Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 27 October 2024
It’s easy to miss the connection between the end of Micah 5 and the beginning of chapter 6. Most English versions end Micah 5 with “the nations which have not obeyed,” then they start chapter 6 with the word “Hear/Listen,” but it’s the same verb in Hebrew, so I think the KJV was right to use the same English verb in both verses. In Micah 5:15, God promised to vent His wrath and fury upon the nations which have not “heeded” Him, so in 6:1, He commands them to “give heed” to Him, in light of the fact that everyone is accountable to Him.
“See how the Lord doth humble him self to thine infirmity and weakness. He is content not only to speak unto thee which art but dust and ashes, full of sin, but to shew his quarrel and as it were to plead his cause with us, that he might be found true and all men liars, and therefore justified in his words.... Let all men therefore tremble before his face and cry unto God, to give them ears that can hear, & eyes that can see & then say..., ‘I will hear what the Lord speaketh.’” ~A. Gilby, 1551 AD
Read
my translation of the passage, starting at Micah 5:15
Thus
will I execute vengeance in anger and in fury with respect to the
nations which have not heeded. Y’all give heed please to what
Yahweh is saying: “Stand up, sir; bring accusations before the
mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.” Mountains and
steady foundations of the earth, listen to Yahweh’s accusation,
because Yahweh has an accusation against His people, and He will
bring justice to bear against Israel. “My people, what have I done
against you, or how have I exasperated you? Answer me! For I brought
you up from the land of Egypt – indeed, from the house of slaves I
ransomed you, then I commissioned Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to be in
front of you. My people, please remember what Balak King of Moab
planned and how Balaam son of Beor answered him. [Remember] from
Shittim to Gilgal so as to recognize the righteousnesses of Yahweh.
Micah opens chapter 6 with the setting of a court of law. But “whereas [the previous ‘oracles of reproach’] aimed to condemn and sentence, this one aims to restore.” ~B. Waltke, 2007 AD
It opens with a command to “listen/hear,” spelled with a plural ending in Hebrew, so there are a number of persons being addressed and commanded to “listen.”
The “mountains” and “hills” appear to be the ones being commanded to listen1.
Perhaps they are the jury, or perhaps they are witnesses2 or just spectators,
but in Micah 4:1, Micah used these same words for “mountains” and “hills” to depict the capitol cities of other nations around Israel. The world should hear God’s court proceedings clearly.
In other Bible passages, geographical features of the earth are also called upon as witnesses to God’s dealings with His people, for instance the beginning of Isaiah’s book, “...Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth, for Yahweh has spoken. ‘I have raised children and brought them up. And they, they have rebelled against me.’” (Isaiah 1:2, NAW, cf. Deut. 32:1)
This is also reminiscent of how Micah started out his book: Micah 1:2-4 “Listen, all you peoples, be attentive, O earth and all that fills it, for Yahweh the Master will become a witness among y'all from the temple of His holiness. Look, Yahweh is indeed going forth from His place, and He will come down and step on the high places of the earth. Then the mountains will melt beneath Him...” (NAW)
So here at chapter 6, Micah seems to be coming back to his opening statement which was calling all the nations of the earth to listen and prepare for Him to come in judgment.
Next, there is a set of commands to “stand and contend/plead your case.” Unlike the first command to “listen,” this set of commands is singular in Hebrew, indicating that there is one certain person who is being commanded to rise in the courtroom and lodge his formal complaint.
But who is the singular person commanded to be the prosecuting attorney against Israel in this public trial?
God has already been using Micah in a similar role, as we saw back in Micah 3:8, “I am full of strength – with the Spirit of Yahweh... to communicate to Jacob its transgression and to Israel its sin.” (NAW)
But notice that in chapter 6 verse 2, the word for “controversy/indictment/accusation/ court case” appears two more times, and both times, the singular person bringing it to the court is not Micah, but the LORD Himself. Yahweh the Judge is asking Yahweh the Prosecuting Attorney to stand and accuse Israel! (I think the first and second persons of the Trinity are revealed here in addition to the Spirit Who was mentioned in Micah 3:8.) There’s no hope for the accused if the prosecuting attorney is also the judge of the case, unless the accused can get right with him before the trial begins!
And this prosecution is to be done in such a way that the surrounding nations – represented as “mountains” and “hills” – would also be able to “hear” it, and, it being long before the invention of the radio or the Internet, what better way to do that than to write it in a book?
In verse 2, the command to “listen” is repeated. This must be extremely important to hear if God gives it such a buildup!
