MIC 5:15 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:10–15: The LORD will cause all sorcery and idolatry in Israel to end

This section is another prophecy. In this prophecy, the LORD spoke directly to the people of Israel.This is the interpretation of a large majority of commentators. These include NICOT, A&F, NAC, UBS, EBC, CBC, WBC, ZIBBC, Waltke 2007 and others. Some commentators suggest that the referent here is not Israel but ungodly nations. For example, see Achtemeier. However the latter interpretation has little to support it and is not clearly followed in versions. In 5:10–11, he told them that he would take away the military equipment and other things that they relied on instead of him. In 5:12–14, he said that he would end all sorcery and idol worship in Israel in order to purify their worship of him. In 5:15, he told about his intention to punish other nations that did not obey him.UBS (page 222).

Here are some other examples of section headings:

The Lord will Purify His People (NET)

Idols Will Be Destroyed in Israel (CEV)

5:15

I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”

In my great/fierce anger and rage, I will also punish the nations that have not obeyed me.”
I will be extremely angry at/with the people of other nations that have refused to do what I said, and I will take proper revenge.”

I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me: In this verse the LORD spoke about his judgment against disobedient nations. Both the subject and the type of writing are different from the rest of the prophecy. In this verse, the subject is nations other than Israel. The type of writing is a single prose statement instead of poetic parallel lines.

I will take vengeance in anger and wrath: This sentence part describes the manner in which the LORD will judge the nations.

I will take vengeance: In this phrase, the LORD said that he will punish.UBS (page 222). The LORD’s vengeance is different than human vengeance. His vengeance is just and righteous, based on his holiness.WBC (page 49), CBC (pages 332–333), NAC (page 106).

in anger and wrath: The Hebrew words for anger and wrath often occur together with a single meaning of “great anger.”UBS (page 222). The word for wrath gives emphasis to the severity of the anger.See West “Divine Wrath,” Lexham Theological Wordbook.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

anger and fury (REB)

become furious (CEV)

upon the nations: This phrase probably refers to nations that surround Israel.NAC (page 106) suggests that Israel had learned corrupt and pagan behavior from some of these nations.

that have not obeyed Me: The Hebrew word for “obey” has a wide range of meanings related to hearing, listening to, and heeding what is said. In situations where the listener is under the authority of the speaker, it means “obey.”NIDOTTE #9048 (pages 175–178).

Some versions make explicit that it is the LORD whom the nations do not obey. For example:

I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me.” (NIV)

See Overall structure of the book in the Introduction for more details about the three divisions.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

בְּ⁠אַ֧ף

(bə⁠ʼaf)

Yahweh is using in nose as a common expression of the culture to mean “in anger.” If this phrase does not have that meaning for your readers, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [in anger]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

בְּ⁠אַ֧ף וּ⁠בְ⁠חֵמָ֛ה

(bə⁠ʼaf ū⁠ⱱə⁠ḩēmāh)

The terms nose and wrath mean similar things. Yahweh is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [in furious anger]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

וּ⁠בְ⁠חֵמָ֛ה נָקָ֖ם

(ū⁠ⱱə⁠ḩēmāh nāqām)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of vengeance, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [and in wrath I will avenge myself]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לֹ֥א שָׁמֵֽעוּ

(loʼ shāmēˊū)

Yahweh assumes that readers will know that listened as it is used here, includes the meaning of “obeyed.” You could say that explicitly if that would be helpful to your readers as modeled in the UST.

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 5:15

Hebrew word order

Section 5:10–15: The LORD will cause all sorcery and idolatry in Israel to end

5:15

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