Micah 2:1-5Woe to Wicked Proud Oppressors

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 21 July 2024

Introduction

v. 1 To Those Who Plan To Do What Is Wrong

v. 2 Oppression of Stealing Property Rights

v. 3 God, the Counter-Planner

v. 4 The Proverb and the Lament

v. 5 Exclusion From The Promised Land

Micah 2:1-5 Side-by side comparison of versionsA

DouayB (Vulgate)

LXXC

BrentonD (Vaticanus)

KJVE

NAW

Masoretic HebrewF

1 Woe to you that devise that which is unpro­fit­able, and work evil in your beds: in the morning light they execute it, because their hand is against God.

1 Ἐγέν­οντοG λογι­ζόμενοι κόπους καὶ ἐργαζ­όμεν­οι κακὰ ἐν ταῖς κοίτ­αις αὐτῶν [καὶ] ἅμα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ συν­ετέλ­ουν αὐτά, διότι [οὐκ] ἦρανH πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν·

1 They meditated troubles, and wrought wicked­ness on their beds, [and] they put it in execution with the daylight X; for they have [not] lifted up their hand[s] to God.

1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

1 Woe to those who plan iniquity and who work out evil while upon their beds. At the light of morning they act it out, because their hand is against God.

(א) הוֹי חֹשְׁבֵי אָוֶן וּפֹעֲלֵיI רָע עַל מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם בְּאוֹר הַבֹּקֶר יַעֲשׂוּהָJ כִּי יֶשׁ לְאֵלK יָדָם.

2 And they have covet­ed fields, and taken them by viol­ence, and houses X they have [forci­bly] taken away: and oppres­sed a man and his house, X a man and his in­herit­ance.

2 καὶ ἐπ­εθύμουν ἀγροὺς καὶ δι­ήρπαζονL [ὀρφανοὺς] καὶ οἴκους X κατε­δυνάστευον καὶ διήρπαζον ἄνδρα καὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, X ἄνδρα καὶ τὴν κλη­ρονομίαν αὐτοῦ.

2 And they desired fields, and plundered [orphans], and op­pressed X families, and spoiled a man and his house, even a man and his inheri­tance.

2 And they covet fields, and take them by viol­ence; and houses, and take them away: so they op­press a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

2 For instance, they covet fields, so they steal them – houses too, and they take them away. Thus they extort a man and his house – both a man and his inheritance.

(ב) וְחָמְדוּ שָׂדוֹת וְגָזָלוּ וּבָתִּים וְנָשָׂאוּ וְעָשְׁקוּ גֶּבֶר וּבֵיתוֹ Mוְאִישׁ וְנַחֲלָתוֹ.

3 There­fore thus saith the Lord: Behold I devise an evil against this family: from which you shall not withdraw your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for this is a [very] evil time.

3 διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ λογίζομαι ἐπὶ τὴν φυλὴν ταύτην κακά, ἐξ ὧν οὐ μὴ ἄρητε τοὺς τραχήλους ὑμῶν καὶ οὐ μὴ πορευθῆτε ὀρθοὶ [ἐξ­αίφνης], ὅτι καιρὸς πονηρός ἐστιν.

3 There­fore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I devise evil[s] against this fami­ly, out of which ye shall not lift up your necks, neither shall ye walk upright [speedily]: for the time is evil.

3 There­fore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

3 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am planning against this clan something terriblethat is, something from which you’re not going to remove your necks; indeed, y’all aren’t going to walk arrogantly because it’s going to be a terrible time.

(ג) לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הִנְנִי חֹשֵׁב עַל הַמִּשְׁפָּחָהN הַזֹּאת רָעָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא תָמִישׁוּO מִשָּׁם צַוְּארֹתֵיכֶםP וְלֹא תֵלְכוּ רוֹמָהQ כִּי עֵת רָעָהR הִיא.

4 In that day a parable shall [be] take[n] up upon you, and a song shall be sung with melody [by] them that say: We are laid waste [and] spoiled: the por­tion of my people is changed: how shall he depart from me, whereas he is returning that will divide our land?

4 ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ λημφ­[θή]σεται ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς παρα­βολή, καὶ θρηνη­θήσεται θρῆνος ἐν μέλει λέγων Ταλαι­πωρίᾳ ἐταλαιπω­ρήσαμεν· μερὶς λαοῦ μου κατεμετρ­ήθη [ἐν σχοινίῳ], [καὶ] οὐκ ἦνSκωλύσωνT αὐτὸν τοῦ ἀπο­στρέψαι· οἱ ἀγροὶ ἡμῶν διεμερίσ­θησαν.

4 In that day shall a parable [be] take[n] up against you, and a plaintive lamenta­tion shall be uttered, saying, We are thorough­ly miser­able: the portion of my people has been measured out [with a line], [and] there was none to hinder X him so as to turn him back; [y]ourU fields have been divided.

4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament [with] a doleful lamenta­tion, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the por­tion of my people: how hath he rem­oved it from me! X turning away he hath divided our fields.

4 During that day, a proverb will take-off against y’all, and it will lament a lamentation of what has been done; it will say, “We have been utterly devastated; the inheritance of my people is retracted. How He removes from my possession! Instead of returning our fields, He disposes the inheritance!

(ד) בַּיּוֹם הַהוּאV יִשָּׂא עֲלֵיכֶם מָשָׁלW וְנָהָהX נְהִי נִהְיָהY Zאָמַר שָׁדוֹד נְשַׁדֻּנוּ חֵלֶק עַמִּי יָמִיר אֵיךְAA יָמִישׁAB לִיAC לְשׁוֹבֵבAD שָׂדֵינוּAE יְחַלֵּק.

5 There­fore thou shalt have none that shall cast the cord of a lot in the assembly of the Lord.

5 διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔσται σοι βάλλων σχοινίον ἐν κλήρῳ ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ κυρίου.

5 There­fore thou shalt have no one to cast a line for the lot… in the assem­bly of the LordAF...

5 There­fore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.

5 Therefore there will not be a commissioner for you in the territorial lottery with the congregation of Yahweh.

(ה) לָכֵן לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָAG מַשְׁלִיךְ חֶבֶל בְּגוֹרָלAH בִּקְהַל יְהוָה.


1With the possible exception of 1 Kings 13:30, which might make one time before Isaiah and 48 times between Isaiah and Malachi.

2See also Isaiah 28-33, where each chapter (with only one exception) starts with a Woe.

3Calvin commented that Micah’s prophecy is addressed both to Israel before the fall of Samaria and to Judah before the fall of Jerusalem. Keil agreed.

4See the following for cross references on this kind of wicked scheming that was going on around Micah’s time: Isaiah 32:7, Psalm 36:4, Hosea 7:6-7.

5Such was Gilby’s translation in 1551 “power is in theyr handes,” and Calvin’s translation in 1559 “Their hand is for power,” and that of the Geneva (“their hande hath power”) and King James in the early 1600’s (“it is in the power of their hand” – also reflected by Marckius, Junius, Tremelius, and Owen of Thrussington).

6Targums חֵילָא, Metsudath David: “Their power…,” Kimchi: “power to oppress the poor.”

7Isaiah 1:23, 5:8, 10:1, 57:17, Jeremiah 7:2-15, 22:17, Amos 4:1, 8:4, Ezekiel 22:12

8This curse was lifted in the return from exile later Isaiah 10:27, 52:2, Jer. 30:8.

9Numbers 34:13 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: "This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe.” (NKJV) The Hebrew words for “line/territory” and “lot/dice” only occur together in Micah 2:4 and Joshua 17:14.
The Jewish tradition that the “line” and the “lot” mentioned in Micah were part of the procedure of returning lands to their original family owners on Jubilee years is not in the Bible.

AMy original chart includes the following copyrighted English versions: NASB, NIV, ESV, Bauscher’s version of the Peshitta, and Cathcart’s version of the Targums, but I remove these columns from my public, non-copyrighted edition of this chart so as not to infringe on their copyrights. NAW is my translation. When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing Micah 2 are 4Q82 (containing parts of verses 3-4 and dated between 30-1 BC), The Nahal Hever Greek scroll (containing parts of vs. 7-8 and dated around 25BC), and the Wadi Muraba’at Scroll (containing parts of verses 1-13 and dated around 135 AD). Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX/Vulgate/Peshitta with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.

BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword.

C“Septuagint” Greek Old Testament, edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935. As published on E-Sword.

DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%94_%D7%91/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com

GIt appears that the LXX translators mistook הוי (“Woe”) for היו (“they are”), and that resulted in Brenton interpreting the participle verbally instead of subjectively. Aquilla and Symmachus corrected in the second century AD to ουαι (“Woe”).

HLXX translators appear to have interpreted יש as a derivative of נשא (“raise up” – the first and last letter of which are “weak” and prone to disappearing or changing in Hebrew), but the Latin and Syriac traditions support the Hebrew tradition of it being an adverb of affirmation. This spelling occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible as a form of נשא, and the LXX had to insert a negative which is not in the Hebrew text in order to make sense of their interpretation. Aquilla (‘ισχυρον), Symmachus (‘ισχυεν), and Theodotian (‘ισχυν) all opted for “strength” in their later Greek translations.

I"פעל, the preparation, is distinguished from עשה, the execution” ~Keil
Walteke disagreed, asserting in his commentary that “p’l must mean ‘to do,’” but moderated his position by affirming Renaud’s explanation that “ḥšb has in view the elaboration of projects and goals, and pʿl the putting into action of the necessary means for the success of the enterprise” – but to the average reader this may seem like splitting hairs.

J“The feminine accusative suffix [ה-] cannot have either ʾāwen or rāʿ as its antecedent because both are masculine; rather, it refers to the situation in general.” ~Waltke

KThis Hebrew word has an underlying meaning of “strength,” but its most common meaning in the Hebrew Bible is “God.” For the first 1500 years of Christian history, all the Bibles read “their hand is to/against God,” but, starting in the 1500’s, English Bibles changed to follow the Jewish tradition (found in the Targums‎ חֵילָא) of interpreting it “strength” instead of “God.” Lamed as a preposition would be an unusual way to express the idea of “against” (Of the approximately 59 times the O.T. cites someone’s “hand” being “against” someone else, the preposition “against” is b- 28x, ‘l 22x, al 7x, and l- 1x in Job 20:22), but lamed-based prepositions are the most common expression of hand[s] against” (especially in the post-Davidic books, where על features twice as often as -ב).
Waltke commented, “ʾēl may mean either “power” or “God.” If the former, it has this meaning only in this expression. If the latter, it may mean that the rich exploiters stand up as rivals to God. Although the idiom’s exact derivation is uncertain, it clearly means ‘it is in the power of their hand.’ H. Wolff explains,’their success is guaranteed.’”

LAq, Sym., etc. translated with the synonym εσυκοφαντουν.

MThis appears to be an ascensive conjunction (“indeed/even”), but the Vulgate and Peshitta do not use it, and the Greek manuscripts are ambivalent with apparent inclusion in Vaticanus and in Aquilla’s and Symmachus’ versions, but not in the majority represented by Rahlfs in my LXX column. It does not change the meaning, however.
Owen of Thrussington suggested that gebur might denote the young, strong men who owned houses and aish might denote older men who were farm hands, but they words could just as well be synonymous.

N“In biblical theology the whole ‘family,’ bound together by blood and history, suffers for the sins of individuals within it, especially its leaders (cf. Joshua 7… 2 Sam. 24:17) … [W]hen Samaria fell in 722/721 and Jerusalem fell in 586, the righteous suffered with the wicked...” ~Waltke

O“[A]n abrupt shift between persons [“they” to “you” here] is acceptable Hebrew” ~Waltke “Yoke on … necks is employed to describe how the powerful end up in the control of others. The metaphor is generally used as an image of servitude to a conquering enemy (Isa 9:4[5]; 10:27; 47:6; Jer 27:8; 28:14; Ezek 34:27).” ~J.L. Mays

P4Q82, the only DSS which is legible here, reads instead צוארותיהם (“their neck” instead of the MT’s “your neck” – greyed-out text is in the Wadi Mubara’at DSS, but is illegible in 4Q82). But since the LXX, Vulgate, Peshitta, and Targums match the MT, I think it best not to change. cf. Acts 15:10, which mentions an unbearable yoke of legalism

QHapex Legomenon, but the related word‎ מְר֥וֹם speaks of the same thing in Isa. 24:4.

Rcf. Amos 5:13

SAq., Sym., and Theod. all corrected to the MT with πως (“How”).

T2nd Century Greek versions used synonyms: Aquilla = αποδοθησεται (“it will be given away”), Symmachus = αναχωρησει (“he will vacate”), and Theodotian = ανασαλευσει (“he will shake up”).

ULXX reads “our;” the Vaticanus manuscript which Brenton was translating mis-copied one letter.

Vcf. “evil time” at the end of the previous verse.

WCohen argued for translating mashal as “a dirge,” but Keil argued against that, saying that it is not a “mounful song” but rather a “proverb… a figurative saying… as in Isa. 14:4 and Hab. 2:6.” Waltke instead asserted that it meant “mocking verse,” “taunt.”

XDSS Wadi Murabbaat agrees with the MT spelling, which is Qal Perfect 3ms (“and he will lament”), but 4Q82 reads instead ונהו (“and they will lament,” which is the reading of the Targum and of all the English versions – including Geneva – except for the KJV). The Syriac is similarly plural, but in first person: “we will lament.” Vulgate and LXX read passively “it will be lamented,” although the passive may come from the subsequent word נִהְיָה “it has been done” (which most English versions leave out). It’s hard to see enough agreement on any reading to guess the original, although the majority of ancient witnesses is singular. Part of the confusion may be that this is simply a rare root, only occuring as a verb two other times (1 Sam. 7:2; Ezek. 32:18), and the noun form which is the next word in this verse only occuring in 3 other passages (Jer. 9:9, 17-19; 31:15; Amos 5:16).

YThe Vulgate, LXX, Peshitta, and Targum all seem to have interpreted the first letter in this word as -ב (“with/in”) instead of -נ, which makes this verb-of-being niphal/passive in the MT, but both DSS of this verse confirm that this word starts with נ. cf. Keil: “נהיה is not a feminine formation from נהי, a mounful son… but the niphal of היה (cf. Dan. 8:27): ‘it is all over!’ - an exclamation of despair…” (cf. F. Hitzig and H. Wolff). Waltke, to the contrary saw nihyâ as “a feminine doublet of nĕhî... in which case nĕhî nihyâ is a superlative genitive… ‘one makes the most awful groan.’ … The enemy exaggerates their groaning to mock the disenfranchised barons.” It makes more sense to me to make the “lament” the singular subject and place the lament in the mouths of the Israelites.

ZThe Peshitta and several Hebrew manuscripts insert “and” here, but it doesn’t affect the meaning.

AAPeshitta and LXX appear to have read איך (“How”) as אין (“There was not”).

ABThe subject of this verb and of the next is not stated explicitly: Is it God who “removed” ownership and “reallocated “the property, or is it the Assyrian army? Calvin argued that it could be interpreted either God or the Assyrians, the latter being “the ministers of God’s vengeance.” The singular weighs in favor of “God,” but moreso the fact that the traitor/turncoat/apostate is the object, not the subject. NASB capitalizes “He,” interpreting the subject as God.

ACThe Vulgate and Aquilla and Symmachus’ translations are the only ancient manuscripts which read “to me;” the LXX (and Theodotian) and Peshitta read “him” and the Targums “them.”

ADNKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, NET, NLT all translate this word as an object: “To the turncoat/apostate/traitor He apportions/assigns/allots our fields,” But Matthew Henry commented on the Geneva Bible, which translated it as a verb, “Instead of restoring, he has divided our fields; instead of putting us again in the possession of our estates, he has confirmed those in the possession of them that have taken them from us.” The AJV’s translation is along the same lines: “Instead of restoring our fields, He divideth them.”

AEDespite the Targums rendering the possessive in the 3rd plural (“their”) and the Vaticanus rendering it in the 2nd plural (“your”), all other known manuscripts affirm the MT with 1st plural (“our”). This word has a root meaning of “turn,” and only occurs 2 other places in the Bible: Jer. 31:22 & 49:4, where it is translated “backsliding/unfaithful/faithless daughter.”

AFBrenton moved this phrase from the end of v.5 to the middle of v. 6.

AG“The singular [לְךָ] is used instead of the plural, to make the address more impressive, that no one may imagine that he is excepted from the threatened judgment.” ~Keil

AH“The expression, to cast the measure begōrâl, i.e., in the nature of a lot (equivalent to for a lot, or as a lot), may be explained on the ground that the land was divided to the Israelites by lot, and then the portion that fell to each tribe was divided among the different families by measure.” ~Keil

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