Micah / Chapter 2

Micah 2

13 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Micah 2 is a woe oracle against the wealthy land-grabbers of Judah who lie awake at night scheming to seize other people's fields and houses. God announces a corresponding judgment: since they plotted evil on their beds, He is plotting disaster against them. The chapter includes a sharp exchange with false prophets who tell Micah to stop preaching ('Do not preach!'), and concludes with a brief promise of future restoration — God as a shepherd gathering a remnant.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The opening woe (hoi) launches a classic prophetic indictment of economic injustice — the powerful seize ancestral land, violating the foundational principle that the land belongs to God and was distributed by lot to families in perpetuity. In an agrarian society, losing your family's land meant losing your identity, livelihood, and covenant inheritance. Micah's opponents in verse 6 use the same verb he uses — nataf ('to drip, to preach') — turning his own word against him. The brief restoration promise in verses 12-13 shifts abruptly from judgment to hope, describing God as the 'one who breaks open' (haporets) leading the flock through the gate — imagery later applied to the Messiah.

Translation Friction

The verb nataf ('to drip') in verses 6 and 11 is used metaphorically for prophetic speech — 'to preach' or 'to prophesy.' The opponents say 'do not drip' (al tattiphu), meaning 'stop prophesying.' The shift from judgment (vv. 1-11) to restoration (vv. 12-13) is abrupt, and some scholars consider verses 12-13 a later addition — we render the text as it stands in the WLC without rearrangement. The phrase 'removes the splendid robe' (eder shalmah, v. 8) is textually difficult — we follow the most defensible reading.

Connections

The woe oracle connects to Isaiah 5:8 ('Woe to those who join house to house and field to field'). The land-seizure indictment echoes the Naboth's vineyard narrative (1 Kings 21). The false-prophet conflict anticipates Jeremiah's clashes with prophets of peace (Jeremiah 23, 28). The shepherd-and-flock imagery in verses 12-13 connects to Ezekiel 34 and Jesus's self-identification as the Good Shepherd.

Micah 2:1

ה֧וֹי חֹשְׁבֵ֣י אָ֗וֶן וּפֹ֥עֲלֵי רָ֛ע עַל־מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָ֑ם בְּא֤וֹר הַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ יַעֲשׂ֔וּהָ כִּ֥י יֶשׁ־לְאֵ֖ל יָדָֽם׃

Woe to those who plan wickedness and devise evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out, because it is in the power of their hands.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The woe oracle (hoi) is a funeral cry repurposed as a prophetic curse — Micah is pronouncing the death sentence over the land-grabbers. The phrase 'on their beds' (al mishkevotam) indicates premeditation — these are not crimes of passion but calculated schemes hatched during sleepless nights. The phrase 'because it is in the power of their hands' (ki yesh le'el yadam) uses the word el ('power, god') — literally, 'because their hand is a god to them,' suggesting that their own power has become their deity. The dawn (or habboqer) brings execution of their plans — what they schemed in darkness, they enact in daylight.
Micah 2:2

וְחָמְד֤וּ שָׂדוֹת֙ וְגָזָ֔לוּ וּבָתִּ֖ים וְנָשָׂ֑אוּ וְעָשְׁק֥וּ גֶּ֙בֶר֙ וּבֵית֔וֹ וְאִ֖ישׁ וְנַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃

They covet fields and seize them, houses, and take them. They oppress a man and his household, a person and his inheritance.

KJV And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb chamadu ('they covet') directly violates the tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21 — 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house... or field'). The progression — covet, seize, oppress — describes the escalation from internal desire to outright theft. The word nachalatoh ('his inheritance') is critical: in Israel's land theology, each family's plot was their God-given inheritance (nachalah), distributed by lot at the conquest and meant to remain within the family in perpetuity (Leviticus 25:23-28). To seize someone's nachalah was to rob them of their covenant birthright.
Micah 2:3

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה הִנְנִ֥י חֹשֵׁ֛ב עַל־הַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את רָעָ֑ה אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹא־תָמִ֤ישׁוּ מִשָּׁם֙ צַוְּארֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א תֵלְכ֖וּ רוֹמָ֑ה כִּ֛י עֵ֥ת רָעָ֖ה הִֽיא׃

Therefore this is what the LORD says: I am planning disaster against this clan, from which you will not be able to remove your necks. You will not walk with heads held high, for it will be an evil time.

