Глава 2

1–2. Denunciation of the rulers of the Jews. 3–5. Proclamation of punishment. 6–7. Appeal to false prophets. 8–11. Crimes of the strong and the frivolity of the people 12–13. The promise of deliverance from captivity. In ch. The second prophet clarifies the reasons for the judgment announced by him in ch. I. To this end, he describes the moral state of the Jewish people. The prophet, first of all, speaks of the rulers of Judah, whom he denounces for injustice and oppression, and then denounces the false prophets and the entire people. Next, the prophet announces the punishment of the people for their wickedness (vv. 4–5, 11), and ends the whole speech with a promise of salvation (Mic. 2:12–13). Micah 2:1. Woe to those who plot iniquity and dream up evil deeds on their beds, which they commit in the morning at dawn, because they have power in their hand! Wanting to depict the depth of the wickedness of the rulers of Judah, the prophet imagines them coming up with plans for atrocities at night, and carrying out these plans during the day. LXX euro hoj (grief) was read as hajju (were); therefore in glory. instead of reading the Russian so-called “woe to those who plot iniquity,” it is read: “there were contemplating labors” (konos, disaster, trouble). - “Because there is strength in their hand” (leel): the word el is understood by the Vulgate and by some translators in the passage in question as the name of God. The word LXX was taken in the same meaning, and wanting to weaken the expression (“because their hand is their God”), they changed its meaning; from here to glory “I have not yet lifted up my hands to God.” According to the text of LXX, the reason for the iniquities of the rulers of the Jews is that they did not turn to God in prayer (“not raising their hands to God”). Micah 2:2. They covet fields and take them by force, houses and take them away; they rob a man and his house, his husband and his inheritance. The violence of the Jewish rulers was manifested in the appropriation of other people's fields, houses and other people's inheritance. LXX, wanting to clarify the speech of the prophet, they added after the verb gasalu (take by force) the noun ὀρφανοὺς, why in glory. reads “and rake the orphans” (instead of Russian “and take them by force”). Micah 2:3. Therefore this is what the Lord says: Behold, I am planning to bring such a calamity upon this generation that you will not cast it from your necks, neither will you walk upright; for this is an evil time. The prophet says in v. 3rd about the upcoming enemy invasion and captivity. The prophet likens this calamity to a yoke that cannot be removed from the neck. Micah 2:4. On that day they will tell a parable about you and weep bitterly and say: “We are completely ruined! the inheritance of my people is given to others; How will he return to me? our fields have already been divided among foreigners.” The prophet continues to depict the coming punishment for the people. The misfortune of the people, according to the prophet, will find expression in a lamentable song, which at the same time will be a parable or satire on the people. The prophet composes this parable. - “On that day”, i.e. on the day when punishment befalls the people. - “And they will weep bitterly.” euro The expression nahah nehi nibjah is difficult to understand and is translated differently. LXX and Vulg. considered nihjah to be the name of creatures. and translated it with the word μέλο I (slav. “and the lamentation will begin with song”, ἐἐ μέλει) and suavitas (Vulg. cum suavitate). The newest commentators consider nihjah to be a participial form (infal) of Ch. hajah be and translate: done, became, accomplished, and the next chapter. аmar (Russian “they will speak”) give the meaning of the Latin inquit “it is finished”, they will say, “we are completely ruined” (Ewald, Gitzig, Knabenbauer). Russian translators mistook nihjah for another form of creatures. nehi lamentation and the whole expression nahah nehi nilijah was translated: “and they will cry with weeping lamentation,” or “bitter weeping.” The Jews, as is known, had the custom of composing lamentable songs or kinoth for the death of heroes and the destruction of cities (cf. Am 5.1). The image of the prophet was also borrowed from this custom - “We are completely ruined!” LXX and slav. literally render the Hebrew. text of the expression, translation – “disaster through suffering”. – “The inheritance of my people has been given” (jamir) to others: (speech, in the meaning of the Russian volume, on behalf of the source or compiler of the lamentable song. LXX, probably, instead of jamir (departed) they read jamid, κατεμετρήθη (from madad to measure and for clarity they added the word ἐν σχοινίω - already, rope; from here in slav. “a part of my people will be measured” - “How (ech) will return to me”: LXX Hebrew ech, apparently, was read as ain (no) and therefore translated by the expression καὶ οὐκ ῆν; instead of li (to me) LXX was read lо (to him); sentence, they took it as infinitiv from schuv (return); bysha". Micah 2:5. Therefore you will have no one who will cast lots to measure in the assembly before the Lord. Art. 5 is understood by many commentators as words addressed to the prophet by wicked people, irritated by his predictions. The prophet's enemies express a desire for him to die without leaving offspring (Hitzig, Orelli, Novak). Other commentators (Yungerov, Goonaker) consider Art. 5th by the conclusion of the lamentable song set forth in the preceding verse. After conquering the land of Canaan, the Jews cast lots to divide the land among the tribes (Joshua 18.8–10) in a meeting at the door of the tabernacle at Shiloh. Borrowing an image of expression from this fact, the prophet wants to say that during the coming disaster, the whole earth will pass into the hands of enemies, and the people will go into captivity, so that there will be no one to cast lots (glory: “there will be no snake for you in the lot”) to divide the plots. Micah 2:6. Do not prophesy, prophets; do not prophesy to them, lest dishonor befall you. Art. 6–7 are very difficult to translate and interpret. Commentators understand these verses differently, and our Russian. the translation represents only one interpretation of these verses. Difficulty in interpreting Art. 6th arises due to the ambiguity of the meaning used three times in the verse of ch. nataph. Ch. nataph means to pour, drip, in a figurative sense - to pour, i.e. to make speeches, preach, speak. LXX understood the verb to mean “to shed tears,” and hence to slav. appeared: “Do not cry with tears, let them cry for these.” As can be seen from the further words (“he will not reject reproach”) LXX understood Art. 6 as an invitation from the prophet not to shed tears over the coming disaster due to its inevitability. The result was a thought that had little relevance to the context of the speech. Other translations and all the latest commentators usually understand ch. nataph in st. 6th in figurative meaning - to speak, to prophesy. But the question arises: what kind of prophecy are we talking about in Art. 6th? According to the meaning of our translation, in Art. 6th we are talking about false prophecy: the prophet admonishes false prophets not to prophesy, so that with their prophecies, which usually proclaim peace and prosperity, they do not bring dishonor upon themselves, for these prophecies will not be fulfilled (cf. Deut. 18.22). According to Vulg. and according to the interpretation of the newest commentators (Orelli, Novak, Goonaker) Art. The 6th represents an appeal to the prophet Micah himself or to true prophets in general from false prophets or from wicked contemporaries. The meaning of the appeal is this: Micah should not prophesy, because dishonor will not befall the people (Vulg.: “do not prophesy; it will not be poured out on them, dishonor will not befall them”). Micah 2:7. O called the house of Jacob! Has the Spirit of the Lord diminished? are these His actions? Are not My words good for him who does what is right? Art. The 7th, like the previous one, is very difficult to understand and is interpreted differently. The compilers of the Russian translation, apparently, saw in Art. 7th, the prophet Micah’s rebuke of the false prophets, to whom the words of Art. 6th. The false prophets, calmly looking at the immorality of the people, explained the disasters befalling them by the fact that the Spirit of Jehovah had diminished, that is, His power had weakened, and He could not save. Refuting such a view, the prophet turns to the entire house of Jacob, points out that God’s actions are not such that they prove His omnipotence, and if He does not save the people, it is only through the fault of the latter, for their wickedness: the words of the Lord are beneficial, but only for those who act justly (Jungers). According to Vulg. and according to the interpretation of the majority of commentators, Art. The 7th represents the objection on the part of the false prophets or the whole people to the formidable prophecies of Micah and other true prophets. The prophet’s contemporaries (instead of reading the Russian volume) were against the truth of Micah’s prophecy about the impending disaster. “Oh, who is called the house of Jacob” in the Vulg.: “The house of Jacob speaks”) showed that the Spirit of the Lord, which had long endured the people before, did not diminish even now (i.e., did not become less long-suffering), and that the greatness of the