Verse 7 consists of four questions that are taken by Good News Translation and Jerusalem Bible as unbelieving protests by the rich against what the prophet has been saying to them. Revised Standard Version may not have the same meaning, but it is not really clear, and it is best to follow the meaning of the other versions.
In the first question, the Hebrew text has heʾamur “said,” but many scholars prefer a small change so that the Hebrew will be heʾarur “cursed.” If “said” is changed to “cursed,” then the “house of Jacob” is the subject, as in Good News Translation and Jerusalem Bible. If the change is not made, the “house of Jacob” is a vocative, calling on the people addressed (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New English Bible, New International Version). Either way it stands for the whole nation, as Good News Translation brings out with its people of Israel.
Deut 28.15-68 describes in great detail what it means to be under God’s curse. If there seems to be no good term for curse, it may be possible to use an expression like “Do you think God has become the enemy of the people of Israel?” Another possibility may be “Is God planning to do evil to the people of Israel?” All these questions are rhetorical questions that imply a yes or no answer, according to the context. If a language has different forms for questions according to whether the implied answer is yes or no, the translator should be careful to use the appropriate form in the various parts of this verse. In this first question, for example, the rich people are implying that they are certainly not under a curse. For all of these questions, if it is more natural in the language to answer the question after asking it, or simply to use strong statements instead of questions, then these other forms should of course be used.
In the second question the “Spirit of the LORD” (Revised Standard Version) stands for the Lord himself, as Good News Translation makes clear. Since this is not a reference to the Holy Spirit, Revised Standard Version‘s capital “S” on “Spirit” is rather misleading. (See comments on Micah 3.8.) The oppressors accept the idea of the Lord being patient and merciful (see Exo 34.6) but distort this doctrine so as to give themselves an excuse for continuing their evil conduct. They cannot believe that the Lord would really lose his patience, especially with them. Patience here means the characteristic of not getting angry quickly, or of being able to put up easily with many irritations. To lose patience means to be patient no longer. It may be necessary in some languages to say “Does the Lord get angry quickly?” The question must be worded in such a way as to imply the answer “No.”
The third question simply reinforces the second: Would he really do such things? that is, bring punishment as Micah had threatened. Again, the implied answer is “No.”
The final question admits that God is righteous, but if this question comes from the mouths of the oppressors (as in Good News Translation), it shows that they assume that they also are among those who do right, and can thus expect that God will speak kindly to them. This assumption underlines their moral blindness. If this interpretation is preferred, it is necessary to follow another very minor change in the Hebrew and to read “his words” instead of “my words.” This change is supported by the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. If, however, this question is taken as part of Micah’s challenge to the rich, there is no need to change the text. (See, for instance, the way New International Version punctuates this verse.) The question then becomes a further probe into the consciences of the rich. It implies that people who are upright will find the prophet’s message acceptable, and that those who do not find the message acceptable cannot be walking “uprightly” (Revised Standard Version). It sounds strange in English to say that someone’s “words do good” (Revised Standard Version), and Good News Translation (also Jerusalem Bible) understands this to mean that God speaks kindly. Others, such as New English Bible, interpret the expression to mean that good will come to people like these when God speaks to them. This is the opposite of being under God’s curse.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on Micah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .