MIC 1:3 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

1:3 Possibly referring to the pagan temples which were often constructed on hilltops.

1:3 OSHB variant note: במותי: (x-qere) ’בָּ֥מֳתֵי’: lemma_1116 morph_HNcfpc id_33Wkf בָּ֥מֳתֵי

Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Διότι ἰδοὺ Κύριος ἐκπορεύεται ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτοῦ, καὶ καταβήσεται, καὶ ἐπιβήσεται ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη τῆς γῆς,
(Dioti idou Kurios ekporeuetai ek tou topou autou, kai katabaʸsetai, kai epibaʸsetai epi ta hupsaʸ taʸs gaʸs, )

BrTr For, behold, the Lord comes forth out of his place, and will come down, and will go upon the high places of the earth.

ULT For look, Yahweh comes out of his place;
⇔ he will come down and tread
⇔ on the high places of the earth.

UST He will come down from heaven
⇔ and walk over the high places where you worship idols.

OEB ⇔ The Lord is coming from his holy place,
⇔ he descends and treads on the heights of the earth,

WEBBE For behold,[fn] the LORD comes out of his place,
⇔ and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.

1:3 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET Look, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!
⇔ He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops!

LSV For behold, YHWH is going out from His place,
And He has come down,
And has trodden on high places of earth.

FBV Look! The Lord is coming, leaving his place and coming down, and is walking on the high places of the earth.

T4T He will come down from heaven
⇔ and walk on the tops of the highest mountains.

LEB • For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place, and he will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

BBE For see, the Lord is coming out from his place, and will come down, stepping on the high places of the earth.

Moff Look, the Eternal descends from his place,
⇔ he strides on the heights of the earth!

JPS For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

ASV For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

DRA For behold the Lord will come forth out of his place: and he will come down, and will tread upon the high places of the earth.

YLT For lo, Jehovah is going out from His place, And He hath come down, And hath trodden on high places of earth.

Drby For behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

RV For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
(For, behold, the LORD cometh/comes forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. )

SLT For behold, Jehovah will come forth from his place, and come down and tread upon the heights of the earth.

Wbstr For behold, the LORD cometh forth from his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

KJB-1769 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
(For, behold, the LORD cometh/comes forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. )

KJB-1611 For behold, the LORD commeth forth out of his place, and will come downe and tread vpon the high places of the earth.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps For beholde, the Lorde shall come out of his holy place, and come downe and treade vpon the hie thinges of ye earth.
(For behold, the Lord shall come out of his holy place, and come down and tread upon the high things of ye/you_all earth.)

Gnva For beholde, the Lord commeth out of his place, and will come downe, and tread vpon the hie places of the earth.
(For behold, the Lord cometh/comes out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. )

Cvdl For why? beholde, the LORDE shal go out of his place, & come downe, and treade vpon the hie thinges of the earth.
(For why? behold, the LORD shall go out of his place, and come down, and tread upon the high things of the earth.)

Wycl For lo! the Lord schal go out of his place, and schal come doun, and schal trede on hiy thingis of erthe.
(For lo! the Lord shall go out of his place, and shall come down, and shall trede on high things of earth.)

Luth Denn siehe, der HErr wird ausgehen aus seinem Ort und herabfahren und treten auf die Höhen im Lande,
(Because see/look, the/of_the LORD becomes go_out out_of his place/location and descend and step(v) on/in/to the heights in_the land,)

ClVg Quia ecce Dominus egredietur de loco suo, et descendet, et calcabit super excelsa terræ.
(Because behold Master will_go_out from/about instead his_own, and descendet, and calcabit over high of_the_earth/land. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:2–7: The LORD will punish the people in Samaria

In the first paragraph of this section (1:2–5), Micah is the speaker. He began by telling the entire earth, with all its inhabitants, (1:2) to listen because the LORD would soon come down from heaven to accuse them. In 1:3–4, he continued to use vivid, figurative language to describe the LORD’s coming. In 1:5, he warned the whole nation of Israel, naming both Samaria and Jerusalem, that the LORD would judge them because of their idolatry and other sins. In the second paragraph (1:6–7), the speaker is the LORD. The LORD warned Samaria that he would completely destroy the city.

The Notes have separate section headings for 1:2–7 and 1:8–16. Here are some other examples of section headings for 1:2–7:

Judgment on Samaria (CEV)

Judgment pronounced against Samaria (NRSV)

Several other English versions use a section heading for 1:2–16. You may follow either pattern. Here are some other examples of section headings for 1:2–16:

The Coming Destruction (ESV)

Grief over Samaria and Jerusalem (NLT)

The capital cities of Israel and Judah destroyed (GW)

1:3a–b

For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth: The previous verse described a courtroom where the Lord GOD will act simultaneously as a prosecuting attorney, witness, and judge. Here in 1:3a–b, Micah figuratively described the LORD as a warrior who would come from heaven to defeat and establish control over the whole earth.ZIBBC, JFB, IVPB, A&F, and NAC are among the commentaries that draw attention to the LORD’s metaphorical role in this verse as a military commander that subdues the earth.

1:3a

For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place;

Look! Yahweh is already beginning to come out of the place where he lives in heaven.
Pay attention, because Yahweh will soon leave that place,

For behold: Verse 1:2c already implies a reason why the people should listen. The word For introduces a further reason why they should begin to listen.

The word behold here has the basic meaning “Look!” It indicates that Micah’s words were urgent. It was as if all people could look up in the sky at that moment and see the LORD coming down out of heaven.

Here are some ways to translate the function of these words:

Make both words explicit. For example:
For see, the Lord comes forth… (NAB)
Make only one word explicit. For example:
Look! The Lord is coming… (NIV)
Leave both words implied. For example:
The Lord is coming… (GNT)

With any of these options, be sure that your translation clearly expresses the urgent reason for the people to pay close attention to what will happen.

the LORD comes forth from: This phrase indicates an action that could take place at any time in the near future.NAC (page 50). Waltke 2007 (page 47) concurs that this participial phrase “denotes imminent action.” Here are some other ways to translate it:

the LORD is about to come

the LORD is starting to come

the LORD will come very soon

His dwelling place: This phrase refers to the place where God lives in heaven. It refers to the same thing as the phrase “His holy temple” in 1:2c.

1:3b

He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.

He will come down to the earth to walk on the high places.
and he will come down to the earth. His feet will step on the tops of the hills and mountains.

He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth: This phrase indicates that the LORD will come down from heaven and tread on (stride across and step/walk on) the high places of the earth.Deuteronomy 33:29 and Amos 4:13 also talk about God treading on the high places. According to most scholars, this action symbolizes the LORD’s conquest and control of the earth.These scholars include JFB, IVPB, KD, NICOT, NAC, and Waltke 2007.

high places: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as high places can refer to either the tops of hills and mountains or to pagan shrines/altars, where people worshiped other gods. These shrines were called high places because people usually built them on the upper slopes or tops of hills or mountains.Sometimes such shrines were called “high places” even if the shrine was in a valley (see Jeremiah 7:31). The Canaanite and Philistine people who lived near the Jews in Palestine worshiped their gods at high places (for example, see Numbers 33:52; Jeremiah 48:35). Later the Jews also began to worship at such high places. Sometimes they worshiped the LORD at high places, especially before the temple was built in Jerusalem (for example, see 1 Samuel 9:12; 1 Kings 3:3–4). Many Jews also began to worship the false gods that the Canaanites worshiped (for example, see 1 Kings 11:7; 22:43). This is one of the sins that Micah accused the Jews of in this book.

In the context of the phrase “of the earth” and “the mountains” in v.4, the phrase high places probably refers primarily to the tops of hills and mountains. However, the mention in v.5 of the centers of idol worship in Samaria and Jerusalem probably also implies the LORD’s defeat of idol worship.WBC (page 17) and ZIBBC (pages 123–124) think that Micah also intended “high places” to refer to pagan places of worship. See EBC (pages 503–504) for succinct and coherent arguments in favor of both implications. It is recommended that you translate this phrase in a general way. For example:

the high places of the earth (ESV)

the tops of the mountains (GNT)

on the hills and mountains

Do not use a phrase such as “the worship places of the earth” (GW) or “every pagan altar” (CEV) that can refer only to idol worship. It is recommended that you add a footnote that clarifies the two implied meanings. For example:

The Hebrew word used here means “high places.” Most scholars think that it refers here to hills or mountains. Some scholars think that it also refers to the pagan altars that were located there.

Parallel MIC 1:3

Section 1:2–7: The LORD will punish the people in Samaria

1:3a–b

1:3a

1:3b