Lord’s deeds did not lie in destroying the people (“Are these his actions?”). In response to this, the prophet, on behalf of the Lord, says that the words of God are beneficial only to those who act justly. Micah 2:8. But the people who were formerly Mine have risen up as an enemy, and you are taking away both the outer and lower clothing from those who pass by peacefully and who abhor war. Art. 8 is difficult to understand and translated into Russian. t. presumably. According to the meaning of the Russian translation, revealing the idea expressed at the end of the previous verse that the Lord is good only for those who act justly, the prophet shows in Art. 8th, how far the people of Judah are from justice. The people have become, as it were, the enemy of God, because they act contrary to His commands: from peaceful wanderers, from people who abhor war and violence, both outer and lower clothing are taken away. The newest commentators translate the 8th article differently, allowing for some corrections of the text; for example, from Goonaker: “and you are against My people, you help his enemy, before Shalmaneser (Hebrew saimah eder, outer clothing, Goonaker reads salmanazar) you take away the spoils of war from those who go trustingly on their way”; from Novak: “You act as enemies against My people, taking away (property) from friends and spoils of war from those who carelessly pass by.” Greek and glory texts are given in Art. 8th thought, deviating from the original and very unclear: “and before, My people resisted in enmity, against their peace: tearing off its skin, taking away hope, military contrition.” Apparently, according to the meaning of the Greek. -glory. i.e., the prophet wants to say that because of the people’s hostile relationship with God, which relationship is contrary to the well-being of the people themselves, everything was taken away from them - both property (their skin) and hope. Micah 2:9. You drive the wives of My people out of their pleasant homes; You take away My adornment from their children forever. The Prophet points out other crimes of the people - oppression or expulsion of wives and children. It is unclear what expulsion of wives the prophet is talking about. Gitzig believes that the prophet is talking about the denial of asylum to wives and children fleeing the kingdom of Israel. But the prophet’s speech is of a general nature. He probably means both the expulsion of wives for the purpose of divorce, and the expulsion of widows and orphans for the purpose of appropriating their property. This expulsion from homes could entail removal from the country, as a result of which the exiled children were already deprived of the honor of belonging to the people of God. It is believed that it is precisely this deprivation that the prophet means when he says: “From their children you are forever taking away My adornment.” Some commentators, however, understand the last words of the prophet in the sense of indicating the deprivation of children of property (Jungers). Greek Hebrew translators nschej (wives) were taken as an abbreviation nisiej (from nasi prince) and therefore the entire 9th Art. referred to the elders; from here to glory T. it reads: “for this reason the elders of my people will be cast out from the houses of their sweetness, evil for the sake of their undertakings (meal ololejha from children, LXX probably read; meavel alilejha, ​​from their evil undertakings) repudiating the former. Come closer to the eternal mountains." The last words, which have no correspondence in the original, apparently contain a call to escape to the mountains in view of the impending disaster. Micah 2:10. Get up and leave, for this country is not a place of peace; for uncleanness she will be ruined and, moreover, with cruel ruin. The prophet threatens the wicked with captivity and directly invites them to leave the land, which has been defiled by the sins of those living in it and has ceased to be a land of peace (Deut. 12.9, 10; Isa. 28.12). Greek and glory that is, they convey the thought of the original periphrastically (glorified “Arise and go, for you cannot bear this rest for the sake of uncleanness, you have been corrupted by corruption”). Micah 2:11. If some flighty man had invented a lie and said: “I will preach to you about wine and strong drink,” then he would have been a pleasing preacher for this people. In denouncing the people, the prophet realizes that his preaching arouses not the attention of the people, but irritation. A sad thought involuntarily arises in his soul about what kind of sermon the people would like: a sermon about wine and strong drink. Greek and glory t. in Art. The 11th deviate from the original and give a thought that is difficult to understand. Beginning of Art. 11th in glory. i.e. “they were prognathed and persecuted” came about due to the fact that LXX by the 11th art. taken from Art. previous word nimraz (strong, cruel), and they considered it a form of ch. ruz (to run), and the first words of Art. On the 11th, lu isch holech (if there was anyone walking) read lo isch helech (there is no person walking or pursuing). Further words of Art. 11th in Greek and glory the texts do not give a satisfactory meaning (“put a spirit in a lie, put it into your wine and drunkenness; and it will be from the drop of these people”). Micah 2:12. I will certainly gather you all, Jacob, I will certainly unite the remnants of Israel, I will gather them together like sheep in Bozrah, like a flock in a sheepfold; they will make noise from the crowd. Communication Art. The 12th and 13th with the previous one are understood differently by commentators. Many think that these verses, containing a joyful promise to Israel, represent the speech of false prophets (Michaelis, Ewald, Orelli): contrary to the prophecy of Micah about the coming disasters, the false prophets proclaim the mercy of the Lord to the people and the glorious deliverance of the latter. But it is hardly possible Art. 12–13 considered as the speech of false prophets; last in Art. 11 completely different speeches are acquired; Moreover, 12–13 speaks of the return from captivity, and the false prophets did not even allow the thought of captivity. Goonaker, considering 12–13 a prophecy of Micah himself, sees the meaning of this prophecy in the proclamation of the people not of salvation, but of disaster and precisely captivity. According to Goonaker, the prophet wants to say that the people will be gathered together in distress, and that they will go into captivity led by the king. But this understanding of Art. 12–13, although they establish a direct connection between the verses and the general content of Chapter II, which speaks of the inevitability of disaster, cannot be considered correct: the expressions at the beginning of Art. 12 and end of art. 13th (“and their Lord is at their head”) clearly show that this is not about disaster, but about salvation, and Goonaker must, without any reason, highlight these expressions as a gloss in order to defend his understanding. Prophet in v. 12–13 speaks, undoubtedly, of the gathering of Jacob and the remains of Israel in captivity and the bringing of the people out of captivity. There is no need to consider the verses in question as a later insertion (Novak et al.) or to assume that: they were moved to the end of chapter. 11th from another place in the book. Micah (Steiner, Rissel) transitions from predicting disaster to announcing a glorious future are common among prophets (cf. Isa 7.1, 8.1, etc.). – “I will gather them together like sheep in Bosrah”: Bosrah is an ancient Jewish city (Gen. 36.33; Is. 34.6, 63.1), obviously rich in livestock. However, LXX, blessed. Jerome. Sir t., Ak., Simm. and some new commentators (Knabenb.) prefer Heb. bozrah is understood in the sense of a common noun: in glory. according to LXX: “like sheep in sorrow”; at the blessed Hieronymus bozrah is taken to mean "sheepfold". – Greek -slav, t. Art. The 12th conveys the thought of the original; instead of the words: “they will make noise because of the crowds” (meadam - “because of people”) in glory. it reads: “to leap from people,” that is, they will rush like sheep when being chased by people. Micah 2:13. The wall-breaker will go before them; they will break down barriers, enter through the gates and come out by them; and their king will go before them, and the Lord will be at their head. In Art. 13 the prophet gives a figurative description of the return of the Jews from captivity. The prophet imagines that the Lord himself will go at the head of the people and that the “wall breaker” going ahead of the people will crush all obstacles on the way. In Greek i.e. verbs st. On the 13th they were translated into the past tense, and the words alah happorez, the wall breaker will go, LXX were read al happerez, through the breaches; from here to glory “come up (ἀνάβηθι only in some Greek manuscripts, absent in others) by cutting (through the gaps) before them, cutting through and passing through the gates, and came out by them: and their king came out before them, the Lord will be their leader.” The fulfillment of Micah's prophecy about the unification of Jacob and the remnants of Israel and their liberation from captivity, interpreters indicate in the fact of the return of the Jewish people from captivity under Zerubbabel and in the fact of the redemption of humanity through the Messiah - Christ, who gathered all nations into a single herd. You might be interested in: