Dionysus on a Bike

Micah 7:1-7 – 6/22/2026

I like the NRSV and its updated edition that came out recently. The translation is scholarly and readable in a way that works for liturgical use. Even if some of the language used is not what readers are used to, the English is usually quite faithful to the ancient wording, while maintaining sensitivity to context and current usage. My biggest complaint with this translation, as with many translations, is that when the ancient text is particularly metaphorical or imagistic, the translation will too often give a gloss in English that attempts to get behind the metaphor while erasing the metaphor itself. Usually not much is lost in meaning, but in their attempt to make things easy on the reader, the rhetorical force and nuance can easily be blunted.

Today’s reading from the prophet Micah has a verse where a non-literal gloss takes away the force of the original language. Micah, describes the evil that has befallen the land, calling out powerful officials who take bribes and “dictate what they desire.” Here are powerful, wealthy people who get their way and will do anything to make sure of it. The verse ends in the Hebrew by saying that these people “weave” things in order to have things happen as they desire. The NRSVue translates this instead as “thus they pervert justice” leaving the literal “thus they weave it” for a translation footnote indicating that this is the literal translation.

The gloss includes the words “pervert justice” which are not found in the Hebrew at all. It’s true, just from what is said in the text, that the powerful officials were perverting justice by “weaving” things so that their desired outcome happens. This covers over what Micah is highlighting in this verse. Those in power make their desires come about by “weaving,” by interjecting themselves and their will into the unfolding of becoming. Power allows them to change people’s behavior, and so it is not just that they try to get what they want; they are successful in getting their desired outcome by manipulating the situation.

Weaving is an apt metaphor here. The powerful unjust cannot simply have what they want by direct methods. The tendency to amass power and wealth into a few hands requires careful planning and manipulation through various channels and intermediaries. This is not the direct injustice of the thief and murderer; it is the cunning injustice of the economic and political elite. We see it clearly today when the Capitalist class, especially the ultra-wealthy, use the complex systems of regulation and economic planning to concentrate more wealth and power into their own hands.

The primary lesson for me here is that The Hebrew scriptures do not simply condemn direct violence that steals from another to enrich oneself. Equally unjust is “weaving” events together to “dictate what [one] desires].” The wealthy are unjust like the thief; they simply use other means. The secondary lesson here is to pay attention to the ancient language of the text. No matter what translation of the Bible one uses, whether it is a scholarly staple like the NRSVue or a more popular rendition of scripture into English, pay attention to the translation footnotes and look to the original language when necessary. Things get lost in translation especially when translations are done with easy comprehension in mind. The primary benefit of the NRSVue is not that it does not perform over-simplifying glosses that subtract meaning from the original. The benefit of the NRSVue is that when it commits such a gloss, the footnotes rigorously point the reader to the meaning of the original language.

Further research tool: The website Bible Hub gives word for word breakdowns of the Hebrew or Greek for each verse in the Bible. If a footnote indicates a translation issue, it is useful to go here to look at how the ancient language is constructed allowing for the reader to independently check the translation.

Reflections of a Dionysian Lutheran, comments on the daily readings of the Revised Common Lectionary by Justin Marquis