Micah 5:10-15The Lord’s Wrath Against the Disobedient

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 20 Oct. 2024
Omitting greyed-out text should bring presentation down to about 45 minutes.

Introduction (v.15)

v. 10 – Enemy #1: Horses and Chariots

v. 11 – Enemy #2: Cities & Fortifications

v. 12 – Enemy #3: Sorcery & Fortune-telling

vs. 13-14 – Enemy #4: Idol-Worship and Images

Conclusion

Micah 5:9-15 Side-by side comparison of versionsA

DouayB
(Vulgate)

LXXC

BrentonD
(Vaticanus)

KJVE

NAW

Masoretic
HebrewF

9 Thy hand shall be lifted up over thy ene­mies, and all thy enemies shall be cut off.

8 ὑψω­θήσεται ἡ χείρ σου ἐπὶ τοὺς θλίβοντάς σε, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί σου ἐξολεθρευ­θήσονται.

9 Thine hand shall be lifted up against them that afflict thee, and all thine ene­mies shall be utterly destroyed.

9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine ad­versaries, and all thine ene­mies shall be cut off.

9 Let Your hand rise up against Your adversaries and let all Your enemies be cut off.

(ח) תָּרֹם יָדְךָG עַל צָרֶיךָ וְכָל אֹיְבֶיךָ יִכָּרֵתוּ.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will take away thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will des­troy thy chariots.

9 Καὶ ἔσται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, λέγει κύριος, ἐξ­ολεθρεύσω τοὺς ἵππους σου ἐκ μέσου σου καὶ ἀπολῶ τὰ ἅρματά σου

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will utterly destroy the horses out of the midst of thee, and destroy thy chariots;

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will des­troy thy chariots:

10 Therefore it will happen during that time, declares Yahweh, that I will cause to cut off your horses from your midst, and I will cause to destroy your chariots.

(ט) וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם יְהוָה וְהִכְרַתִּי סוּסֶיךָH מִקִּרְבֶּךָ וְהַאֲבַדְתִּי מַרְכְּבֹתֶיךָI.

11 And I will des­troy the cities of thy land, and will throw down all thy strong holds,

10 καὶ ἐξ­ολεθρεύσω τὰς πόλεις τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐξαρῶ πάντα τὰ ὀχυρώματά σου·

11 and I will utter­ly destroy the cities of thy land, and demolish all thy strong-holds:

11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:

11 I will also cause to cut off the cities of your land, and I will demolish all your fortifications.

(י) וְהִכְרַתִּי עָרֵי אַרְצֶךָ וְהָרַסְתִּי כָּלJ מִבְצָרֶיךָ.

12 And I will take away sor­ceries out of thy hand, and there shall be no div­inations in thee.

11 καὶ ἐξ­αρῶ τὰ φάρμακά [σου] ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου, καὶ ἀποφθεγγ­όμενοιK οὐκ ἔσονται ἐν σοί·

12 and I will utterly des­troy [thy] sorceries out of thine hand[s]; and there shall be no sooth­sayers in thee.

12 And I will cut off witch­crafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more sooth­sayers:

12 Furthermore, I will cause to cut off witch­crafts from your hand and fortune-tellers will not exist for you.

(יא) וְהִכְרַתִּי כְשָׁפִיםL מִיָּדֶךָ וּמְעוֹנְנִים לֹא יִהְיוּM לָךְ.

13 And I will des­troy thy graven things, and thy statues, out of the midst of thee: and thou shalt no more adore the works of thy hands.

12 καὶ ἐξ­ολεθρεύσω τὰ γλυπτά σου καὶ τὰς στήλας σου ἐκ μέσου σου, καὶ οὐκέτι μὴ προσκυνή­σῃς τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν σου·

13 And I will utterly des­troy thy gra­ven images, and thy statues out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt never any more wor­ship the works of thine hands.

13 Thy gra­ven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.

13 And I will cause to cut off your carved images and your monuments from your midst so you will not bow any more to the work of your hands.

(יב)וְהִכְרַתִּי פְסִילֶיךָ וּמַצֵּבוֹתֶיךָ מִקִּרְבֶּךָ וְלֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה עוֹד לְמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיךָN.

14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: and will crush thy cities.

13 καὶ ἐκκόψω τὰ ἄλση σου ἐκ μέσου σου καὶ ἀφανιῶ τὰς πόλεις σου·

14 And I will cut off the groves out of the midst of thee, and I will abolish thy cities.

14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I des­troy thy cities.

14 Indeed, I will uproot your Asherim from your midst when I cause to destroy your cities.

(יג)וְנָתַשְׁתִּי אֲשֵׁירֶיךָ מִקִּרְבֶּךָ וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּי OעָרֶיךָP.

15 And I will execute vengeance in wrath, and in indig­nation, among [all] the nations that have not given ear.

14 καὶ ποιήσω ἐν ὀργῇ καὶ ἐν θυμῷ ἐκδίκησιν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ἀνθ᾿ ὧν οὐκ εἰσ­ήκουσαν.

15 and I will exe­cute ven­geance on the heathen in anger and wrath, because they heark­ened not.

15 And I will exe­cute ven­geance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

15 Thus will I execute vengeance in anger and in fury with respect to the nations which have not heeded.

(יד)וְעָשִׂיתִי בְּאַף וּבְחֵמָה נָקָםQ אֶת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמֵעוּ.



1Paul used ὑπακούω here, whereas the LXX of Micah 5:14 used the closely-related word εἰσήκουω. While both have to do with “hearing,” the latter has more to do with “heeding” and the former with “obeying.”

2“It is a great mercy to be deprived of those things in which we have reposed a confidence in competition with God.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD

3Keil removed the phrase from Micah’s context and insisted that it only refers to the age of peace under the Messiah. On the other extreme, J.T. Willis connected this prophecy only to Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem. I agree with Waltke in affirming the initial context of 701 BC, but seeing ultimate fulfillment in the eschatological church.

4Isaiah 22:15-18 “Thus says the Lord Yahweh Commander of armies, ‘Go to this... Shebna, who is over the household… [and say] “Look, Yahweh will throw you a man's throw... into a land that's wide on both hands. There you shall die, and there the chariots of your glory will be a shame of your master's house.”’” (NAW)

5“Although thys prophecy be by many expounded of the Iewes, yet had I rather to take it, as spoken of the Hethen, and so it very wel agreeth wyth all the other prophetes, whych strayghte after the deliueraunce of Israel from amongs the heythen, doth alwayes threaten a terryble destruccion to theyr enemyes. Of whom so euer it is spoken, we muste marke for what cause it is spoken, to teach vs that syn is the cause of destruccion to al kyngdomes.” ~A. Gilby, 1551 AD

6Rev. 3:12; 11:2; 20:9; 21:2,10,14,15,16,18,19,21,23; 22:14,19.

7Matthew Henry’s commentary explained that it was referring to certain cities “dedicated to the idols.”

8We also find prophecies with similar language in:
Hosea 10:14 “Therefore tumult shall arise among your people, And all your fortresses shall be plundered....” (NKJV)
Amos 5:9 “He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.” (NKJV)
and Isaiah 6:11 “Then I said, ‘Unto what extent, Lord?’ And He said, ‘Until whenever cities crash to ruin without inhabitant, and houses are without a human and the ground is ruined – a desolation.’” (NAW)

9“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.” (Exodus 22:18, NKJV)

10Exodus 7:11 tells us it was practiced in ancient Egypt,
Isaiah 47:9-12 and Daniel 2:2 let us know that it was also practiced in Babylon along with “enchantments/spells,”
2 Kings 9:22 says that the Canaanite Queen Jezebel practiced it, and the word “adultery/harlotry” is parallel to the word “witchcraft” there,
“Adultery/harlotry” is also mentioned alongside “witchcraft” when Nahum describes Assyria in Nahum 3:4 (and Isaiah 57:3 also connects “fortune-telling” to “prostitution.” There is a connection between Satanism and sexual sin.)

11Jeremiah 27:9 “Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers [this is the masculine form of the word which Micah uses in the feminine gender], who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’” (NKJV)

12Malachi 3:5 “‘And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien—Because they do not fear Me,’ Says the LORD of hosts.” (NKJV)
cf. Anthony Gilby’s commentary on Micah: “Iosephus wryteth Ant. xx. cap. iiii.xi.xii. yt they dyd forsake the true Prophetes of God, and sought after Sorcerers and soothe sayers.” (The numbering system of Gilby’s copy of Josephus’ Antiquities appears to be different from Whiston’s edition in my possession, so I could not easily find this passage to which Gilby refers.)

13cf. Matthew Henry, who distinguished pesilim from mitzeybah in terms of the former being “movable” and the latter being “fixed.” Keil, however agreed with me that the former are “idols made of wood or metal” and the latter are “stone-images.” Waltke’s position was similar, relegating both to “representations in rock of the Canaanite mail fertitlicy god Baal, and V.13(14) to the representation in wood of his consort, Ashera…” He saw a “merism” in the “stone” and “wood” idols, comprising all idols. He insightfully added, “Idolatry and the stone pillars not only seduced Israel into pagan thinking and eroticism, but it also caused them to substitute rocks associated with demonic forces for the true Rock, even the One who made them to serve and glorify himself... The reference to idols as the works of man’s hands... shows that they belong to the same spiritual stuff of trusting in oneself...”

14e.g. Jeremiah 1:16 “I will utter My judgments Against them concerning all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken Me, Burned incense to other gods, And worshiped the works of their own hands8:19 “Listen! The voice, The cry of the daughter of my people From a far country: ‘Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?’ ‘Why have they provoked Me to anger With their carved images With foreign idols?’” (NKJV)

15cf. Jer. 50:38, in which God complains of Babylon’s idolatry, and Isaiah 21:9, which prophecies God’s judgment against Babylon and the destruction of its idols. Same for Egypt in Jer. 43:13 and for Tyre in Ezekiel 36:11.

16The GNT reads εἴδωλα… λίθινα καὶ τὰ ξύλινα, synonymous with the LXX words in Micah 5 for stone idol (στήλας) and wooden idol (γλυπτά).

17“The reformation of the Jews after their return from Babylon might be alluded to; but the purification of the Christian Church from all antichristian corruptions of faith and worship, and all idolatry and superstition, seems more immediately to be predicted.” ~Owen of Thrussington, quoting Scott
“[T]he more [the Messianic Israel, or the true people of the Lord] appropriates the spiritual power of the Prince of peace, the more will the trust in horses and chariots disappear…” ~C.F. Keil, 1891 AD (While this does sometimes describe the Christian’s experience, it should be noted – as Calvin’s commentary emphasized – that the emphasis in this passage in Micah is not on Israel faithfully renouncing idols but on God forcibly removing idols from Israel.)
“I AM [is] protecting his imperium by purifying his realm: in the first section by purging unbelief and attendant unholiness from among nominal Israel and so preserving it from his final wrath, and in the second section, after Israel has been purged, by taking punitive vindication against those nations that rebel... The first pertains to enemies within, and the punishment is remedial; the second pertains to enemies outside, and the punishment is penal.” ~B. Waltke, 2007 AD

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 5 are 4Q81 (containing parts of verses 2-3 and dated between 175-50BC), 4Q82 (containing parts of verses 7-8 and dated between 30-1 BC), the Nahal Hever Greek scroll (containing parts of vs. 2-7 and dated around 25BC), and the Wadi Muraba’at Scroll (containing parts verses 1-2 & 6-13 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

GThe masculine gender makes God the referent rather than the feminine “remnant.” Malbim, however, said it could refer to either God or the remnant. The NIV and NET bibles (and Waltke, in his commentary) added the word “triumph,” interpreting the raised hand as a celebratory sign after a victory (cf. Cohen) rather than a threatening sign before a strike, but the parallel passages in Isaiah argue persuasively that it is the latter. Keil agreed with me, “This wish (târōm is optative) closes the promise of the attitude which Israel will assume among the nations of the world. For târōm yâd (high be the hand), compare Isa. 26:11. High is the hand which accomplishes mighty deeds, which smites and destroys the foe.”

HAlthough the Hebrew text is clear that the horses, chariots, cities, fortresses, witches, soothsayers, carved images and stone monuments all belonged to “you” – “Daughter of Zion,” the Targums assiduously avoided that accusation in their translations, changing the “you’s” to “they” and “the peoples of the nations.”
Jerome’s overly-allegorical interpretation was summarized by Owen of Thrussington: “horses” = lusts, “chariots” = sins, “cities” = Cain’s city, and “strongholds” = “the eloquence of orators and dialecticians.”

IThe first mention of chariots in the Bible describes their use in Egypt, including how the Egyptian chariots were destroyed when the Red Sea came back together. The first mention of chariots in Israel is in Josh. 11, describing Canaanites with horses and chariots who were defeated by Joshua, then in Judges 4-5 when Barak defeated another army of Canaanites which used chariots. King David’s sons, Absalom (2 Sam. 15) and Solomon (1 Ki. 10) are the first Israelites mentioned as using chariots. Solomon imported his horses and chariots from Egypt and exported them to Syria (1 Ki. 10:28-29). In 2 Ki. 23, King Josiah destroys horses and chariots which had been dedicated by previous kings of Judah to false gods. Later, the Chaldeans destroyed Israel’s army and chariots, then they, in turn, were destroyed.

JWadi Murabbaat, the only DSS legible at this point, omits this word “all,” but it’s in the Targums, Peshitta, Vulgate, LXX, and MT.

Kcf. Aq. κληδονιζομενοι (“those who call demons”?), Sym. σημειοσκοποθμενοι (“dealers in signs”? or “those who mark with cuts”?), Theodoret μαντεις (“soothsayers”), and Cyril ψευδομαντεις (“false prophets”).

LThis word is found in only 4 passages: 1) here, where it is associated with “fortune-telling,” 2) in 2 Kings 9:22 (Referring to Jezebel’s witchcraft and associated with “adultery”), 3) in Isa. 47:9-12 (referring to Babylon’s witchcraft and associated with “enchantments/spells”), and 4) Nah. 3:4 (referring to Assyria’s witchcraft and associated with “adultery”). In every case the word is plural. There are three things which go together with it. 1) Here in Micah: “your hand,” 2) “great/many” in every instance but Micah’s, and 3) sexual shame in every instance but Micah’s: 2 Ki. 9:22 (harlotry), Isa. 47:9-12 (nakedness, loss of children, widowhood), and Nah. 3:4 (harlotry, nakedness, selling of families).

MThis verb is the plural of the verb of being (“they [soothsayers] shall not be…”), but the KJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV turned the singular “you” into its subject and changed the verb to “you shall not have/cast...” Understandably, what the KJV, NASB, and ESV did makes better sense of the lamed preposition (“belonging to you”), but there are other meanings to that preposition which could be used.

NAlthough this phrase “the work of your/his/their hands” usually denotes good work in the Bible, it is used in a minority of cases to denote idols (Deut. 4:28, 27:15, 31:29, 1 Kings 16:7, 2 Kings 19:18, 22:17, 2 Chron. 32:19, 34:25, Psalm 115:3, 135:15, Isa. 2:8, 17:8, 37:19, Jer. 1:16, 10:3, 10:9, 25:6, 7, 14, 32:30, 48:8, Hos. 14:3, Hag. 2:14). Besides this one instance in Micah, Jeremiah is the only author who uses this phrase more often to describe idols than to describe good works (in fact, Jeremiah used the phrase exclusively to describe idolatry). In the GNT, the phrase from the LXX shows up only in Acts 7:41, Heb. 1:10, and Rev. 9:20.

OWhile most versions translate the vav as a simple conjunction “and/so,” Calvin interpreted it as a “final particle” (“that”), but I suggest it makes better sense as a temporal (“when”).
cf. Hosea 10:8 “Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, Shall be destroyed.” (NKJV)
Amos 9:8 “‘Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,’ Says the LORD.” (NKJV)
God also promised to “destroy” foreign nations for their evil as well (Isa. 13:9, 26:14; Ezek. 14:9; 25:7; Jer. 48; Hag. 2:22; Zech. 12:9)

PCuriously, Calvin (followed by Newcomb, Owen, Cohen, Targums, Geneva Bible, and the AJV) couldn’t believe that the word “city” would be repeated, and so found another meaning for this word: “enemy.” Gilby, Henry, Keil, and Waltke rendered it “city,” following the ancient Vulgate, Septuagint, and Peshitta versions, and most modern English versions followed this tradition (KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, and NLT). The NET Bible inexplicably translated it “idols.” Waltke’s commentary surveyed a wide range of theories on the translation of this word published between 1987 and 2007, and while he tipped his hat to J. Sasson (who found that the Hebrew word spelled “forest” in the Ugaritic language) and L. Fisher (who argued that this Hebrew word means “inner room of a temple” in 2 Ki. 10:25), he concluded that, in looking for other meanings, “no consensus has been reached” among Biblical scholars, and that the “unambiguous meaning” of “village or city” should prevail.

QPsalm 149:7 has very similar wording, but it is speaking of God’s people praising God “To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples” (NKJV)

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