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1–5. Prophecy about the exaltation of the mountain of the Lord and the gathering of all nations to it. 6–8. The reign of the Lord in Zion. 9–11. Judas' impending captivity. 12–11. The future glorification of the daughter of Zion. Micah 4:1. And it will happen in the last days: the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established at the top of the mountains and will be exalted above the hills, and the nations will flow to it. From the sad present the prophet turns to ch. IV-V to a bright future, which will be realized in the last days, that is, in messianic times. Speeches ch. IV-V were pronounced by the prophet later than the previous speeches of ch. I-III. The threats uttered by the prophet in ch. I-III, in view of the impending destruction of Samaria, were not carried out, since the repentant people were shown mercy by the Lord (Jer 26.18). After the capture of Samaria by Sargon, whose invasion could be expected in Jerusalem, they were busy with military enterprises against Babylonia and, thus, the immediate danger of an invasion of Judea had so far passed. But the spirit of the people was not calm about the future. The Prophet now (after 722) addresses the people with consoling speeches. The prophet announces that the mountain of the house of God - Zion, which was in danger of being plowed up (Micah 3.12), will one day be placed at the head of the mountains, and will receive the advantage of honor and glory over them. The Prophet speaks, of course, not about the physical change of the mountain (Marti), but about its spiritual glorification. To Ch. vehajah, and it will be, in Greek. added explanatory εμφανές, in slav. "revealed"; instead of euro -Russian “mountain of the house of the Lord” in LXX in glory. abbreviated as “mountain of the Lord,” although Kiril. Al., incl. ed. In many lists there is a complete reading of the Hebrew. text; euro nakon berosch haharim, rus. placed at the head of the mountains at LXX and in glory. transmitted: “prepared (ε῀οιμος, as translated nakon and in Exodus 15.17; 1 Kings 8.13–39–43) over the tops of the mountains.” Micah 4:2. And many nations will go and say: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths, for out of Zion will go out the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem: In Art. 2, the prophet explains the reason for the gathering of nations to Zion, namely, the proclamation of the law from Zion and the glory of the Lord from Jerusalem, and the purpose of the gathering is to teach the ways of God. The ways of God are the commandments of the Lord (Ps 5.9, 17.22, 24.4). “Law” is generally the commandments of the Lord, and not the Torah in the later technical sense. Heb. vejorenu and will teach us (the Lord) in the LXX, although not in all lists, many are transmitted. in number - δείξουσιν, slav. “and they will show.” Micah 4:3. And He will judge many nations, and will rebuke many nations in distant countries; and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not raise sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to fight. The prophet depicts the influence of the law, which is to be proclaimed from Zion, on the hearts of people. Instead of the words “many tribes” in Greek. -glory. in Vulg. “tongues are strong” as the Hebrew translates. azum and in Numbers 22.6, 32.11; Isa 18.7. Micah 4:4. But each one will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. The image of sitting under a vineyard and fig tree depicts the peaceful nature of the glorious future contemplated by the prophet. – The prophecy of Micah 4.1–4 in ancient times was understood by the Jews as a prediction of the return of the Jews from Babylon. In the same sense, as can be seen from the interpretation of Blessed. Theodoret, these verses were also understood by some interpreters. However, most interpreters, such as Justin Much. (Conversation with Trif. 109), Irenaeus (Against heresies IV, 34), Tertullian (Prot. of the Jews, ch. 3), blessed Theodoret, Cyril of Alexandria, Ephraim the Syrian, John Chrysostom (on Ps 48–49) explained the words of Micah in question in the messianic sense. Confirming this explanation, blessed. Theodoret asks: “What nations, both near and far, upon returning from Babylon, flocked to the church of the Jews, joyfully accepting their law and loving the word that came from there? Among what nations or “many people” did this word judge, denouncing what evil they had done? And immediately after this, what was added by the prophet exposes the falsity of the (Jewish) interpretation. For upon returning from Babylon (as those who understand this passage about returning will agree), Gog and Magog took up arms against the Jews with many nations, all their neighbors did not stop waging war against them, and after a little time they suffered from the Macedonians, described in the books of the Maccabees. The prophetic word promises deep peace here.” According to the explanation of the blessed one. Theodoret, in Micah 4.1–4 Micah foretells that the gospel preaching will sweep to the extremes of the earth. The Mountain of the Lord, about which the prophet speaks, is the Church of Christ, the law that has to come from Zion, the law of the Gospel, the New Testament. The images used by the prophet express, in particular, the idea that the Old Testament and the New form a single whole, that the New Testament will