity to the announcement of a glorious future are customary in prophets (cf. Isa 7:1 and others). – “I will bring them together like sheep in Bozrah”: Bozrah is an ancient Judean city (Gen 36:33; Isa 34:6), evidently rich in livestock. However, the Septuagint, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila, Symmachus, and some modern commentators (Knabenbauer) prefer to understand the Hebrew bozrah in the sense of a common noun: in Slavonic according to the Septuagint: “as sheep in tribulation”; according to Jerome bozrah is accepted in the meaning of “sheepfold.” – The Greek-Slavonic text transmits the thought of the original; instead of the words: “they will make a loud noise because of the multitude of people” (meadam – “because of people”) in Slavonic we read: “they will rush out of (on account of) people,” that is, they will rush like sheep when people pursue them.

Micah 2:13. The one who breaks through will go up before them; they will break through and pass by the gate, and go out by it; their king will pass before them, and the Lord at their head. In verse 13 the prophet gives an image description of the return of the Judeans from captivity. The prophet represents that the Lord himself will go at the head of the people and that those going before the people – the “wall breaker” – will break through all barriers in the path. In the Greek text the verbs of verse 13 are translated in the past tense, and the words alah happorez (will go the wall breaker) were read by the Septuagint as al happerez (through the breaches); hence in the Slavonic “go up (ἀνάβηθι only in some Greek manuscripts, in others absent) by breaches (through the breaches) before their face, broke through and passed by the gates, and came out by them: and their king came out before their face, the Lord will be their guide.” The fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy about the union of Jacob and the remnants of Israel and their liberation from captivity, interpreters point out in the fact of the return of the Jewish people from captivity under Zerubbabel and in the fact of the redemption of mankind through the Messiah – Christ, who gathered all peoples into one flock.