In this verse, two more events are mentioned that show how the Lord had blessed and protected those he called My people. First, he bids them remember the story of King Balak of Moab and the prophet Balaam. Micah here takes for granted that his hearers are familiar with the story told in Numbers 22–24. Balak planned to have Balaam curse the people of Israel, but instead the Lord gave Balaam words of blessing to say, and he answered the king in a manner opposite to what the king wanted. The incident is seen as another example of the Lord’s intervention on behalf of his people. This event had taken place in the early history of the people of Israel, hundreds of years before the time of Micah. Remember of course does not mean remembering something that had happened directly to them, but rather it means remembering the story that they had heard many times. Similarly, when Good News Translation speaks of what Balak planned to do to you, or when the Lord speaks of what he did for you in verse 4, “you” must be understood as referring to the people of Israel as a group continuing over a long period. If “you” cannot be used in this way in some languages, “your ancestors” or some such expression should be substituted.
Translators using cross references should have one to Numbers 22–24 at this verse, but in some cases it may be necessary or at least helpful to add a little of the implicit information in the translation itself. For example, one may say “remember how King Balak of Moab wanted to harm you and how the prophet Balaam son of Beor told him that I would only do good to you.”
The second incident is mentioned in so few words that some scholars think there is something missing from the Hebrew (see Jerusalem Bible, for instance). The Hebrew merely says “from Shittim to Gilgal,” but it is fairly obvious that Micah is referring to “what happened from Shittim to Gilgal” (Revised Standard Version). Shittim was the last Israelite camp on the east bank of the Jordan (Josh 3.1), and Gilgal was their first camp in the promised land on the west bank (Josh 4.19). The event that took place between these two camps was of course the miraculous crossing of the river Jordan (Josh 3–4). This is what the prophet is referring to here as a further example of the Lord’s action in support of his people. Since the names of the two camps will not be familiar to most readers, it may be useful to add a footnote or to make explicit the reference to the crossing of the Jordan. Where Good News Translation has Remember the things that happened on the way from the camp at Acacia to Gilgal, a fuller translation base may be “Remember how you crossed the River Jordan on the way from the camp at Acacia to the camp at Gilgal.” Camp has been added by Good News Translation to show the significance of the place names. It refers to a place where the people put up their tents and stayed temporarily during their wanderings.
Note also that Good News Translation has translated the name Acacia rather than following the usual custom of transliterating place names. This is done here to avoid the unfortunate sound in English of the Hebrew name Shittim. Few other languages will need to do the same in this verse, but translators should be aware of the possibility that other Hebrew names may accidentally sound like bad words in their own language. If this happens, then the name should be translated or else altered slightly in spelling to avoid suggesting the bad word.
Good News Translation translates the end of the verse as a separate sentence that summarizes verses 4 and 5, Remember these things and you will realize what I did in order to save you. Note that Good News Translation has added the words Remember these things in order to make clear the meaning that is carried over from the previous sentences. In the Hebrew, the Lord refers to himself in the third person (“the saving acts of the LORD” Revised Standard Version), but Good News Translation turns this into a first person form (what I did) in order to produce natural English. Most translators will need to do the same. To save you could be translated “to help you.” The words translated what I did in order to save you could also be understood as “that all my actions toward you have been righteous” or “… faithful.”
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.