be given on the basis of the Old and given not for one people, but for all. The words of the prophet were fulfilled, however, not only in their essential meaning, but also in letter, since with the coming of Christ the Savior, the “Mountain of the Lord,” Mount Jerusalem, sanctified by the suffering of Christ, as well as His resurrection and ascension, became glorified before all other mountains and became a shrine for all nations. The considered saying of Chapter IV. book Micah, with the exception of v. 4th, is found in almost the same form in the prophet Isaiah, and borrowed from him by Micah; The question usually discussed is which of the two prophets this saying actually belongs to. This question is resolved differently: some authors believe that the saying about the mountain of the Lord belongs to Isaiah, and was borrowed from him by Micah; others suggest the opposite relationship; it is also possible to think that Isaiah and Micah are reproducing some saying that has been preserved from ancient times. Micah 4:5. For all nations walk, every one in the name of his god; and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. Communication Art. 5th with the previous ones is not entirely clear, which even gives some authors (Marti, Novak) grounds to consider Art. 5th gloss, explaining what is the attitude of the peoples towards the Lord at the present time. This connection is established as follows: Judah will live in safety (v. 4), because he has God as his protector, whom he serves faithfully, while other nations serve other gods (Keil, Shegg); or: in view of the promises of Art. 1–4, Judas must walk in the name of the Lord, even if other nations followed after their gods (Reinke), etc. Instead of words in the name of their god, LXX, not wanting to assimilate the names of gods to the pagan gods, put τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, “on their way.” “They walk, each one in the name of his god,” that is, they act according to the laws that are established by their false religions. Micah 4:6. On that day, says the Lord, I will gather together that which is lame, and will gather together that which is scattered, and those upon whom I have brought disaster. Micah 4:7. And I will make the lame a remnant and the scattered far away a mighty people, and the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion from now on and forever. In Art. 6–8, the prophet fills in the thought of Micah 4:1–4 and explains what the position of the Jewish people will once be. The people will reach the point of being sick (“limping”) sheep that have fallen behind the herd, that is, they will reach extreme disaster. The Lord, like a good shepherd, will gather the scattered sheep. But not everyone will follow the voice of the shepherd: only the remnant will be gathered, over whom the Lord will reign. This remnant, however, despite its small number, in its inner essence can be called a “strong people.” Micah 4:8. And you, tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion! the former dominion will come to you and return, the kingdom to the daughters of Jerusalem. The prophet addresses himself directly to Jerusalem or Zion and announces the return to it of the former dominion, that is, the former kingdom of David, which served as a prototype of the Kingdom of Christ. “And you are the tower of the flock, the hill (orhel) of the daughter of Zion”, glory, “and you are the pillar of the shadowy flock, the daughters of Zion”: the prophet foresees such desolation of Jerusalem that the city will become a pasture on which, according to custom, a tower will be erected to watch over the flock (cf. 2 Chronicles 26.10); in particular, the prophet addresses Ophel, or the southeastern hill of the church mount; the expression daughter of Zion means the inhabitants of Zion or all of Jerusalem and even the entire kingdom of Judah (cf. Isa 1.8, 10, 32, 16.1; Ps 16.8). LXX read the word ophel with the letter aleph and understood it to mean darkness, haze (αὐχμώδης); in the same sense this word was understood by Aquila (σκωτιώδης), Symmachus (ἀπόκρυφος) and blessed. Jerome (nebulosa); from here to glory “the pillar of the dark flock.” - “And the former dominion (glorified “first power”) will return, the kingdom will return to the daughters of Jerusalem”: the prophet speaks of the restoration of the kingdom of David in Zion. LXX understood the prophet’s speech in a different sense and after the word kingdom added: ἐκ Βαβυλωνος, glory. "from Babylon". Blazh. Theodoret interprets the reading of LXX as follows: “the prophet threatens them (the Jews) with the army of the Babylonians, because Nebuchadnezzar, as soon as he accepted the scepter, took up arms against them in the third year of the reign of Joachim. Therefore, the prophet called the kingdom of Babylon “the first power,” since Nebuchadnezzar, soon after his accession to the kingdom, set out on a campaign.” But reading ἐκ Βαβυλωνος gives a thought that does not correspond to the context, and can be considered a later insertion: it is not in some Greek. manuscripts, LXX, in Cyrus. Al. and blessed Jerome. Micah 4:9. Why are you crying so loudly now? Don't you have a king? Or did you no longer have a counselor, because you were seized by the pains of being in labor? In Art. 9–10 the prophet speaks of the coming disasters for the people - the capture of the city and the taking of the people into