Habakkuk 1, Violent People Approach Us

Habakkuk lives in Judah at the end of the seventh century BC, after the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel. He brings to God all his concerns about the future of the southern kingdom, Judah. Habakkuk's three chapter lament is similar to those of Isaiah long before him and of his contemporary, Micah.

Habakkuk 1:1-3, "Why do you tolerate injustice?"

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. 

How long, O LORD, must I call for help, 

but you do not listen? 

Or cry out to you, "Violence!" 

but you do not save? 

Why do you make me look at injustice? 

Why do you tolerate wrong? 

Destruction and violence are before me; 

there is strife, and conflict abounds. 

Unlike other prophetic books, in this one, the prophet speaks first, addressing God and pleading for an answer. The book begins with "How long?" announcing a lament of parallel lines. Habakkuk complains about the violence and injustice of Judah and asks God why He allows evil to triumph. The rest of the book will wrestle with this lament and with God's response.

The Hebrew word chamas, "violence', appears six times in this book and fourteen times in the psalms (for example, Psalm 140.)

Habakkuk 1: 4, Paralyzed law

Therefore the law is paralyzed, 

and justice never prevails. 

The wicked hem in the righteous, 

so that justice is  perverted.    

Habakkuk is especially frustrated with injustice in Judah. Violence and conflict paralyze the standard routes to justice, blocking the law from its rightful task.

Habakkuk 1:5-7, "Be amazed"

"Look at the nations and watch-- 

and be utterly amazed. 

For I am going to do something in your days 

that you would not believe,

even if you were told. 

I am raising up the Babylonians,

that ruthless and impetuous people, 

who sweep across the whole earth 

to seize dwelling places not their own.

 

They are a feared and dreaded people; 

they are a law to themselves 

and promote their own honor.

The injustice in Judah will be met by the fearful Babylonians, who will sweep over the ancient Near East, including Judah. The Babylonians have their own view of justice -- it merely promotes the power of Babylon. 

Nabopolassar rose to control of Babylon in 626 BC and began to consolidate power over Assyria. In 605 BC, his son, Nebuchadnezzar, considerably expanded the power of Babylon. Armerding suggests that this passage was then most likely written prior to 605 BC.

The Hebrew text has rhythmic wordplay in hammar wə·han·nim·hār; ("bitter and hasty"), translated here as "ruthless and impetuous".

Habakkuk 1:8-11, The horror of the Babylonians

Their horses are swifter than leopards, 

fiercer than wolves at dusk. 

Their cavalry gallops headlong; 

their horsemen come from afar. 

They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;

 they all come bent on violence. 

Their hordes advance like a desert wind 

and gather prisoners like sand.

They deride kings and scoff at rulers. 

They laugh at all fortified cities; 

they build earthen ramps and capture them.

Then they sweep past like the wind and go on-- 

guilty men, whose own strength is their god." 

The Babylonian army is swift and powerful. Their opponents react in terror as they approach. Central to the evil of Babylon is their worship of their own brutality and power -- that military power "is their god."

Habakkuk has asked God to intervene in Judah.  But this answer, bringing in the Babylonians, is not the answer that he wants!

Habakkuk 1:12, An everlasting Rock

O LORD, are you not from everlasting? 

My God, my Holy One, we will not die.

 O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; 

O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. 

These four parallel lines repeat Habakkuk's trust in YHWH's longterm "everlasting" covenant plan.

Habakkuk 1:13, Why the Babylonians?

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; 

you cannot tolerate wrong. 

Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? 

Why are you silent 

while the wicked swallow up those 

more righteous than themselves? 

Habakkuk persists with his questions. Why does YHWH allow the Babylonians to execute justice? Why allow the wicked to destroy the wicked? Where is God's righteousness in this plan?

Habakkuk 1:14-17, Fishhooks

You have made men like fish in the sea, 

like sea creatures that have no ruler. 

The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, 

he catches them in his net, 

he gathers them up in his dragnet; 

and so he rejoices and is glad. 

Therefore he sacrifices to his net 

and burns incense to his dragnet, 

for by his net he lives in luxury 

and enjoys the choicest food. 

Is he to keep on emptying his net, 

destroying nations without mercy? 

Poor mortal men are impotent before God's justice. They are like fish dragged out of the sea by fishhooks. Yet when the Babylonians drag out the Israelites, the Babylonians will then sacrifice to their pagan gods. When they pull humans in with their dragnet, they make sacrifices to their nets! What is good in that?

If we view Habbakuk 1:12-2:1 as a single passage (as does Armerding, p. 505), then Habakkuk's cry begins and ends with worship. He praises God in verses 12-13a, cries out "Why?" in verses 13b-17, and then in 2:1 commits himself again to faithfulness and worship.

Some Random Thoughts

The Hebrew word for violence, chamas, survives in Aramaic as hamas, meaning "zeal." In modern times, that word has also become equated with the Palestinian group Hamas, which officially takes its name as an Aramaic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement."

First published July 24, 2025; updated July 24, 2025

Nahum 3, Destroyed, Like Thebes

The fall of Nineveh is described in detail.

Nahum 3:1, Woe!

Woe to the city of blood, 

full of lies, 

full of plunder, 

never without victims! 

The city of Nineveh is described as a city of blood. A horrible image.

Scholars debate as to whether this verse should be viewed as the end of 2:11-13, or whether it starts a new section. The Masoretic Text has a break between 2:13 and 3:1 and so modern texts follow that pattern, putting this verse into chapter 3.

The exclamation "Woe!" (Hebrew hoy) shouts at the reader; he/she is to pay careful attention to the coming warning of calamity.

Nahum 3:3-4, City of witchcraft

The crack of whips, 

the clatter of wheels, 

galloping horses 

and jolting chariots! 

Charging cavalry, 

flashing swords 

and glittering spears! 

Many casualties, 

piles of dead, 

bodies without number, 

people stumbling over the corpses-- 

all because of the wanton lust of a harlot,

 alluring, the mistress of sorceries, 

who enslaved nations by her prostitution 

and peoples by her witchcraft.

 

In a stream of short phrase, Nahum vividly describes the coming chaos in Nineveh. The "city of blood" dies under cracking whips, fast-paced chariots and cavalry racing down the street. The bodies pile up so that people stumble over the corpses in the street. All of this is because this city of lies has enslaved and seduced other nations.

The Hebrew of verse 2 begins with qol, ("noise") and ends with raqad ("clattering"), bookends for the verse. (Commentators point out numerous other chiastic structure in the book of Nahum.)

Nahum 3:5-7, Skirts over your face

"I am against you," declares the LORD Almighty. 

"I will lift your skirts over your face.

 I will show the nations your nakedness 

and the kingdoms your shame. 

I will pelt you with filth,

 I will treat you with contempt 

and make you a spectacle. 

All who see you will flee from you and say, 

`Nineveh is in ruins--who will mourn for her?' 

Where can I find anyone to comfort you?"

 

This passage begins with a strong statement: "I am against you!" Once powerful Nineveh will now be embarrassed and put to shame, just like people might punish (in the ANE) a prostitute. The prostitute Nineveh is described as a spectacle of filth, nakedness and shame. (Verse 6 is a tricolon of synthetic parallelism:

I will pelt you with filth, 

I will treat you with contempt,

I will make you a spectacle)

Armerding (p. 482) says that after the fall of Nineveh, the ruins were unoccupied for more than three centuries. Its ruins (says Wikipedia) lie on the eastern side of the Tigris River, opposite the modern city of Mosul, Iraq.

Nahum 3:8-10, Like Thebes

Are you better than Thebes, 

situated on the Nile, 

with water around her? 

The river was her defense, 

the waters her wall. 

Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; 

Put and Libya were among her allies. 

Yet she was taken captive 

and went into exile.

 Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. 

Lots were cast for her nobles, 

and all her great men were put in chains.

 

Nahum describes the destruction of Thebes, which occurred in 663 BC. By some accounts, this included a flooding of the city, similar to the flooding that will occur in the later sack of Nineveh. As the destruction of Nineveh occurred in 612 BC, most commentators date the book of Nahum to a time between 663 and 612 BC.

It was Assyria that sacked Thebes. The capital of Assyria will also be sacked, in a like manner, says Nahum. Verse 10 has five line that dramatize the destruction of Thebes, beginning with the parallelism

she was taken captive

she went into exile

followed by three vivid lines of destruction and atrocities.

Nahum 3:11-12, Ripe for harvest

You too will become drunk; 

you will go into hiding 

and seek refuge from the enemy. 

All your fortresses are like fig trees with their first ripe fruit;

 when they are shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.

 

The three vivid parallel lines at the end of verse 10 are matched by three lines describing the defeat of Nineveh.

You too will become drunk; 

you will go into hiding; 

you will seek refuge from the enemy. 

Nineveh is ripe for conquest -- a mere shaking of the trees will bring the figs into the mouth of its conqueror. 

Nahum 3:13-15, Wide open gates

Look at your troops-- they are all women! 

The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; 

fire has consumed their bars.

Draw water for the siege, 

strengthen your defenses! 

Work the clay,

tread the mortar, 

repair the brickwork!

There the fire will devour you; 

the sword will cut you down and, 

like grasshoppers, consume you.

 Multiply like grasshoppers, 

multiply like locusts!

In the culture of the ANE, calling soldiers "women" was an insult. It described a weak and vulnerable army and therefore a land asking for defeat. Verses 14 and 15 are taunts: 

Go ahead, do your best! 

It won't matter if you strengthen the defense 

or multiply your soldiers like locusts! 

As Longman argues, the metaphor of the locust swarm is inverted -- here the swarm, associated now with Assyria, flees away at first light.

The gobbling metaphor of verse 12, above, in whih ripe figs drop into enemy mouths continues with an enemy that "devours" and "consumes" Nineveh, like the locusts devour the land.

Nahum 3:16-17, Swarms fly away

You have increased the number of your merchants 

till they are more than the stars of the sky, 

but like locusts they strip the land 

and then fly away. 

Your guards are like locusts,

 your officials like swarms of locusts

 that settle in the walls on a cold day-- 

but when the sun appears they fly away, 

and no one knows where.

 

Although the merchants multiply like locusts and become as plentiful as the stars in the sky, "when the sun appears", they will all fly away.

Nahum 3:18-19, Cruelty repaid

O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; 

your nobles lie down to rest. 

Your people are scattered on the mountains 

with no one to gather them. 

Nothing can heal your wound; 

your injury is fatal. 

Everyone who hears the news about you 

claps his hands at your fall, 

for who has not felt your endless cruelty?

The Assyrians will be scattered. Their infamous cruelty has been feared by all but now all the nations will rejoice at their destruction. Everyone claps at the news of the fall of Nineveh!

First published July 23, 2025; updated July 23, 2025

Nahum 2, A Taunt Against Nineveh

Nahum continues to prophesy about judgment coming to an ancient enemy of Judah.

Nahum 2:1-3, A destroyer comes

An attacker advances against you, [Nineveh]. 

Guard the fortress, 

watch the road, 

brace yourselves, 

marshal all your strength! 

The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, 

though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines.

Nahum continues to prophesy about judgment coming to an ancient enemy. Longman calls this a "taunt song" -- the enemy is told to brace themselves for an attack, an attack that will be successful regardless of the defense.

Nahum 2:3-6, Red and scarlet

The shields of his soldiers are red; 

the warriors are clad in scarlet. 

The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; 

the spears of pine are brandished. 

The chariots storm through the streets, 

rushing back and forth through the squares. 

They look like flaming torches;

they dart about like lightning.

He summons his picked troops, 

yet they stumble on their way. 

They dash to the city wall; 

the protective shield is put in place. 

The river gates are thrown open 

and the palace collapses.

The enemy approaches the foreign city dressed in uniforms of blood. The enemy is invincible, racing through the city, destroying the defenders. The king of the city sends soldiers to the city walls but they are destroyed and the invaders search in. River gates are opened to flood the city and the palace collapses. (Apparently during the Battle of Nineveh in 612 BC, the Tigris River flooded the city.)

The Hebrew of verse 4 is a typical example of chiasmus. A literal translation is

in the streets

rage the chariots

they jostle one another

in the broad [roads] 

they seem 

like torches

like lightning

they run. 

Nahum 2:7-10, Nineveh is drained

It is decreed that [the city] be exiled and carried away. 

Its slave girls moan like doves and beat upon their breasts. 

Nineveh is like a pool, and its water is draining away. 

"Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one turns back.

Plunder the silver! 

Plunder the gold! 

The supply is endless, 

the wealth from all its treasures! 

She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! 

Hearts melt, knees give way, 

bodies tremble, every face grows pale.

The enemy city is finally identified as Nineveh in verse 8. Slave girls moan and lament; the city empties like a breached pool. The enemy rushes in to plunder the terrified populace.

The NIV "pillaged, plundered, stripped" is an attempt to echo the Hebrew alliteration 

bū·qāh ū·mə·ḇū·qāh ū·mə·ḇul·lā·qāh;

that begins verse 10. Similarly the NRSV for verse 10 begins 

Devastation, desolation, and destruction!

Nahum 2:11-12, A lions' den

Where now is the lions' den, 

the place where they fed their young, 

where the lion and lioness went,

 and the cubs, with nothing to fear? 

The lion killed enough for his cubs 

and strangled the prey for his mate, 

filling his lairs with the kill 

and his dens with the prey.

The devastation of Nineveh is likened to the destruction of animals by lions, who drag their prey into their den and feed them to their young.

Nahum 2:13, Burning chariots and dead lions

"I am against you," declares the LORD Almighty. 

"I will burn up your chariots in smoke,

 and the sword will devour your young lions. 

I will leave you no prey on the earth. 

The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."

The chariots of Nineveh will be burned and the people killed. An animal metaphor switches -- here now Assyria is the lion and this time the lions will be destroyed. YHWH declares his attention to the judgment on the lion of Assyria.

First published July 22, 2025; updated July 22, 2025

Nahum 1, A Divine Avenger

The prophet Nahum speaks out around 630 BC.

Nahum 1:1, An oracle
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

This verse introduces us to the book of Nahum. It serves as a title page, says Longman. We know almost nothing about Nahum. His name means (loosely) "compassion." There are a variety of conjectures as to the meaning of "Elkoshite" or the location of Elkos. The text of the book will date the prophet to somewhere between 663 BC and 612 BC, when Assyria, with capital Nineveh, is threatening Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel is long gone.

The hometown of Jesus in the New Testament, is Capernaum in Galilee. Capernaum means "town of Nahum", but neither Longman nor Amerding give much credit to the idea that Capernaum was named after this individual.

Nahum 1:2-3, The Divine Warrior

The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; 

the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. 

The LORD takes vengeance on his foes 

and maintains his wrath against his enemies. 

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; 

the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. 

His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, 

and clouds are the dust of his feet.

 

After giving his name and hometown in the first verse, Nahum leads off the second verse with wordplay on both his name and hometown. The Hebrew of verse 2 begins with ’êl qan·nō·w ("is a jealous God") which is very close to  the town name Elqoshi.  Nahum then (three times!) calls this jealous God naqam, "an avenger". Thus the prophet Nahum Elqoshi speaks for naqqam el gannow.

The main message of the scroll will be that YHWH, the Divine Avenger, will be victorious over Assyria and its capital, Nineveh. The victory is a statement of judgment over a nation that has ignored God and consistently threatened Judah.

YHWH rides into battle in a whirlwind, with storm clouds at His feet. In Psalm 18:6-15, David provides similar dramatic descriptions of God stepping down to help him. (See also Psalm 68:4-6 and Psalm 29, both also by David.)

Nahum 1:4-6, Shattered rocks

He rebukes the sea and dries it up; 

he makes all the rivers run dry. 

Bashan and Carmel wither 

and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. 

The mountains quake before him 

and the hills melt away. 

The earth trembles at his presence, 

the world and all who live in it. 

Who can withstand his indignation? 

Who can endure his fierce anger? 

His wrath is poured out like fire; 

the rocks are shattered before him.

God's power includes power over the seas and rivers. As He did in Exodus, he can dry up a sea; as He did for Joshua, He can stop a river. He can make mountains move and disappear; He can make all the earth tremble.

Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon are mountainous regions to the west, east and north, respectively, of Israel, says Longman. These regions, with generally good vegetation, surround Judah.

The Hebrew of verse 6 has classic chiastic structure:

Before His indignation 

who can stand

who can endure 

the fierceness of His anger

His fury  

is poured out 

like fire 

the rocks

are thrown down 

by Him

Nahum 1:7-8, A refuge in times of trouble

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. 

He cares for those who trust in him, 

but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of [Nineveh]; 

he will pursue his foes into darkness.

 

Ultimately YHWH acts because He is good. His judgment is appropriate and He offers a refuge to those who trust Him and run to Him. Judah's enemy, Nineveh/Assyria, however, has not done this, and so will see His destruction and darkness. The object of the phrase "he will make an end of" is only implied in the Hebrew text of verse 8. The Hebrew text postpones the identity of that city until 2:8 and so the NIV translation inserts Nineveh in brackets. 

The statements about God as a strong refuge reflect ideas from the psalms. Chasing His foes into darkness echoes the next-to-last plague in God's confrontation with Pharaoh (Exodus 10:21-29.)

Verses 2 through 8 form a song of praise, structured as a partial acrostic (Longman) in which the first letter in the bicolons run in order from aleph in verse 2 though kaph in verse 8, except that dalet and zayin are skipped! Scholars debate the meaning of this; one has suggested that the acrostic is deliberately incomplete because the prophetic message is incomplete.

Nahum 1:9-10, Drunk and entangled

Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; 

trouble will not come a second time. 

They will be entangled among thorns 

and drunk from their wine; 

they will be consumed like dry stubble. 

The enemies of Judah are staggering, entangled, drunk -- and will be destroyed as quickly as dry grass goes up in a fire.

Nahum 1:11-14, Judgment and salvation

From you, [O Nineveh,] has one come forth 

who plots evil against the LORD 

and counsels wickedness. 

This is what the LORD says: 

"Although they have allies and are numerous, 

they will be cut off and pass away. 

Although I have afflicted you, [O Judah,] 

I will afflict you no more. 

Now I will break their yoke from your neck

and tear your shackles away."

The LORD has given a command concerning you, [Nineveh]: 

"You will have no descendants to bear your name. 

I will destroy the carved images and cast idols

that are in the temple of your gods. 

I will prepare your grave,

for you are vile."

The enemy city has plotted against YHWH far too long. Their political power will be destroyed. But Judah will be protected. The passage alternates between condemnation of this enemy city and protection of Judah, with verse 14 explicitly declaring that YHWH has given a command. That curse has three parts: no descendants, destroyed idols, corpse buried.

As earlier in verse 8, here the names Nineveh and Judah do not appear in the Hebrew text but are only implied. Until verse 14, the Hebrew text assigns a feminine gender to the unnamed object. This is a standard Hebrew gender assignment to countries and cities and so the NIV inserts "[Nineveh]" or "[Judah]" based on context. But in verse 14 the unknown object is masculine. Longman suggests that the object then is not the city of Nineveh but is instead the king of Assyria. This fits with the declaration that this individual will not have descendants and will be buried.

The Masoretic Text has a  chapter division at the end of verse 14, putting the next verse into chapter 2.

Nahum 1:15, Beautiful feet

Look, there on the mountains, 

the feet of one who brings good news, 

who proclaims peace! 

Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, 

and fulfill your vows. 

No more will the wicked invade you; 

they will be completely destroyed.

This verse picks up a theme from Isaiah, from a century before. As God judges the enemy nations, He will also bring peace to Judah. The first sentence of verse 15 appeared in Isaiah 52:7 a century before. And is quoted by Paul in the New Testament in Romans 10:14-15. 

First published July 21, 2025; updated July 21, 2025

Micah 7, Who is Like YHWH?

Micah wraps up his third prophecy, begun in the last chapter. In a setting which includes the mountains as witnesses, YHWH has accused Israel and Judah of idolatry and injustice.

Micah 7:1, My misery!

What misery is mine! 

I am like one who gathers summer fruit 

at the gleaning of the vineyard; 

there is no cluster of grapes to eat, 

none of the early figs that I crave.  

Micah, with his people, is in misery. None of the beautiful wealth remains. He describes his misery like that of one who goes to enjoy fruit only to discover that the vineyard has already been harvested and nothing is left that he would crave.

In typical Old Testament wordplay, the Hebrew word for "cluster", ’eš-kō-wl, has been chosen to proceed the word "to eat", le-’ĕ-ḵō-wl, so that the rippling assonance of 

’eš-kō-wl le-’ĕ-ḵō-wl

is easy to remember.

Micah 7:2-3, Godly gone

The godly have been swept from the land; 

not one upright man remains. 

All men lie in wait to shed blood; 

each hunts his brother with a net.

Both hands are skilled in doing evil; 

the ruler demands gifts,

the judge accepts bribes,

 the powerful dictate what they desire--

 they all conspire together.  

The godly people, like clusters of grapes, have been swept away and replaced by people of violence, who hunt each other. The powerful accept bribes and conspire to get whatever they desire.

Micah 7:4-6, Even within the family

The best of them is like a brier,

 the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. 

The day of your watchmen has come, 

the day God visits you. 

Now is the time of their confusion.

Do not trust a neighbor; 

put no confidence in a friend. 

Even with her who lies in your embrace 

be careful of your words.

For a son dishonors his father, 

a daughter rises up against her mother, 

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- 

a man's enemies are the members of his own household.  

What should be beautiful is all briers and thorns. Even one's closest friends, one's family, one's lover, are deceitful and not trustworthy.

Micah 7:7, But as for me...

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,

 I wait for God my Savior; 

my God will hear me.  

Micah makes a thematic declaration. He, even if by himself, will trust in YHWH. (See Habakkuk 3:17-18 for a similar declaration.) He details this statement in the next paragraphs.

Micah 7:8-10, I will rise

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! 

Though I have fallen, I will rise. 

Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.

 Because I have sinned against him,

 I will bear the LORD's wrath, 

until he pleads my case 

and establishes my right. 

He will bring me out into the light; 

I will see his righteousness.  

Then my enemy will see it 

and will be covered with shame, 

she who said to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" 

My eyes will see her downfall; 

even now she will be trampled underfoot 

like mire in the streets.  

Micah awaits the final results of this trial, confident that he will eventually be brought out into the light and declared righteous (even though there is past sin.) This righteousness will be a testimony to the nations around him.

Micah 7:11-13, Immigrants from foreign lands

The day for building your walls will come,

 the day for extending your boundaries.

In that day people will come to you from Assyria 

and the cities of Egypt, 

even from Egypt to the Euphrates

 and from sea to sea 

and from mountain to mountain.

The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, 

as the result of their deeds.  

A day will come in which Israel will grow and expand. Even enemy countries like Assyria (on the east) and Egypt (on the west) will provide immigrants (Gentiles) seeking the majesty of Israel. Amos 9:11-12 has a similar prophecy.

But, at some time in this future restoration, the judgment of nations leaves the earth desolate.

 

Micah 7:14, Feed your flock

Shepherd your people with your staff, 

the flock of your inheritance, 

which lives by itself in a forest,

 in fertile pasturelands.

Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead 

as in days long ago.  

A shepherd is commanded to take care of his people, returning to idyllic times of long ago. (Waltke sees this as a request from Micah to YHWH.)

Micah 7:15-17, Nations come trembling out of their den s

"As in the days when you came out of Egypt,

 I will show them my wonders."

Nations will see and be ashamed, 

deprived of all their power. 

They will lay their hands on their mouths 

and their ears will become deaf.

 They will lick dust like a snake, 

like creatures that crawl on the ground. 

They will come trembling out of their dens;

 they will turn in fear to the LORD our God 

and will be afraid of you.  

YHWH responds to Micah's call of verse 14. He will show the Israelites miracles as in the old days of the Exodus. Once again, people will be shocked and surprised by God's displayed power. The enemies of Israel (and God) will crawl on the ground like snakes, frightened by YHWH and His people. Verse 17 echoes the first conflict with the Serpent in Eden (see especially Genesis 3:14.)

Micah 7:18-20, Who is like You?

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin 

and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? 

You do not stay angry forever 

but delight to show mercy.

You will again have compassion on us; 

you will tread our sins underfoot 

and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

 You will be true to Jacob, 

and show mercy to Abraham,        

as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago.       

                  
Micah (whose name in Hebrew is "Who is like Yah[weh]?") asks the question suggested by his name. This begins a praise passage which delights in YHWH's mercy and compassion. 

In that future day, when a remnant returns, people will delight in the mercy and forgiveness of YHWH. Israel. The sins of Israel (like the Egyptian soldiers in the Exodus) will be hurled into the depths of the sea. As promised long ago, Abraham and Jacob (and their descendants) will be shown mercy.

First published July 19, 2025; updated July 19, 2025

Micah 6, Trial Before the Mountains

We begin Micah's third oracle.

Micah 6:1-2, Mountains will listen

Listen to what the LORD says: 

"Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; 

let the hills hear what you have to say.  

Hear, O mountains, the LORD's accusation; 

listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. 

For the LORD has a case against his people;

 he is lodging a charge against Israel.  

In Micah's third oracle, YHWH calls on the silent eternal mountains as witnesses in His accusations against Israel. (See Deuteronomy 32:1, Isaiah 1:2 for similar calls in the Old Testament. Other ANE cultures had similar language.) In this courtroom setting, the hills and mountains, which have seen everything, are sitting in the jury box. Waltke argues that God is calling on Micah to be prosecutor.

Observe a typical chiasmus:

Plead your case

before the mountains

let the hills

hear what you have to say.

Micah 6:3-5, Egypt and Moab

"My people, what have I done to you? 

How have I burdened you? Answer me.

I brought you up out of Egypt 

and redeemed you from the land of slavery. 

I sent Moses to lead you, 

also Aaron and Miriam.  

My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled 

and what Balaam son of Beor answered. 

Remember [your journey] from Shittim to Gilgal,

that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD."  

YHWH has consistently defended Israel, bringing them out of slavery in Egypt and protecting them from the early assaults of Moab as the Israelites passed through the wilderness during the Exodus. During that time, God gave Israel prophets Moses, Aaron and Miriam.... and later rebuked Balak through Balaam (Numbers 23.)

The village of Shittim was just east of the Jordan River, where the Israelites camped before crossing over to Jericho (Joshua 2:1, 3:1.) It was also the location of the sexual immorality and idolatry of Baal Peor (Numbers 25.) Gilgal was just west of the Jordan River, where the Israelites gathered after crossing that river (Joshua 4:19-24.) The phrase "from Shittim to Gilgal" describes God's guidance of the nation across the Jordan into the Promised Land.

Micah 6:6-7, Are sacrifices enough?

With what shall I come before the LORD 

and bow down before the exalted God? 

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

 with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, 

with ten thousand rivers of oil? 

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, 

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  

Now the voice switches from YHWH to Micah. No, sacrifices are not enough, says Micah. Whether the yearly calf or a thousand rams or ten thousand rivers of oil, none of that really can make one righteous and able to enter God's presence. Not even offering one's firstborn will do.

Micah 6:8, Act justly and love mercy

He has showed you, O man, what is good. 

And what does the LORD require of you?

 To act justly and to love mercy 

and to walk humbly with your God.  

The accusation summarizes the simple need to be just and gracious and walk humbly with God. The NIV translates the Hebrew word hesed as "mercy."

Micah 6:9-12, False weights

Listen! The LORD is calling to the city--

 and to fear your name is wisdom-- 

"Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

Am I still to forget, O wicked house,

 your ill-gotten treasures 

and the short ephah, which is accursed?

Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, 

with a bag of false weights?

Her rich men are violent; 

her people are liars 

and their tongues speak deceitfully.  

The accusations against Israel and Judah are renewed, focusing on "the city", Jerusalem. The accusations include the rich cheating the poor with short measurements and dishonest scales. The rich are not just deceitful and dishonest, but are, in fact, violent.

The tricks with false weights and scales were a particular issue in the ANE. A merchant might have scales for purchasing (which underestimated the weights) and scales for selling (which overestimated the weights.) These false weights are forbidden in the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 25:13-16.) They represent deceit in Proverbs 20:10. The Code of Hammurabi (section 94) from 1750 BC and an ancient Hymn to Shamash, a god in the Mesopotamians pantheon, all mention false weights as detestable practices (Waltke, p. 739.)

Micah 6:13-16, Eat but not be satisfied 

Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, 

to ruin you because of your sins.

You will eat but not be satisfied; 

your stomach will still be empty.

You will store up but save nothing,

 because what you save I will give to the sword.

You will plant but not harvest; 

you will press olives but not use the oil on yourselves, 

you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.

You have observed the statutes of Omri 

and all the practices of Ahab's house,

 and you have followed their traditions. 

Therefore I will give you over to ruin 

and your people to derision; 

you will bear the scorn of the nations."

                  
Because of their oppression and dishonesty, the sentence on the rich and powerful is that they will never be satisfied, their stomachs will be empty, their stored-up wealth useless. (Waltke calls these "futility curses".) Although the rich have numerous olive fields and vineyards, they will not see the produce from that abundance. Instead they will be ruined, derided, scorned by the world.

The Omri dynasty in Israel/Samaria included considerable idolatry and evil, with rulers like Ahab and Jezebel and, for the southern kingdom, Athaliah. Pointing to that northern kingdom dynasty might be similar to modern allusions to Nazi Germany.

First published July 18, 2025; updated July 18, 2025

Micah 5, From Bethlehem to the Ends of the Earth

Micah speaks of future devastation followed by renewal.

Micah 5:1, Siege

Marshal your troops, O city of troops, 

for a siege is laid against us. 

They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.

A siege and conquest is coming.

Micah 5:2-5a, A ruler from Bethlehem

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

 though you are small among the clans of Judah, 

out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, 

whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."  

Therefore Israel will be abandoned 

until the time when she who is in labor gives birth

 and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, 

in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. 

And they will live securely, 

for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be their peace. 

Judah and Israel will appear to be abandoned until the birth of a new ruler, from little Bethlehem.  A new shepherd will come and he will bring peace, bringing back Judah and "the rest of his brothers" (Israel.) This new future ruler is "from of old, from ancient times," suggesting (says McComiskey) that Micah saw this ruler as a supernatural being. This passage is consistent with the end of the first prophecy, where in Micah 2:12-13, Micah describes the Breaker-Shepherd-King.

Micah 5:5b-6, Assyrian invaders

When the Assyrian invades our land 

and marches through our fortresses, 

we will raise against him seven shepherds, 

even eight leaders of men.

They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, 

the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.

He will deliver us from the Assyrian 

when he invades our land and marches into our borders.  

Assyrian invaders will will conquer Israel but numerous future shepherd-leaders from Israel will arise to deliver Israel from Assyrian. (The "seven... even eight" description of the shepherds is classic x/x+1 Hebrew emphasis, indicating some unknown number.) Assyria, like Babylon and Egypt in other similar passages, simply represents enemies of Israel (see Psalm 2:2-3.)

Micah 5:7-9, Like dew and showers

The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples 

like dew from the LORD, 

like showers on the grass, 

which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.

The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, 

in the midst of many peoples, 

like a lion among the beasts of the forest,

 like a young lion among flocks of sheep, 

which mauls and mangles as it goes,

 and no one can rescue.

Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, 

and all your foes will be destroyed.

A remnant will arise from Judah, a remnant that will triumph. The remnant will arrive like fresh dew or showers, provided by YHWH and not by mankind. This remnant will not only be refreshed but, against its enemies, will be a powerful and triumphant lion.

Micah 5:10-15, Horses, chariots, witches

"In that day," declares the LORD, 

"I will destroy your horses from among you

 and demolish your chariots.

I will destroy the cities of your land 

and tear down all your strongholds.

 I will destroy your witchcraft 

and you will no longer cast spells.

I will destroy your carved images

 and your sacred stones from among you; 

you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. 

 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles

and demolish your cities.

 I will take vengeance in anger 

and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me."

                  
The second prophecy of Micah, covering chapters 3, 4 and 5. That second prophecy ends here, with a return to statements about sins and judgment. In a future day, horses, chariots, witches, idols, and all instruments of war and idolatry (including ancient Asherah poles) will be destroyed.

Micah's prophecies overlap similar statements from his contemporary, Isaiah, especially the statements in Isaiah 2. In Isaiah 2:6-8, Isaiah describes a Jerusalem full of horses and chariots, idols, diviners and pagan rituals. Here Micah announces that in this future day, those relics of idolatry and rebellion will be removed.

First published July 17, 2025; updated July 17, 2025