MIC 3:6 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–12: Micah rebuked the leaders of Israel

In this section, Micah is the speaker. He spoke to the leaders of the Jews and to the prophets. He rebuked (scolded) them for their wicked deeds. He also told them that God would punish the nation because of them.

The Notes will divide this section into three paragraphs:

In 3:1–4, Micah rebuked the judicial leaders.
In 3:5–8, Micah rebuked the wicked prophets.
In 3:9–12, Micah rebuked all the leaders: judges, prophets, and priests.

In each paragraph, Micah used the word “justice” (3:1, 8, 9). In each paragraph, he first rebuked the leaders for their evil deeds. Then he described what would happen as a result of their wickedness. Some versions begin a new paragraph at verse 4 or verse 8. It is recommended that you follow the paragraphs used in the Notes.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

Micah Denounces Israel’s Leaders (GNT)

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked (NIV)

Israel’s Sinful Leaders—Rulers, Prophets, and Priests (GW)

Wicked Rulers and Prophets (NRSV)

Paragraph 3:5–8

In this paragraph, Micah rebuked the wicked prophets. He first described the way in which they misled the people (3:5). He then described their future punishment by God (3:6–7). He concluded by contrasting his own status as a true prophet (3:8).

Micah began this paragraph with the phrase “Thus says the LORD.” This phrase indicates that his message came from the LORD. But it is not clear which verses are a direct quote of the LORD’s words. In the examples below, the verse parts may differ, depending on the version. Here are the main interpretations:

All of verses 5–8 are Micah’s words. These verses are the message that he received from the LORD. The lack of quotation marks indicates that he did not quote the LORD’s words directly.Interpretation (1) is supported by WBC 1984 (pages 32–33). For example:
^5aThus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray;…^6aTherefore it will be night for you…^7aThe seers will be ashamed…^8aOn the other hand I am filled with power… (NASB) (ESV, GW, KJV, NAB, NASB, NJB, NRSV, REB)The NJPS does not use any quote marks in 3:5–8. It has not been listed under interpretation (1), because it spells the phrase “My people” with a capital letter, referring to the LORD.
Verses 5b–7 are a direct quote of the LORD’s words. The quote is marked with quotation marks. Verse 8 is Micah’s words.Interpretation (2) is supported by Hillers (page 44). For example:
^5aThis is what the Lord says: ^5b“As for the prophets who lead my people astray…. ^7bThey will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.” ^8aBut as for me… (NIV) (BSB, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT)The NET includes 3:8 in the same paragraph as 3:5–7. In the NCV, NIV, and NLT, 3:8 starts a new paragraph.
Verse 3:6 is a direct quote of the LORD’s words. Verses 5, 7, and 8 are Micah’s words.Interpretation (3) is supported by TOTC, Waltke 1993, and Waltke 2007. For example:
⁵My people are deceived by prophets…To these prophets the Lord says, ⁶“Prophets, your day is almost over;…you will not be able to predict anything.” ⁷Those who predict…⁸But as for me,… (GNT) (GNT)
Verses 6–7 are a direct quote of the LORD’s words. Verses 5 and 8 are Micah’s words. For example:
⁵You lying prophets…Here is what the Lord says to you prophets: ⁶“You will live in the dark…⁷You prophets…no message from me.” ⁸But the Lord has filled me… (CEV) (CEV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is the simplest. Micah is the speaker in each of the three paragraphs in this section (3:1–12).

The meaning of these verses is almost the same with all four interpretations. Regardless of the quote marks, Micah’s message came to him from the LORD. His audience understood that he claimed to be the LORD’s spokesman.

If you decide not to follow interpretation (1), here are two things that you should consider:

If you follow interpretation (1), (3), or (4), the phrase “my people” in 3:5a means “Micah’s people.” But if you follow interpretation (2), it means “the LORD’s people.”
If you follow interpretation (2) or (4), the phrase “there is no answer from God” (3:7d) may need to be translated “there is no answer from me.”

3:6

In 3:5, Micah spoke about the wicked prophets and the way they deceived the people. Here in 3:6, he used the metaphor of night and darkness to describe their future punishment by God. In 3:6a–b, he spoke to these prophets. In 3:6c–d and 3:7 he spoke about them again.

For other ways to translate the change from “about” to “to” and then back to “about” again, see the General Comment on 3:5–7 at the end of the note on 3:7d.

The Notes will first discuss the details of the metaphor and the parallelism before suggesting ways to translate the verse as a whole.

The “you” pronouns in these parallel lines refer to the wicked prophets. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^6aTherefore night will come over you without visions,

^6band darkness without divination.

night will come over you…and darkness: The metaphor of night and darkness figuratively describes the punishment of the wicked prophets. Their future inability to see visions is compared to people who are unable to see things at night in the darkness.

without visions…without divination: These parallel phrases explain the meaning of the metaphor. The metaphor means that God will not give visions or messages to those prophets in the future. He will punish them by taking away their ability to be prophets and to receive revelation.