And, in v.2, instead of “mountains... and hills” it is “mountains... and steady/everlasting/enduring/strong foundations,” but it seems to be the same audience.
Micah does not use the word “foundations” anywhere else in his book, but when we widen the word-search to the whole Old Testament, Psalm 82 emerges uniquely as a match to the same international courtroom scene: “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods [rulers/exalted ones]. How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? ... They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. I said, ‘You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.’ Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.” (Psalm 82:1-8, NKJV) So I think my interpretation that these mountains, hills, and foundations represent the nations of the earth fits.
This courtroom scene shows up in the other prophets, too, for instance:
Isaiah 3:13 “Yahweh has taken His stand to contend; He stands to judge peoples…. 5:3 And now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard” (NAW)
Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge[case] against the inhabitants of the land: ‘There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.’” (NKJV)
Jeremiah 2:9 "Therefore I will yet bring charges against you," says the LORD, "And against your children's children I will bring charges.” (NKJV)
And in Matthew 12:41-42, Jesus even names some of the nations in this courtroom: “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.” (NAW)
But God presents this scenario, not to lead His people into a fatalistic despair at the certainty of a guilty verdict in court, but to motivate His people to engage in pre-trial negotiations to repair the relationship and avoid the trial altogether!
It’s kinda like when we say, “I’m gonna sue your pants off!” when we haven’t actually retained an lawyer – we just want to scare the other party into admitting they did wrong and get them to do something to make amends. (Although God doesn’t stoop so low as to make empty threats.)
18th Century commentator Matthew Henry put it this way: “[H]e will plead with Israel, will plead by his prophets, plead by his providences, to make good his charge. Note, 1. Sin begets a controversy between God and man. The righteous God has an action against every sinner, an action of debt, an action of trespass, an action of slander. 2. If Israel, God's own professing people, provoke him by sin, he will let them know that he has a controversy with them; he sees sin in them, and is displeased with it, nay, their sins are more displeasing to him than the sins of others, as they are a greater grief to his Spirit and dishonour to his name. 3. God will plead with those whom he has a controversy with, will plead with his people Israel, that they may be convinced and that he may be justified... here he pleads with Israel in compassion and tenderness, to bring them to repentance...”~M. Henry, 1714 AD You see, it’s always about bringing us to repentance and renewing the covenant relationship: “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Jer. 11:4)
Now, as a father of four boys in a row, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen one of my young sons hit his brother, pulled him aside to discipline him for it, and heard him say, “But he hit me first!” Discipline often had to be distributed to both parties because both boys bore some fault in the altercation. But, in those rare cases when the injured son really hadn’t done anything to provoke his brother, my sympathies were strong toward him, and v.3 is designed to turn our sympathies toward God.
In v.3, God begins His case with proof that Israel’s sin was not provoked by Him. That proof is a lack of evidence that He has ever done anything wrong to them. Even if He invites them to list their grievances, they can’t come up with any valid complaint about God mistreating them. Therefore, the wrong which Israel has done to God is entirely their fault, and the consequences should fall entirely upon them, with no shared blame whatsoever on God’s part.
Jeremiah 2:5-6 elaborates: "...What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? Neither did they say, `Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt? … 31 O generation, see the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’?” (NKJV) Here is an injustice!
Not only has God not not done you any wrong, He has acted with complete integrity and justice and even merciful kindness toward you! Then He even invites you to have a reconciling talk with Him! (Romans 3:5, 9:22-23)
Answering dialogue is essential to maintaining a relationship, and also HOW you answer is essential to maintaining a relationship. How will you answer?
This is all the more amazing when you consider the difference in station between the two parties: The one who has suffered the injustice is the Almighty God – The King of the Universe, whereas the offenders are mere mortal creations of His.
Now, when kids are at play, do they stop and say, “Hmm, I wonder if my doll actually wants to have a tea party now; maybe she would rather sit in her box?” or “I wonder if my action figure actually wants to drive his motorcycle over this ledge?” No, we don’t ask our toys what they want; we just grab them and do what we want with them because they are our toys. We don’t have to get their permission!
Similarly, we are God’s creations, so why should He even bother to ask what we think?
In fact; He is omniscient, so He knows everything already, so there is no need for Him to even ask what we think because He knows everything already!
And yet, here He is saying, “Hey, what have I done that’s bothering you? I want to hear from you.” Do you see how truly amazing it is that God would even invite this level of dialogue with His creatures – much less with those who had rebelled against Him? It boggles the mind!
