Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 1:15:
Kupsabiny: “You people of Mareshah, God will send enemies against you. The enemies will come and defeat you. The big/important people of Israel will flee to Adullam.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Oh, inhabitants of Mareshah, I will bring the one who will conquer you. Israel’s important people will come to the cave of Adullaam.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Residents of Maresha, the LORD will-send you (plur.) an enemy who will-seize/take-by-force your (plur.) town. ‘Ones who come-from-Juda, your (plur.) leaders/[lit. heads] will-hide in the cave of Adulam.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
The pun in the first half of this verse depends on the similarity of sound between the name Mareshah and the Hebrew word yoresh, translated “conqueror” in Revised Standard Version. Some scholars have thought that Mareshah is an alternative form of Moresheth, but it is best regarded as another village in Micah’s home area, the place named in Josh 15.44. These words are addressed directly to the people of Mareshah.
This is the only sentence in this section that is in the first person in Hebrew. The “I” here (Revised Standard Version) is the Lord speaking. When the prophets were giving a message about the Lord, they often made sudden changes from their own words to his words. In most languages this type of change will be hard to understand or may be understood as Micah himself speaking. It is better to do as Good News Translation has done here and identify the speaker as the Lord. Some translators may prefer to say “the Lord says he will hand you over.”
What the Lord says is that he will hand you over to an enemy, who is going to capture your town. This means that he will send an enemy army to conquer Mareshah, as Revised Standard Version suggests. Other versions have understood this line as meaning “I will send others to take your place” (New English Bible). This can be related to the idea of a conqueror if it means that the conquering people will take the people of Mareshah away into exile and bring others to live in their town.
Revised Standard Version and Jerusalem Bible understand that this conqueror will come to Mareshah “again.” If this is correct, it must refer to some previous incident that was the first time the conqueror came there. Other versions (King James Version, Moffatt, New American Bible, Modern Language Bible) translate this as “yet,” which must mean that it is something that has not happened yet, but it will happen. New American Standard Bible (“Moreover”) and New English Bible (“And you too”) seem to suggest that this is just a way of introducing this reference to Mareshah, by saying that there is a message for them, as there was a message for all the other towns that have been mentioned already. Good News Translation has simply omitted any translation here, as has New International Version. If “again” does not mean “a second time” in this verse, it may well be omitted in other languages, since the other alternatives are simply connecting words that do not add anything new to the sense.
The second half of the verse contains no pun that can now be recognized. The “glory of Israel” (Revised Standard Version) is best taken as a reference to the leaders of Israel rather than to the country’s wealth and power. Adullam was a fortified town not far from Achzib, but the reference here is to a nearby cave in which David took refuge when he was fleeing both from King Saul and from Achish, the Philistine king of Gath (1 Sam 22.1). It thus became a symbol for the last hope in a desperate situation. When Micah here says that The leaders of Israel will go and hide in the cave at Adullam, he means that their circumstances will be critical and hopeless, just as David’s had been. Of course, if the leaders of the nation were in such a position, the ordinary people would have been even worse off.
The British edition of Good News Translation has here “The glorious leaders.” This can be translated as “The great leaders” or “The most important people.” There may be some idea here that everything that made the country proud in the past is now only something to be ashamed of. In some languages this can be partly brought out by saying “The leaders, great as they are” or “Even though the leaders are so important, they must run away and hide.” If it is difficult to find a term for “great” or “important,” it is enough to say just “The leaders.”
As in verse 14, Israel here seems to refer more specifically to Judah, and it may be less confusing to call them “The leaders of Judah.”
Literally, the Hebrew says only that they “shall come to Adullam” (Revised Standard Version), but this will be meaningless for most readers who do not understand the importance of Adullam in Israel’s history. Good News Translation and New English Bible have made the meaning clearer in two ways. First, they have said that Adullam is a cave; and second, they have said that the leaders will go there to hide. Some translators may want to add one more point and say “just as King David did.” If all of the 400 people mentioned in 1 Sam 22.2 were with David inside this cave, it must have been a very large one. If a language does not have a word for cave, this may be translated as “a large hole like a room inside a mountain,” or else one may omit the word “cave” and just say “go and hide at Adullam.”
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 .
In this verse part, Micah talked about Mareshah, another town in Judah. The LORD will send an enemy to conquer that city also.
I will again bring a conqueror against you: In Hebrew, there are three ways to interpret the word again :
(1) It means “furthermore” or “also.” In 1:10–14, Micah said that an enemy army would attack several Jewish cities. Here in 1:15a, the LORD said that in addition to those other cities, he would also send an enemy army to conquer Mareshah. For example:
People of Mareshah: I will send someone to conquer you also. -or-
And you too, people of Mareshah, I shall send others to take your place… (Revised English Bible) -or-
And besides that, I will send an army to conquer you too, people of Mareshah!
(2) Some scholars think this word means “again,” or “one more time.” God will send a conqueror to Mareshah again. This implies that this is not the first time that God had sent a conqueror to Mareshah.
I will again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah. (English Standard Version)
(3) Some scholars think that this word mean “yet” or “still.” God had not yet sent an army to conquer them, but he would still do it. For example:
Yet must I bring to you the conqueror (New American Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most commentaries.
Many English versions (the New International Version and Good News Translation are two examples) leave this word untranslated. If the recommended interpretation is clear in your language, you may do the same thing.
I: This pronoun refers to the LORD. Micah spoke the LORD’s words here, like he did in 1:6.
In all of the rest of 1:10–16 Micah is the speaker. Only here at 1:15a is the LORD the speaker. A literal translation of 1:15a may confuse your readers. They may think that I refers to Micah. There are several ways you can translate this:
• Translate the pronoun Iliterally. Your readers may need to study and think about the verse to understand that the LORD is the speaker, not Micah. Many English versions do this.
• Translate the pronoun as I and also add a footnote to indicate who the speaker is. For example:
1:15a: The Lord is the one who is speaking here.
• Translate the pronoun as I and also include a phrase such as “The LORD says,” or “This is what the LORD says” at the beginning or end of the sentence, wherever it is natural in your language. For example,
The LORD says, “You people of Mareshah, I will send enemies to conquer your town also…”
• Translate 1:15a as an indirect quote. For example:
The LORD says that he will send a conqueror against you people in Mareshah.
• Translate 1:15a as Micah’s words. For example:
People of Mareshah, the Lord will hand you over to an enemy, who is going to capture your town. (Good News Translation) -or-
People of Mareshah, the Lord will send someone to capture your town. (Contemporary English Version)
Choose an option that is clear, natural, and appropriate in your language.
bring a conqueror against you: There are two ways to interpret the word conqueror here:
(1) It refers to an enemy army that will fight against Mareshah and conquer it. For example:
an enemy, who is going to capture your town (Good News Translation)
(2) It refers to an enemy army that will take possession of Mareshah like an heir takes possession of an inheritance. For example:
the one who takes possession (New American Standard Bible)
Most commentaries prefer interpretation (2). But it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most versions. It is not known whether enemy soldiers or people from other countries dispossessed the people of the town. A more general translation such as conqueror allows for both interpretations.
conqueror: This word is singular. It probably refers to an enemy army. If it is clearer in your language, you can translate this word as plural. For example:
I will bring against you people who will take your land, you who live in Mareshah. (New Century Version)
you: In Hebrew, this pronoun is singular. It refers by personification to the town of Mareshah. In some languages, it may be clearer to use a plural pronoun here. Translate this pronoun in a natural way in your language.
O dweller of Mareshah: If it is more natural in your language, you can translate it as plural, as in the New Revised Standard Version (“inhabitants of Mareshah”).
In Hebrew, the phrase dweller of Mareshah is at the end of 1:15b. In some languages, it may be better to have this phrase at the beginning of the sentence. For example:
O people of Mareshah, I will bring a conqueror to capture your town. (New Living Translation (2004))
Do whatever is natural in your language.
Mareshah:Mareshah was a town in Judah. It was about seven kilometers southwest of Achzib and five kilometers south of Moresheth.
Micah used a pun here. The Hebrew word for “conqueror” (yoresh) has a similar sound to the name Mareshah. If you use footnotes in your translation, here are some suggested footnotes:
The place name Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror.” (NET Bible footnote) -or-
[Mareshah] This name sounds like the Hebrew word for a person who captures other cities and lands. (New Century Version footnote)
If you do not use footnotes and you feel it is important for your readers to understand that this is a pun, here is a way to translate this verse part so that the pun is explicit:
You people in Mareshah! ⌊The name of your town sounds like the word “conqueror.” So⌋ to you the LORD says, “I will send enemies to conquer your town also!”
1:15b
The glory of Israel will come to Adullam: During the time of Micah, Adullam was an important fortified town. It was part of Rehoboam’s defense system along with Lachish (2 Chr. 11:6–10) and was located not far from Achzib between Lachish and Moresheth-gath.
Micah is probably the speaker here. Even if the speaker is the LORD instead of Micah, it does not affect the meaning. There are two ways to interpret the meaning of the phrase The glory of Israel :
(1) It refers to the leaders of the nation. For example:
The leaders of Israel (Good News Translation)
(2) It refers to a single king. For example:
Israel’s glorious king (Contemporary English Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with a majority of versions and commentaries. The Hebrew word for glory is also used to mean leaders in Isaiah 5:13; 17:3–4.
glory: Micah called these leaders Israel’s glory because they were important people. The other people in the nation were proud of them. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
Israel’s respected/famous leaders
will come to Adullam: The historical context of this phase is that over 200 years earlier, when King Saul and his army were searching for David to kill him, David and his men hid in a cave near the town of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1).
Here in Micah 1:15b, Adullam is a symbol for running away and hiding from danger. Micah’s words mean that Israel’s leaders will be in danger. They will run away and hide, just like David had done long ago.
Here are some ways that you can translate the phrase will come to Adullam :
• Translate the verb will comeliterally. For example:
the leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam (NET Bible)
If you do this, you may want to add a footnote to explain the meaning. For example:
Adullam is the place where David hid in a cave when he was in danger. See 1 Samuel 22:1. Micah’s words in 1:15b indicate that Israel’s leaders will hide from danger just like David did. -or-
…This probably means that the nation’s leadership will run for their lives and, like David of old, hide from their enemy in the caves of Adullam… (NET Bible footnote)
• Translate the verb will come in a way that will help your readers understand the symbolic meaning. For example:
The leaders of Israel will go and hide in the cave at Adullam. (Good News Translation)
Here are some other ways to translate the name Adullam :
the town of Adullam -or-
the cave at Adullam (Good News Translation) -or-
Adullam Cave (Contemporary English Version)
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