captivity. The prophet seems to hear the cries and cries of the people. Instead of Euro “Why are you crying out so loudly now?” (tharij rea) in glory. from the Greek: “and now you have known all evil”, since the LXX was obviously read thedii (from jadah to know) ra. “Don’t you have a king”: the prophet’s question is understood (Keil, Jungerov) either as an assumption about the cause of grief (the death of the king), or in an ironic sense, as an indication that the king, that is, the external force on which the people so hope, will not protect him (Novak). “Or you have lost your adviser” (LXX Βουλη, glorified “council”): state advisers, as can be seen from biblical instructions (2 Kings 15.12; 1 Kings 12.1–7; 1 Chronicles 27.32–33; Isa 1.26, 3.3), in the kingdom of Judah were very important, were near the king and influenced the entire course of people's life. Micah 4:10. Suffer and be tormented by pain, daughter of Zion, as one who gives birth, for today you will leave the city and live in the field, and you will reach Babylon: there you will be saved, there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. “Suffer and be tormented by pain” (vagochi): due to the ambiguity of the last verb (gochi), it is rendered differently: in the LXX - ἀνδρίζοῦ, glory. “take courage”, blessed Jerome satage think, with others διατείνου strain. To Ch. "take courage" in glory. another one also joins - “and draw near”, Greek. ὲ῾γγιζε, but this verb is absent in many Greek. lists. “You will reach Babylon”: the eviction of the people from the city will end with a settlement in Babylon. The prophet speaks of Babylon not only as a province of the Assyrian kingdom, to which the Jews were resettled by the Assyrians, but as an independent kingdom: it is from the Babylonians, and not from the Assyrians, to whom the Babylonians were subordinated during the time of Micah, that the prophet expects captivity. Negative criticism (Novak, Marty), not allowing prophetic predictions to rise above the time horizon of the prophets, also considers it impossible for Micah to prophesy about the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, since Babylon at that time was not yet a world power and was only a province subject to Assyria. On this basis, the words in question are considered a later insertion into the book. Micah. But, obviously, when the prophecy is recognized as a supernatural phenomenon, this bewilderment disappears. - At the end of Art. On the 10th the prophet speaks of the upcoming liberation of the people from captivity. Micah 4:11. And now many nations have gathered against you and say: “Let it be desecrated, and let our eyes be upon Zion!” The prophet addresses the current situation of the people and points out how their enemies treat the people. “Let it be desecrated,” that is, desecrated by human blood, blood shed during the war, generally destroyed; in Vulg. – lapidetur, i.e. let her be stoned like an adulterer – LXX conveyed the idea of ​​the original freely: ἐπιχαροὺμεθα, glory. "let's rejoice" “Let our eye be upon Zion”: the prophet wants to point out the gloating of the enemies over the destruction of Zion. Micah 4:12. But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord and do not understand His counsel, that He gathered them like sheaves into a threshing floor. Micah 4:13. Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron and your hoofs copper, and you will crush many nations, and you will dedicate their gains to the Lord and their riches to the Lord of all the earth. The Prophet indicates the outcome of the struggle of the peoples against Zion - their defeat, according to God's definition. “I will make your horn iron and your hooves (glorified “paznokti”) copper”; likening in Art. To the 12th people, the sheaves gathered at the threshing floor, the prophet compares Israel to an ox threshing: by assimilating iron horns and copper hooves, the prophet wants to point out the strength and power of Israel in the fight against enemies. “And you will dedicate their acquisitions to the Lord,” to glory. “many of them”, πληθος αδτίῶν; in LXX the word πλῆθος is used in the meaning of “property” (Eze 27.33; Jer 46.16; Nahum 2.13); therefore Greek the text accurately conveys the idea of ​​the original. “And their riches” are glorious. “and their strength”; in Greek ἰσχύς (strength) which word in Isaiah 61.6 also means wealth. What struggle of the pagan peoples against Jerusalem does the prophet Micah speak about in Micah 4:9–13? Exegetes ancient and modern answer this question differently. So, according to the blessed. Theodoret, the prophet from Micah 4 “begins a prophecy about the Scythian peoples who took up arms against the Jews upon their return.” According to St. Ephraim the Syrian, to whom Keil is one of the new exegetes, the prophet speaks of the invasion of Gog and Magog, the last enemies of the kingdom of God. According to other interpreters (St. Cyril Al., Cornelius a-Lapide, Yungerov), Micah in Micah 4:9-13 refers to the invasion of the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser and Sennacherib. But the words of the prophet should hardly be understood in relation to any specific historical fact of the invasion of enemies: the prophet generally indicates the path of history of the chosen people - the path of struggle against the enemies of Zion and triumph over them with the help of God. You might be interested in: