Chapter Four

1–5. Prophecy concerning the exaltation of the mountain of the Lord and the gathering of all peoples to it. 6–8. The reign of the Lord on Zion. 9–11. The coming captivity for Judah. 12–11. The future glorification of the daughter of Zion.

Micah 4:1. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the chief of the mountains and raised above the hills, and peoples shall flow to it. From the sorrowful present, the prophet turns in chapters IV–V to the bright future that will be realized in the last days, that is, in the messianic times. The speeches of chapters IV–V were pronounced by the prophet later than the preceding speeches of chapters I–III. The threats uttered by the prophet in chapters I–III regarding the impending destruction of Samaria were not carried out, because the repentant people were pardoned by the Lord (Jer 26:18). After the taking of Samaria by Sargon, whose invasion was expected in Jerusalem, occupied by military expeditions against Babylon and thus the immediate danger of invasion of Judah for the time had passed. But the spirit of the people was not at ease about the future. The prophet now (after 722 B.C.) turns to the people with consoling words. The prophet proclaims that the mountain of God’s house—Zion, which had been threatened with being plowed under (Mic 3:12), shall one day be established as the chief of the mountains and receive pre-eminence of honor and glory before them. The prophet speaks, of course, not of a physical change in the mountain (Marti), but of its spiritual glorification. To the Hebrew gal vehajah (“it shall be”), in Greek the explanatory εμφανές is added, in Slavic “made manifest”; instead of the Hebrew-Russian “the mountain of the house of the Lord” in the LXX in the Slavic version simply “the mountain of the Lord,” although in Cyril of Alexandria in the complete edition and in many manuscripts there is also the full reading of the Hebrew text; the Hebrew nakon berosch haharim, Russian “established as chief of the mountains,” in the LXX and in the Slavic is rendered: “prepared (ε῀οιμος, as nakon is also translated in Exod 15:17; 1 Sam 8:13-39-43) over the summits of the mountains.”

Micah 4:2. And many nations shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. In verse 2, the prophet explains the reason for the gathering of peoples to Zion—namely, the proclamation of the law from Zion and the glory of the Lord from Jerusalem—and the purpose of the gathering—instruction in God’s ways. The ways of God are the commandments of the Lord (Ps 5:9). “Law” means generally the commandments of the Lord, not the Torah in the later technical sense. The Hebrew vejorenu (“and he will teach us”) in the LXX, though not in all manuscripts, is rendered in the plural—δείξουσιν, Slavic “and they will show.”

Micah 4:3. And he shall judge many peoples and rebuke strong nations far and wide; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and they shall learn war no more. The prophet depicts the influence of the law that is to be proclaimed from Zion on the hearts of men. Instead of the words “many nations” in the Greek-Slavic version and in the Vulgate, “strong peoples” is what the Hebrew azum means, as is also translated in Num 22:6; Isa 18:7.

Micah 4:4. But each shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. The image of sitting under a vineyard and fig tree depicts the peaceful character of the glorious future seen by the prophet. The prophecy Mic 4:1-4 in ancient times was understood by the Jews as a prediction of the return of the Jews from Babylon. In the same sense, as is evident from the interpretation of blessed Theodoret, some interpreters understood the verses in question. However, the majority of interpreters, such as Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 109), Irenaeus (Against Heresies IV, 34), Tertullian (Against the Jews, ch. 3), blessed Theodoret, Cyril of Alexandria, Ephrem the Syrian, John Chrysostom (on Ps 48-49), explained the words of Micah in a messianic sense. Confirming such an interpretation, blessed Theodoret asks: “What peoples, both near and far, after returning from Babylon, flocked to the temple of the Jews with joy, received their law, and loved the word that came from there? Among what peoples or among ‘many men’ did the word decide, exposing what evil was done by them? And immediately following this, the statement added by the prophet in the text exposes the falsehood of the Jewish interpretation. For after returning from Babylon (as those who understand this passage as referring to the return will agree), the Judaeans were attacked by Gog and Magog with many peoples, all their neighbors continued to wage war with them, and after a short time they were struck by calamities from the Macedonians, described in the Books of the Maccabees. But the prophet’s word promises here a profound peace.” According to the explanation of blessed Theodoret himself, in Mic 4:1-4 Micah foretells that the Gospel preaching will extend to the furthest reaches of the earth. The mountain of the Lord, of which the prophet speaks, is the Church of Christ; the law that will come forth from Zion is Gospel law, the New Testament. The images used by the prophet express, in particular, the thought that the Old Testament and New Testament form a single whole, that the New Testament will be given on the basis of the Old and given not to one people but to all. The words of the prophet have been fulfilled, moreover, not only in their essential meaning but also in letter, for with the coming of Christ the Savior, “the mountain of the Lord,” the mountain of Jerusalem, sanctified by the sufferings of Christ and also by His resurrection and ascension, has been glorified before all other mountains and has become a holy place for all peoples. The statement in chapter IV of the Book of Micah, with the exception of verse 4, is found almost in the same form in the prophet Isaiah, and was taken from him by Micah; it is commonly debated which of the two prophets properly owns this saying. The question is answered differently: some scholars believe that the saying about the mountain of the Lord belongs to Isaiah and was taken from him by Micah; others assume the opposite relationship; it is also possible to think that Isaiah and Micah both reproduce some saying that had been preserved from ancient times.

Micah 4:5. For all peoples walk each in the name of their god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. The connection of verse 5 with the preceding verses is not entirely clear, which even gives some scholars (Marti, Nowack) reason to consider verse 5 a gloss explaining the current attitude of the peoples toward the Lord. This connection is established as follows: Judah will live in security (verse 4) because it has God as its protector, to whom it faithfully serves, while other peoples serve other gods (Keil, Cheyne); or: in light of the promises of verses 1–4, Judah must walk in the name of the Lord, even if other peoples go after their gods (Reinking) and others. Instead of the words “in the name of their god” in the LXX, unwilling to ascribe the name of gods to pagan gods, they put τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, “in their own way.” “Walk each in the name of their god” means “they act according to the laws established by their false religions.”

Micah 4:6. In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those to whom I have brought calamity. Micah 4:7. And I will make the lame a remnant and those far cast off a strong people, and the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion from now on and forever. In verses 6–8, the prophet supplements the thought of Mic 4:1-4 and clarifies what the position of the Jewish people itself will be in the future. The people will reach a position of sick sheep, separated from the flock, that is, will reach utter calamity. Like a good shepherd, the Lord will gather the scattered sheep. But not all will follow the voice of the shepherd: only a remnant will be gathered, over which the Lord will reign. This remnant, however, despite its small number, by its inner essence can be called a “strong people.”

Micah 4:8. And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion! to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. The prophet addresses Jerusalem or Zion directly and proclaims the return of its former dominion to it, that is, the return of the former kingdom of David, which served as a foreshadowing of the Kingdom of Christ. “And you, O tower of the flock, hill (ophel) of the daughter of Zion,” Slavic “and you, tower of the flock, misty hill, daughter of Zion”: the prophet foresees such desolation of Jerusalem that the city will become a pasture, on which, as is customary, a tower for watching over the flock will be erected (compare 2 Chr 26:10); in particular, the prophet is addressing Ophel or the southeast hill of the temple mount; the expression “daughter of Zion” means the inhabitants of Zion or all of Jerusalem and even the entire Jewish kingdom (compare Isa 1:8; Ps 16:8). The LXX read the word ophel with the letter aleph and understood it in the sense of darkness, gloom (αὐχμώδης); in the same sense, Aquila understood this word (σκωτιώδης), Symmachus (ἀπόκρυφος), and Jerome (nebulosa); hence in the Slavic “tower of the flock, misty.” “And the former dominion (Slavic ‘the first power’) shall come, the kingdom to the daughters of Jerusalem”: the prophet speaks of the restoration of the kingdom of David on Zion. The LXX understood the prophet’s speech in a different sense and after the word kingdom added: ἐκ Βαβυλωνος, Slavic “from Babylon.” Blessed Theodoret interprets the reading of the LXX as follows: “the prophet threatens them (the Jews) with the army of the Babylonians, because Nebuchadnezzar, as soon as he ascended the throne, attacked them in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim. Therefore the Babylonian kingdom the prophet called ‘the first power,’ since Nebuchadnezzar shortly after ascending the throne set out on a campaign.” But the reading ἐκ Βαβυλωνος does not give a thought corresponding to the context and should be considered a later insertion: it is absent in some Greek manuscripts, in the LXX, in Cyril of Alexandria and Jerome.

Micah 4:9. Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Or has your counselor perished, that pangs have seized you like a woman in labor? In verses 9–10, the prophet speaks of the impending calamities—the taking of the city and the deportation of the people into captivity. The prophet seems to hear the cries and wails of the people. Instead of the Hebrew “now why do you cry aloud?” (tharij rea) in the Slavic from the Greek: “and now why did you recognize evil?” because the LXX apparently read thedii (from jadah, to know) ra. “Is there no king in you?” the question of the prophet is understood (Keil, Yungerov) either as a supposition about the cause of sorrow (the destruction of the king) or in an ironic sense, as an indication that the king himself, that is, external force, which the people hope in so much, will not protect it (Nowack). “Or has your counselor perished?” (LXX Βουλη, Slavic “counsel”): state counselors, as is evident from biblical references (2 Sam 15:12; 1 Sam 12:1-7; 1 Chr 27:32-33; Isa 1:26), had very important significance in the Jewish kingdom, were near the king and exerted influence on the course of the people’s entire life.

Micah 4:10. Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go forth from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. “Writhe and groan” (vagochi): given the obscurity of the last verb (gochi), it is transmitted differently: in the LXX—ἀνδρίζοῦ, Slavic “show courage,” in Jerome—satage (think), in others—διατείνου (strain). To the verb “show courage” in the Slavic version another verb is joined—“and draw near,” Greek ὲ῾γγιζε, but this verb is absent in many Greek manuscripts. “You shall go to Babylon”: the deportation of the people from the city will end with their settlement in Babylon. The prophet speaks of Babylon not only as a province of the Assyrian kingdom, to which the Jews were deported by the Assyrians, but as an independent kingdom: it is from the Babylonians, not from the Assyrians, who were subject to the Babylonians in Micah’s time, that the prophet expects captivity. Negative criticism (Nowack, Marti), not allowing that prophetic predictions would rise above the horizon of the prophets’ times, considers it impossible that Micah would prophesy about the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, since Babylon at that time was not yet a world power and was only a province subject to Assyria. On this basis, the words in question are considered a later insertion in the Book of Micah. But clearly, when prophecy is recognized as a supernatural phenomenon, this difficulty disappears. At the end of verse 10, the prophet speaks of the future liberation of the people from captivity.

Micah 4:11. And now many nations are gathered against you, saying, “Let her be profaned, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion! The prophet addresses the current situation of the people and points out how the enemies of the people treat them. “Let her be profaned,” that is, profaned with human blood, the blood shed in the course of war, generally destroyed; in the Vulgate—lapidetur (let her be struck with stones), as an adulteress—the LXX conveyed the thought of the original more freely: ἐπιχαροὺμεθα, Slavic “let us rejoice.” “Let our eyes gaze upon Zion”: the prophet wishes to point out the malicious glee of the enemies at the destruction of Zion.

Micah 4:12. But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his counsel, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. Micah 4:13. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron and your hoofs bronze; you shall crush many peoples and shall dedicate their gain to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth. The prophet points out the outcome of the struggle of the nations against Zion—their defeat according to God’s decree. “I will make your horn iron and your hoofs (Slavic ‘claws’) bronze”; having compared in verse 12 the peoples to sheaves gathered on a threshing floor, the prophet compares Israel to an ox threshing: by giving him iron horns and bronze hoofs, the prophet wishes to indicate the strength and might of Israel in its struggle with enemies. “And you shall dedicate their gain to the Lord,” in the Slavic “their multitude,” πληθος αδτίῶν; in the LXX the word πλῆθος is used in the sense of “property” (Ezek 27:33; Jer 46:16; Nah 2:13); therefore the Greek text precisely conveys the thought of the original. “And their wealth” Slavic “and their strength”; in Greek ἰσχύς (strength) which word in Isa 61:6 also means wealth. What war of pagan nations against Jerusalem does the prophet Micah speak of in Mic 4:9-13? Ancient and modern commentators answer this question differently. So, according to blessed Theodoret, the prophet from Mic 4 begins to prophesy about the Scythian peoples who attacked the Jews after their return. According to the opinion of St. Ephrem the Syrian, to which among modern commentators Keil adheres, the prophet speaks of the invasion of Gog and Magog, the final enemies of God’s kingdom. In the opinion of other interpreters (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Cornelius a Lapide, Yungerov), Micah in Mic 4:9-13 has in mind the invasion of the Assyrian kings Salmaneser and Sennacherib. But hardly should the prophet’s words be understood in relation to any particular historical fact of the invasion of enemies: the prophet points out generally the path of history of the chosen people—the path of struggle with the enemies of Zion and triumph over them by the aid of God.