3:6a

Therefore night will come over you without visions,

Therefore, it will become night for you^(plur) prophets. You will receive no visions from God.
Therefore, soon it will become like night for you prophets. God will not show you things that are like dreams.
And so, you prophets, the time will soon come when God will stop giving you visions.

Therefore: This word connects verse 6 to verse 5. It introduces the result of the behavior of the wicked prophets. Here are some other ways to express this connection:

And so (NJB)

That is why (GW)

visions: A “vision” is like a dream, but the person having a vision is not asleep. Visions are one way that God spoke to prophets. In some languages, the word visions may need to be translated as a phrase. For example:

You will not see anything that is like a dream.

3:6a–d

(combined/reordered)

Therefore, the time of success for you^(plur) prophets is almost finished. You will soon be in darkness. You will have no visions from God, and you will not be able to predict what will happen in the future.

3:6b

and darkness without divination.

It will become dark for you^(plur). Things that will happen in the future will not be revealed/shown to you.
It will be like dark night for you. You will no longer be able to predict the future.
Yes, you will be in the dark. God will no longer tell you what will happen in the future.

divination: divination is predicting what will happen in the future. Micah told these prophets that they will not be able to practice divination, because God will not tell them anything.Non-Jewish people who worshiped idols practiced divination. Here are some ways they did this: They threw arrows and looked at how they landed on the ground. They asked idols to help them. They looked at the liver of an animal they had killed. (See Ezekiel 21:21–22.) They asked a spirit or ghost to help them. (See Leviticus 19:31; 1 Samuel 28:7–8.) Micah’s words in Micah 3:6b imply that some of the wicked prophets also did some things that were like divination. God commanded his people not to use divination (Deuteronomy 18:10) except for the use of the Urim and Thummim by the High Priest. (See Exodus 28:30.) The term “divination” is “never used in the Bible for the activities of true prophets.” (UBS, page 176) Here are some other ways to translate this word:

without any way to tell the future (NCV)

you will not be able to predict anything (GNT)

Here are some ways to translate this metaphor:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
Therefore you shall have night, not vision, darkness, not divination (NAB)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
Therefore, it will be like night and darkness for you prophets. You will have no visions from God. You will not be able to predict the future.
Therefore God will not give you visions. He will no longer tell you what will happen in the future. Instead it will be as though dark night surrounds you.
Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
And so, in the future, those prophets will no longer see any visions. They will no longer be able to use their power to predict what will happen.

3:6c

The sun will set on these prophets,

The day/time of those prophets will be finished,
It will be like the sun no longer shines on those prophets.
The career/work of those prophets will stop.

3:6d

and the daylight will turn black over them.

and night will come/arrive.
It will be like they are surrounded by blackness/night.
They will no longer be able to prophesy.

3:6c–d

In 3:6a–b, Micah used the pronoun “you.” He spoke to these wicked prophets. Here in 3:6c–d, Micah spoke about them. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^6cThe sun will set on these prophets,

^6dand the daylight will turn black over them.

The sun will set…the daylight will turn black: Here again, Micah used darkness as a metaphor. He said that The sun will set. In other words, it will become night. He said that the daylight will turn black. This is a poetic way to say that it will become dark or night.

The meaning of the metaphor is that the time of these prophets will soon be finished. Their ability to prophesy will soon be gone. It will be a “dark” (sad, humiliating) time for them.

Here are some ways to translate this metaphor:

General Comment on 3:6a–d

Keep the metaphor. For example:
The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. (NIV)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
It will be like the sun has set and it has become dark. Their time of being prophets will be finished.
It will be like the sun is no longer shining and it has become dark. They will no longer be able to prophesy.
Yes, the time is coming when it will be as though the day has ended for those prophets, and it will be as though they are in darkness, without the ability to prophesy.
Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
They will no longer be able to prophesy. They will be humiliated, because their career as prophets will be ended.
It will be a time of sadness for them, because they will no longer have the ability to be prophets.

Verse 6a and 6b are parallel. Verse 6c and 6d are also parallel. Most English versions translate each of these four lines separately.

In some languages, this repetition may be confusing or unnatural. Here are some ways to combine and/or reorder these four lines to reduce the amount of repetition.

Prophets, your day is almost over; the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead my people, you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything. (GNT)

And so, you prophets, your time of success is almost over. You will soon be in darkness. You will have no visions from God and you will not be able to predict the future.

Notice that these translations use the pronoun “you” for all of verse 6. In Hebrew, 6a–b use the pronoun “you” but 6c–d use “they/them.”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear MIC 3:6

Hebrew word order