“The question is founded upon the fact that Israel has fallen away from its God, or broken the covenant. This is not distinctly stated, indeed; but it is clearly implied in the expression... ‘What have I done, that thou hast become weary of me?’” ~C.F. Keil, 1891 AD
God said in Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come, please, and let us reason… Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be whitened like snow, Though bloody, like crimson, they will become like wool. If you are willing and you listen, you will eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and you disobey, you will be consumed by the sword, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken."
In v.4, God states further reasons why we should “reason” with Him rather than avoid Him.
The first word in v.4 in Hebrew is translated “For” in most English versions (although the NIV decided it wasn’t worth keeping, and the NASB translated it “indeed”). I think this word “for” introduces the reason why God has a right to be answered3 – two reasons, in fact:
First, He owns Israel as a result of having “ransomed/redeemed4” them from Egypt – as slaves from their previous owner (Amos 2:10 “[I]t was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite." ~NKJV, cf. Ex. 20:2, Deut. 7:8, 2 Sam. 7:23),
and Second, they should be responsive to Him because He furthermore provided good leadership for them – He had sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam “before [their] face.”
Some of the more paraphrastic English versions change the words to “sent to lead you,” but that actually communicates the meaning well. The one “commissioned to be out in front of you” is the one who is supposed to “lead” you.
And, indeed, Moses led the Hebrew nation out of slavery in Egypt, and, under God’s direction, constituted them into a republic where they could live free lives (within the boundaries of God’s law), instead of being slaves.
The Aramaic-speaking Jews have an ancient tradition of brief commentary on the Bible called the Targums, and it explains the roles of Moses and his brother and sister here in Micah 6:4, “I sent before you my three prophets, Moses to teach the tradition of judgements, Aaron to atone for the people, and Miriam to instruct the women (Ex. 15:20).” (Cathcart)
Psalm 77:20 “You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron." (NKJV, cf. Exodus 6:13, 26-27, Numbers 33:1, 1 Samuel 12:6-8)
“Far from affording any excuse for complaint, God’s treatment of Israel should give every ground for gratitude.” ~A. Cohen, 1994 AD
Today, God is still in the business of providing good leadership for His people. In Ephesians 4:11-12, He tells the church that, “...He Himself gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers toward the equipping of the saints to the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…” (NAW) Your pastor-teachers are a gift to you from God.
“When we are calling to mind God's former mercies to us we must not forget the mercy of good teachers and governors when we were young; let those be made mention of, to the glory of God, who went before us, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’; it was God that sent them before us, to prepare the way of the Lord...” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD
And today, we know the fulfillment of what was symbolized in the Exodus from Egypt. 1 Peter 1:18-21 uses the same word for “redeem/ransomed” that is in the Greek translation of Micah 6:4: Peter wrote, “[I]t was not using perishable things – silver or gold – that y'all were ransomed out of your empty lifestyle passed along from forefathers, but rather it was using precious blood from Christ, [who is] like a lamb without blemish and unsullied. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was brought to light at the last times for y'all's sake - [y'all] who through Him are trusting in God (the One who raised Him out of the dead and who gave to Him glory) such that y'all's hopeful trusting should be in God.” (NAW, cf. Titus 2:14)
“That redemption was so great, that the people ought not to have complained had it been the will of God to lay on their shoulders some very heavy burdens: for this answer might have been ever readily given, “Ye have been delivered by me; ye owe to me your life...” ~J. Calvin, 1559 AD
In v.5, God trots out one more reason why Israel should be covenantally-responsive to Him. It it curious that, out of all the stories in the Old Testament, He should pick this one, but He directs their attention to the incident where the King of Moab hired a pagan prophet to put a hex on Israel, but God took control of the situation, forcing Balaam instead to pronounce a blessing on the Israelites.
Numbers 22 tells the story: “[T]he children of Israel... camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho [that was in the area of Shittim].… Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites... he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor... to call him, saying: ‘Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.’” (Num. 22:1-6, NKJV) So, that is what the Moabite king “counseled/devised/planned,” as Micah put it.
Now, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that God says to His people, “Answer me,” in v.3, and then in v. 5, “remember how Balaam answered.” So, how did Balaam answer his king, and what can we learn from that in answering God?
The first time he was asked to curse the Israelites, Balaam said to King Balak’s messengers, "Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you." (Numbers 22:13, NKJV)
But they came back and asked him a second time, and then he said, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.” (Num. 22:18, NKJV)
Eventually, though, he came face-to-face with King Balak and answered, “Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak." (Num. 22:38, NKJV)
Then in Numbers 23, Balak speaks his oracle: "...How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? ... Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!" Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!" So he answered and said, "Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?" (Num. 23:8-12, NKJV)
Balaam’s “answer” comes through loud and clear, “I can only say what God allows me to say.” We may be their enemies, but their God is in control of us, so we can’t do anything God doesn’t allow us to do!
The phrase in v.5, “from Shittim to Gilgal”
comes “out of the blue” in the Hebrew, without a verb or anything to give it context, so most contemporary Bible make up a phrase like “and what happened” or “Remember your journey” – and I think it’s fair to assume that the word “remember” is intended to be repeated there by ellipsis5.
But the phrase “from Shittim to Gilgal” just means from the East side of the Jordan River to the West side6.
After the Exodus, Israel came up from Egypt and camped at Shittim, on the East bank of the Jordan River, where there was a grove of Acacia trees7. From there they saw the Promised Land for the first time across that River.
That’s when the King of Moab got nervous about them invading his country and tried to hire Balaam to curse the Israelites.
But God parted the Jordan River for them, and they crossed over and camped at Gilgal on the West Bank. Then Joshua used Gilgal as a military base to conquer the rest of Canaan.
So what is the point of v.5? God says, “Remember... so you will recognize the righteousnesses of Yahweh. What are the righteousnesses of the LORD, and How do we come to know them through remembering?
In 1 Samuel 12, the old prophet Samuel reviewed “the LORD’s righteousnesses.” He said, “[S]tand at attention, while I make a case with y'all... concerning all of Yahweh's acts-of-righteousness which He did with y'all and with your forefathers.” (1 Sam. 12:7, NAW) Then he recounted how their forefathers had cried out to the LORD from slavery in Egypt and how God had sent Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt to the Promised Land, and how later, when they had been oppressed by the Moabites and Philistines, they had cried out to the LORD and the LORD had sent them Judges to deliver them out of the control their enemies. Those were “the Lord’s righteousnesses” to Israel.
God was consistently faithful to His end of the covenant which He had made with His people. He constantly protected and prospered His people. He delivered them from slavery in Egypt; He stopped curses from falling upon them, He parted the Jordan River at flood season to fulfill His promise of giving them the Promised Land, He kept them safe from enemy after enemy that tried to conquer them, and many more righteousnesses besides, which are recorded in the history of the Bible – and all that despite the fact that often His people were unfaithful toward Him8.
Isaiah 1:27 “Zion will be ransomed by justice, and the one who turns, by righteousness.” (NAW)
2 Corinthians 5:21 explains how the righteousnesses of God, demonstrated in the Old Testmant in the form of political salvation, ultimately point to what Jesus (the Sinless One) did for our eternal salvation: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The New Testament “Zion” is also “ransomed by [God’s] justice … [and] righteousness” in Christ, this is the church which continues to experience God’s righteousnesses in protecting and providing for us. If we will “remember” this9, we will desire to enter into that dialogue of covenant relationship with the Lord.
“‘To remember’ is not merely recalling a past event, but of actualizing the past in the present,” wrote contemporary commentator Bruce Waltke10, noting that this is what Christians do every time we observe the Lord’s Supper. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” When we remember in the present what He did for us in the past, our faith stays alive into the future.
Do you realize that you are accountable to God? Are you listening to Him? Are you responding to Him and remembering His righteousnesses?
“The implication for Micah’s immediate audience and the audience of his book is clear: if I AM miraculously saved Israel at its inception from the bondage and affliction of Egypt and Moab, can he not unshackle it from the ruthless tyranny of Assyria and Satan, whatever other guise Satan may take? The church fails not because I AM fails in his covenantal commitment but because the church fails to respond properly in its obligations.” ~B. Waltke, 2007 AD
Because Jesus has opened the way before us, our God is very approachable and easy to respond to. The tone of this whole address is not that of an offended party who has become bitter and angry; it is the tone of a heartbroken father who loves his prodigal child and longs to enjoy a good relationship again.
The Hebrew particle of entreaty “na” is joined to two of the three commands: “Listen” in v.1 and “remember” in v. 5. This particle is ignored in most English versions, but the KJV and NASB translated it with the English word “now.” However, I don’t think that this is a demanding “now,” like “you’d better listen right now, buster;” I believe it is more like our English word “Please” – when we are earnestly asking someone for something and we desperately don’t want them to ignore us. I think that is the tone God is using here, “‘Listen, please! … Please remember! ...It is so important to me that you answer!”11
There’s also the repeated phrase in verses 3 & 5, “My people … My people12.” God is not browbeating an enemy, He is pleading tenderly with His “own people” – people that He would buy with His own blood!
So how are you answering God?
Is it, “I hate you! Leave me alone! I will no longer trust You after the way you let me down! I don’t need You! I don’t believe You.”
Or are you patterning your response like Balaam did, acknowledging God’s power and lordship and submitting to Him? “I’m sorry. I failed to listen to You and obey You. You are God and whatever You say goes.”
Really, we should go beyond the example of the pagan prophet Balaam and follow the teaching of the Godly prophet Micah here and add, “In fact, LORD, You have been more good to me than I deserve; You’ve never treated me unjustly. I want to walk with you as your beloved child!”
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (NKJV)
“Now if we wold hereby in our wycked tyme lerne to behold the in estimable goodnes of God toward vs, and our vnthankefulnes agaynst so louyng a Lord: We myght fully perceaue and see most euydently the wonderfull mercies of our heauenly father, calling vs to repentaunce whych hath not only giuen vs bodely benefytes as he dyd vnto Israell, but he hathe delyuered vs from the helly Pharao, from the curses of Antichriste, from the sea of erroures and erronions opinions, and caused vs to eate the heauenly Manna, the fleshe of hys owne sonne, thereby to geue vs lyfe euerlastynge. O the vnspeakeable goodnes of our heauēly father…” ~A. Gilby, 1551 AD
DouayB (Vulgate) |
LXXC |
BrentonD (Vaticanus) |
KJVE |
NAW |
Masoretic HebrewF |
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 נָקָםG אֶת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמֵעוּ. |
1 Hear ye X what the Lord saith: Arise, contend thou in judgment against the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. |
1
Ἀκούσατε
δὴ |
1
Hear
now
a |
1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. |
1 Y’all give heed please to what Yahweh is saying: “Stand up, Sir; bring accusations before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.” |
(א) שִׁמְעוּ נָא אֵת אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֹמֵרI קוּם רִיב אֶתJ הֶהָרִים וְתִשְׁמַעְנָה הַגְּבָעוֹת קוֹלֶךָ. |
2 Let the mountains hear the judgment of the Lord, and the strong foundations of the earth: for the Lord will enter into judgment with his people, and he will plead against Israel. |
2
ἀκούσατε, βουνοί, τὴν κρίσιν
τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ αἱ |
2
Hear ye, O mountains,
the controversy
of the Lord, and ye |
2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. |
2 Mountains and steady foundations of the earth, listen to Yahweh’s accusation, because Yahweh has an accusation against His people, and He will bring justice to bear against Israel. |
(ב) שִׁמְעוּ הָרִים אֶת רִיב יְהוָה וְהָאֵתָנִיםL מֹסְדֵי אָרֶץM כִּי רִיב לַיהוָה עִםN עַמּוֹ וְעִם יִשְׂרָאֵל יִתְוַכָּח. |
3 O my people, what have I done to thee, or in what have I molestedO thee? answer thou me. |
3 λαός μου, τί ἐποίησά σοι [ἢ τί ἐλύπησά σε] ἢ τί παρηνώχλησά σοι; ἀποκρίθητί μοι. |
3 O my people, what have I done to thee? [or wherein have I grieved thee?] or wherein have I troubled thee? answer me. |
3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. |
3 “My people, what have I done against you, or how have I exasperated you? Answer me! |
(ג) עַמִּי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי Pלְךָ וּמָה Qהֶלְאֵתִיךָ עֲנֵה בִיR. |
4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and delivered thee out of the house of slaves: and I sent before thy face Moses, [and] Aaron, and Mary. |
4 διότι ἀνήγαγόν σε ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐξ οἴκου δουλείας ἐλυτρωσάμην σε καὶ ἐξαπέστειλα πρὸ προσώπου σου τὸν Μωυσῆν [καὶ] Ααρων καὶ Μαριαμ. |
4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondageS, and sent before thee Moses, [and] Aaron, and Mariam. |
4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. |
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt – indeed, from the house of slaves I ransomed you, then I commissioned Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to be in front of you. |
(ד) כִּיT הֶעֱלִתִיךָ Uמֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם Vוּמִבֵּית עֲבָדִיםW פְּדִיתִיךָ וָאֶשְׁלַח לְפָנֶיךָX אֶת מֹשֶׁה Yאַהֲרֹן וּמִרְיָם. |
5 O my people, remember, I pray thee, what Balach, the king of Moab, purposed: and what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him, from Setim to Galgal, that thou mightest know the justiceX of the Lord. |
5
λαός μου, μνήσθητι δὴ
τί ἐβουλεύσατο [κατὰ σοῦ] Βαλακ
βασιλεὺς Μωαβ, καὶ τί ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ
Βαλααμ υἱὸς τοῦ Βεωρ ἀπὸ τῶν
σχοίνωνZ
ἕως τοῦ Γαλγαλ, ὅπως γνωσ |
5
O my people, remember now,
what counsel
Balac king of Moab took
[against
thee], and
what Balaam
the son of Beor answered
him, from the reeds
to Galgal; that the righteousnessX
of the Lord might |
5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousnessX of the LORD. |
5 My people, please remember what Balak King of Moab planned and how Balaam son of Beor answered him. [Remember] from Shittim to Gilgal so as to recognize the righteousnesses of Yahweh. |
(ה) עַמִּי זְכָר נָא מַה יָּעַץAA בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב וּמֶה עָנָה אֹתוֹ בִּלְעָםAB בֶּן בְּעוֹרAC מִן הַשִּׁטִּיםAD עַד הַגִּלְגָּל לְמַעַן דַּעַת צִדְקוֹתAE יְהוָה. |
1John Calvin (followed by Caspari, Keil, and Waltke) commented that these “mountains,” “hills,” and “foundations” refer to the “rocks… mute elements.” Matthew Henry commented that they refer to the Jews. Others, including G.E. Wright and F.M. Cross suggested they refer to angels. Gilby (followed perhaps by R.B.Y. Scott) is the only commentator I found to have agreement with me (“mighty men of the world”). It appears that, in most cases, commentators were so influenced by conforming this passage to Ancient Near East (ANE) suzerainty paradigms that they forgot to compare these words with the way Micah consistently used these words.
2B. Waltke compared this to ANE suzerainty documents, citing H. B. Huffmon: “[M]ountains … function as witnesses in validating I AM’s case,” and B. Renaud: “In the breaking of treaties by vassals, the wronged suzerain himself engaged the appropriate procedure. He therefore played at the same time the roles of plaintiff, of accuser, and of judge.”
3I found no other commentator who agreed with this interpretation, however. Of those which even commented on it, Keil related it to clauses which preceded the clause “Answer me,” and Waltke interpreted it as giving emotional emphasis to the statement which follows, both of which seem to be a stretch grammatically, the former for skipping over the nearest antecedent and the latter for failing to try to use the most common meaning of the word.
4“...redeemed them, not by price, but by force...”~M. Henry
5A lot of ink has been spilled in textual critical studies of this verse. Waltke gave some credence to the possibility that, since בןבעור (“son of Beor”) looks an awful lot like בעבור (“in crossing over”), something more should be there than is written in the Hebrew text, although he maintained that it was merely implied, not actually omitted.
6Gilby’s
commentary treated it less like a figure of speech and more in terms
of a reminder of the events at those locations: “In Sittam dyd I
staye Balacke, and Bilham. I caused Moyses too destroye the
Midianites withoute mercy, and did gyue vnto you theyr godes
cattayle and substaunce (Num. xxxi). In Gilgall I dyd take awaye the
reproche of Egipte from you. I caused you to be cyrcumcysed and dyd
giue you of the fruits of the promysed lande (Josh. v).”
The
Masoretic cantillation disassociates this phrase from Balaam’s
answer and connects it with knowing the LORD’s righteousness, but
Keil disagreed with that, commenting that this phrase indicates “the
result, or the confirmation of Balaam’s answer” which took place
while the Hebrews were between Shittim and Gilgal, in which Balak’s
plan was frustrated, the Midianites were defeated, and the Hebrews
were renewed in covenant with Jehovah. Waltke cited G. J. Batterweck
in agreement with Keil, but Waltke sided with B. Renaud in
interpreting it as “Israel’s crossing the Jordan” as a
“salvific act” of God in parallel with the Exodus, and that
seems to follow the sentiment of the commentaries of Calvin, Henry,
and Cohen.
7NLT followed the NKJV in calling Shittim “Acacia Grove,” a translation instead of a transliteration.
8“...my
ryghtuousnesse, that I would keepe my promyse, notwyth standynge
thys manyfolde wyckednesse” ~A. Gilby
This can be correlated
with 2 Peter 2:15 “They were made to wander astray after
leaving the right way behind, following the way of Balaam
from Bosor (who loved the salary of unrighteousness...)”
(NAW)
9“The disappointing of the devices of the church's enemies ought always to be remembered to the glory of [Christ,] the church's protector.” ~M. Henry
10He may have been quoting B. S. Childs, whom he also quotes as saying “remembrance equals participation.”
11cf. G.W. Ramsey, as quoted by Waltke in loc, “The purpose of the ‘Complaint Speech’ was to facilitate restoration of the covenant relationship.”
12“This one tender word, twice repeated, contains in one a whole volume of reproof.” ~E. B. Pusey, 1880 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
Scroll containing Micah 6 is the Wadi Muraba’at Scroll, containing
parts verses 1-7 & 11-16 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
GPsalm 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)
HFields cited several Greek manuscripts which corrected this to the MT tradition by replacing “word” with the relative pronoun “what” and omitting the first “lord” (“Comp. Ald. Codd. 23, 42,49, alii, Hieron., Syro-hex.” and other marginal notes)
IWaltke labeled this Qal participle a “timeless present,” commenting, “I AM still speaks through these chapters.”
JOf the 4 times that this Hebrew word appears in this periscope, three are generally agreed to mark the next word as a direct object, but this one is generally agreed to be a preposition, as evidenced by the agreement of the Westminster Morphology, the OSHB Morphology, and all the English versions which employ a preposition here (“against/with/before”). The context demands that the mountains not be the direct object of what is prosecuted, since the next verse makes it clear that it is Israel being prosecuted. Rather, the mountains, like the “hills” in the last clause of this verse, are just witnesses which should “hear” the proceedings. A prepositional interpretation of this Hebrew particle allows the latter to be the case. (cf. LXX προς “to/before,” Calvin “I take it for lamed, ‘before or near,’” Waltke “before,” and usage in Gen 20:16 & Isa. 30:8.
KΑquilla’s 2nd Century Greek version is more accurate with στερεα (“firm”). Symmachus (παλαια) and Theodotian (αρχαια) were a little more off-base with “ancient”.
LThis word has more to do with “steadiness/stability” than with “depth.” It is often used to describe streams that run all year long and don’t have dry seasons, but also to describe households that are stable and not susceptible to threats. It is not used alongside “foundations” anywhere else in the Hebrew Old Testament (HOT).
M“Foundations of the earth” occurs as a phrase in the HOT in only 5 other places. Four of them appear to be describing earthquakes (Ps. 18:8; Prov. 8:29; Isa. 24:18; Jer. 31:37), but one (Ps. 82:5) appears to parallel Micah here, portraying wicked national leaders as “foundations of the earth.”
N“The construction ryb lĕ always designates a trial where the person introduced by the preposition lĕ seems to take the initiative. Thus in 2 Sam 15:2, 4, it is a plaintiff who asks for justice from the royal court; in Jer 25:31, the formula is in parallel with ‘to enter into judgment.’ The preposition ʿim (or bĕ), when it is found joined to the formula ryb lĕ, introduces the adversaries of the plaintiff, the accused (Hos 4:1; cf. Hos 12:3[2], whereas in Mic 6:2 God starts the trial).” ~B. Renaud, as quoted by B. Waltke
OMolestiam. cf. Jerome: Labore te pressi (“oppressed you with labor”)& Junius: fatigavi (“fatigued”)
PWaltke called this a “lamed of disadvantage,” noting that it is commonly used in that sense with the interrogative מה.
QThe
only real complaint in the Bible of God “wearying” someone is in
Job 16:7 “But now He has worn me out; You have made
desolate all my company.” (NKJV) There’s also Isaiah 43:22-23
“Yet it wasn't me that you called, Jacob, for you are weary
with me, Israel. You have not brought to me a lamb of your burnt
offerings or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you
to serve with offerings, and I have not wearied you with
frankincense.” (NAW)
Keil commented: “[T]o make a person
weary, more particularly to weary the patience of a person, either
by demands of too great severity (Isa. 43:23), or by failing to
perform one's promises (Jer. 2:31).”
Waltke suggested that it
referred specifically to Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem. He also
noted how similar this word (hel’eitiyka
= wearied you) is to the word which occurs four words later
(he‘eltiyka = brought you
up), suggesting that Micah is using poetic word play.
RWaltke, following R.B. Alden and KJV, insisted that, in a court context, this phrase means specifically “testify against.”
SThe Greek is plural here, following the Hebrew which is also plural. Brenton is not the only one who arbitrarily made this word plural in their English translation.
Tcf.
NET = “In fact,” Geneva/Waltke = “Surely,” Omitted by NIV. I
think this causal introduces the reason why God has a right to be
answered, namely that He owns them as a result of having redeemed
them from their previous owner.
Keil interpreted it slightly
differently: “The kı̄ (for) may be explained from the
unexpressed answer to the questions in verse 3: ‘Nothing that
could cause dissatisfaction with me;’ for I have done
nothing but confer benefits upon thee.”
Waltke also had a
different take: “kî (surely) is a disjunct adverb
modifying a clause in relation to the act of speaking, and, in this
case, conveys I AM’s zealous attitude toward the content.”
UFor the creedal use of this phrase “brought up out of the land of Egypt” by the ancient Israelites, see Waltke’s quote of G. Wehmeier on pp. 275-276.
VThis conjunction introduces a synonymous parallel clause. The next conjunction introduces a subsequential clause. It’s a shame that most English versions did not pick up on this and translate them “Indeed… then” (as I have), instead of “and… and” (as they have). Waltke did pick up on this, calling this conjunction “ascensive” and the following one “sequential,” although he noted that “in historical fact they overlapped.”
WThis word (“slaves”) is plural in Hebrew, and the Latin, Greek, and Aramaic versions all render it plural, but Brenton, Bauscher, and Cathcart arbitrarily changed it to singular (“slavery”) in their English renderings. Most modern commentators also rendered it singular (e.g. Waltke “slave house”). This didn’t damage the overall meaning, however.
XLiterally “sent [on a mission] before your face.” NIV, NET, NLT changed the words to “sent to lead/help you,” which, despite its paraphrasm, communicates the meaning better than some woodenly-literalistic versions.
YVulgate, LXX, and Peshitta (followed only by NIV among the English versions) insert an “and” here. Targums don’t. There is no DSS which is legible at this point to corroborate the MT. This leaves some doubt as to which was the original, but it makes no difference in meaning.
ZLXX translated the Hebrew word as “reeds.” Later Greek versions transliterated it as a place-name (Σετιμ). Waltke quoted Ryssel noting that if you shorten the vowels in the LXX word, you get σχινον (“mastich tree”) which would be closer to the meaning of the word in the MT.
AALXX and Peshitta insert “against you,” but that insertion is not supported by the DSS, Vulgate, or Targums. It is particularly surprising not to find it in the Targums. It doesn’t change the meaning, however.
AB“According to A. Wolters, the Balaamite inscription found at Tell Deir ‘Alla and dated to the time of Micah... confirms Israel’s memory that Balaam was a pagan prophet from northern Syria centuries before the time of Micah. Furthermore, according to Wolters, the Balaamites who wrote it were a colony of exiles who had been deported there by the Assyrians from one of the Aramean states of northern Syria. The presence of this colony in Transjordan would have caused Micah’s audience to fear the dreaded Assyrians (cf. 2 Kgs 18:31–35), but I AM asks Israel to relive the situation centuries before when he conquered the dreaded Balak and Balaam and instead blessed them so as to prevail over all their enemies.” ~B. Waltke
ACThere is a strong disjunctive accent here in the Masoretic text which divides the verse in half, thus the phrase “from Shittim to Gilgal” goes with “to know/remember” rather than with “Balaam answered.” Although Keil contradicted it, Waltke agreed, commenting that “...from Shittim to Gilgal... does not modify ʿānâ, for although Balaam met Israel at Shittim, he did not accompany them to Gilgal.” A lot of ink has been spilled in textual critical studies of this verse. Waltke surveyed a bit of this in his commentary and gave some credence to the fact that בןבעור (“son of Beor”) looks an awful lot like בעבור (“in crossing over”), but he denied the assertions of A. Weiseer and of R. Vuilleumier that the Bible was misspelled, and he denied H. Wolff’s assertion that a similar-looking word had been overlooked in copying. He took the position, with B. Renaud, that min is a “pregnant preposition implying [the missing participle ‘in crossing over’].” It seems to me, however, that this is too much of a stretch grammatically, and that they only see the preposition being “pregnant” with the word בעבור because they have read so many critical scholars discussing that word which isn’t actually in the Hebrew text. Ellipses – applying the verb which occurs early in a verse to clauses later in the verse which need a verb – makes more sense to me and is a more standard pattern in Hebrew grammar.
ADLXX, NKJV, and NLT translated this word “reeds/Acacia grove” while other versions transliterated it “Shittim.” Waltke noted that the definite article “raises” the meaning from “Acacia trees” to the proper noun “Shittim.”
AE“Righteousnesses” is plural in the Hebrew and Aramaic Bibles (although you wouldn’t know it from Lamsa’s and Bauscher’s English translations of the Peshitta), but the Greek and Latin versions rendered it singular.