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Micah 2

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Woe to the Oppressors 1–5

1
Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. ​
2
And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. ​
3
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time. ​
4
In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly ruined: he changeth the portion of my people: how doth he remove it from me! to the rebellious he divideth our fields. ​
5
Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the line by lot in the assembly of Jehovah. ​

Silencing the True Prophets 6–11

6
Prophesy ye not, thusthey prophesy. They shall not prophesy to these: reproaches shall not depart. ​
7
Shall it be said, O house of Jacob, Is the Spirit of Jehovah straitened? are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? ​
8
But of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye strip the robe from off the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. ​
9
The women of my people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take away my glory for ever. ​
10
Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because of uncleanness that destroyeth, even with a grievous destruction. ​
11
If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. ​

Promise of Future Restoration 12–13

12
I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. ​
13
The breaker is gone up before them: they have broken forth and passed on to the gate, and are gone out thereat; and their king is passed on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Micah 2

Verse 1

Woe to them that devise iniquity — Chashab, 'devise', is to plan or reckon, and the LORD uses the same verb in v.3, 'do I devise an evil'. The plotting is done 'upon their beds', as in Ps 36:4, 'He deviseth mischief upon his bed'. 'It is in the power of their hand' is the idiom of Gen 31:29, 'It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt', and of Prov 3:27.

Verse 2

they covet fields — Chamad, 'covet', is the verb of the tenth commandment, 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house' (Ex 20:17). A family's 'heritage' (nachalah) was its allotted land: 'The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine' (Lev 25:23). Naboth told Ahab, 'The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee' (1 Kings 21:3).

Verse 3

against this family do I devise an evil — 'Family' (mishpachah) is the whole people, as in Amos 3:1, 'the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt'. The LORD 'devise[s]' (chashab) an evil to answer the devising of v.1, as in Jer 18:11, 'I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you'. 'For this time is evil' recalls Amos 5:13, 'it is an evil time'.

Verse 4

take up a parable against you — Mashal, 'parable', is a proverb or taunt-song, as in Hab 2:6, 'Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb'. The lament begins 'We be utterly spoiled'. 'The portion of my people' recalls Deut 32:9, 'the LORD'S portion is his people'; 'removed' (mush) is the verb of v.3, 'ye shall not remove your necks'.

Verse 5

cast a cord by lot — Chebel, 'cord', is the measuring line, the word of 'divided by line' in Amos 7:17. The land was apportioned by lot, as Joshua 'cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD' and 'divided the land' (Josh 18:10). Those who seize fields (v.2) will have no share to be measured out 'in the congregation of the LORD'.

Verse 6

Prophesy ye not — Nataph, to drop, is the verb of Amos 7:16, 'drop not thy word against the house of Isaac', and of Ezek 21:2, 'drop thy word toward the holy places'. It occurs five times in vv.6 and 11. The speakers tell the prophets to stop, as Amaziah told Amos, 'prophesy not again any more at Bethel' (Amos 7:13).

Verse 7

is the spirit of the LORD straitened? — 'Straitened' is qatsar, to be short, the verb of Num 11:23, 'Is the LORD'S hand waxed short?' The question answers those who deny that the threats are his: 'are these his doings?' His words 'do good' (yatab) to the one who 'walketh uprightly'; the verb is the one in 'Doest thou well to be angry?' (Jonah 4:4).

Verse 8

ye pull off the robe with the garment — A garment taken in pledge was to be returned 'by that the sun goeth down', since it was a poor man's 'covering only' (Ex 22:26–27). 'Even of late' is literally 'yesterday' (etmol), and 'my people is risen up as an enemy' turns those who should defend into aggressors. Amos 2:8 names the same wrong, 'clothes laid to pledge by every altar'.

Verse 9

the women of my people — 'Cast out' is garash, the verb of Jonah 2:4 and of the driving out of Adam (Gen 3:24). The 'children' are olal, little ones or sucklings (Ps 8:2), who lose 'my glory' (hadar, majesty). The law had set a standard for the weakest in Israel: 'Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child' (Ex 22:22).

Verse 10

this is not your rest — 'Rest' (menuchah) is the word of Deut 12:9, 'ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance', and of the 'still waters' of Ps 23:2. 'Polluted' is tame, the verb of Lev 18:25, 'the land is defiled… the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants'; Amos 7:17 has the 'polluted land' of exile from the same root.

Verse 11

the prophet of this people — The people's chosen prophet speaks 'of wine and of strong drink', and they ask for him as in Isa 30:10, 'Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits'. 'Falsehood' (sheqer) marks the false prophet in Jer 5:31, 'The prophets prophesy falsely… and my people love to have it so'. 'Prophesy' is nataph, as in v.6.

Verse 12

the sheep of Bozrah — Botsrah is a sheepfold and also the name of a city of Edom (Isa 34:6). The remnant is gathered into one flock, as in Jer 31:10, 'He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock'. 'I will surely assemble' and 'I will surely gather' double the verbs: 'assembling I will assemble', 'gathering I will gather'.

Verse 13

The breaker is come up before them — Parats, to break through, is the verb behind the name Pharez, 'How hast thou broken forth?' (Gen 38:29), the ancestor of David (Ruth 4:18–22). The breaker opens the gate, and 'their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them', as 'the LORD went before them' in the pillar (Ex 13:21) and 'will go before you' (Isa 52:12).