KJV Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God's judgment mirrors the crime: they 'planned' (choshevei) wickedness in verse 1; now God 'is planning' (choshev) disaster against them — the same Hebrew verb. The metaphor of a yoke on the neck (lo tamishtu... tsavverotekhem, 'you will not remove your necks') describes an inescapable burden, evoking the yoke of servitude. The contrast between their current arrogant 'walk' and their future inability to 'walk with heads held high' (romah) reverses their social status.
Micah 2:4

בַּיּ֣וֹם הַ֠הוּא יִשָּׂ֨א עֲלֵיכֶ֤ם מָשָׁל֙ וְנָהָ֨ה נְהִ֜י נִהְיָ֗ה אָמַר֙ שָׁד֣וֹד נְשַׁדֻּ֔נוּ חֵ֥לֶק עַמִּ֖י יָמִ֑יר אֵ֚יךְ יָמִ֣ישׁ לִ֔י לְשׁוֹבֵ֥ב שָׂדֵ֖ינוּ יְחַלֵּֽק׃

On that day they will raise a taunt against you and wail with bitter lamentation: 'We are utterly ruined! He changes the portion of my people. How he removes it from me! To the rebellious he divides our fields.'

KJV In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The mashal ('taunt, parable, proverb') is a mocking song — the very people who seized others' land will become the subject of a satirical lament. The phrase nehiyah nihyah ('it has happened, it is done') uses a cognate construction for emphasis. The irony is complete: they divided others' fields (v. 2), and now their own fields are divided (yechalleq) among others. The word chelqi ('my portion') refers to the covenant allotment of land — its loss is catastrophic in Israel's theological framework.
Micah 2:5

לָכֵ֗ן לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֤ה לְךָ֙ מַשְׁלִ֣יךְ חֶ֔בֶל בְּגוֹרָ֖ל בִּקְהַ֥ל יְהוָֽה׃

Therefore you will have no one to divide land by lot in the assembly of the LORD.

KJV Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The punishment fits the crime: the land-grabbers will have no representative to cast the measuring line (chevel) when land is redistributed 'in the assembly of the LORD' (biqhal YHWH). The chevel is the surveyor's cord used in land division — the very instrument of allotment is denied to them. The reference to 'the assembly of the LORD' may point to a future restoration when land will be redistributed, but the guilty will be excluded from it.
Micah 2:6

אַל־תַּטִּ֕פוּ יַטִּיפ֖וּן לֹֽא־יַטִּ֣פוּ לָאֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֥א יִסַּ֖ג כְּלִמּֽוֹת׃

"Do not preach!" they preach. "They should not preach about these things! Disgrace will not overtake us."

KJV Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb nataf ('to drip') is used metaphorically for prophetic speech — to preach, to prophesy (literally, 'to let words drip'). The opponents use Micah's own verb against him: 'do not drip!' (al tattifu). The irony is that in telling the prophet not to preach, they are themselves preaching (yattifun). The phrase lo yissag kelimmot ('disgrace will not overtake us') reveals their self-assured complacency — they believe they are immune to the consequences Micah proclaims.
Micah 2:7

הֶאָמ֣וּר בֵּית־יַעֲקֹ֗ב הֲקָצַר֙ ר֣וּחַ יְהוָ֔ה אִם־אֵ֖לֶּה מַעֲלָלָ֑יו הֲל֣וֹא דְבָרַ֗י יֵיטִ֛יבוּ עִ֥ם הַיָּשָׁ֖ר הוֹלֵֽךְ׃

Should it be said, O house of Jacob: 'Is the spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these his deeds?' Do not my words do good to the one who walks uprightly?

KJV O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God responds to the opponents. The phrase haqatsar ruach YHWH ('Is the spirit of the LORD shortened/impatient?') uses qatsar ('to be short') — the opponents imply God would not actually do what Micah threatens. God's counter: His words 'do good' (yeitivu) to those who walk uprightly (hayashar holekh) — the problem is not with the prophetic message but with the audience's conduct. The implication is clear: if Micah's words sound like judgment, it is because the hearers are not walking uprightly.
Micah 2:8

וְאֶתְמ֗וּל עַמִּי֙ לְאוֹיֵ֣ב יְקוֹמֵ֔ם מִמּ֣וּל שַׂלְמָ֔ה אֶ֖דֶר תַּפְשִׁט֑וּן מֵעֹבְרִ֣ים בֶּ֔טַח שׁוּבֵ֖י מִלְחָמָֽה׃

But recently my people have risen up as an enemy. You strip the rich robe from those who pass by peacefully, from those returning from war.

KJV Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God accuses His own people of acting like an enemy (le'oyev) — they have become hostile to their own. The phrase eder tafshitun ('you strip the splendid robe') describes robbing travelers of their outer garments — a violation of both law (Exodus 22:26-27) and basic decency. The victims are described as 'passing by peacefully' (overim betach) and 'returning from war' (shuvei milchamah) — they are unarmed, trusting, vulnerable. The Hebrew of this verse is textually difficult and has been debated extensively among scholars.
Micah 2:9

נְשֵׁ֣י עַמִּ֗י תְּגָ֣רְשׁוּן מִבֵּ֣ית תַּעֲנֻגֶ֑יהָ מֵעַל֙ עֹֽלָלֶ֔יהָ תִּקְח֥וּ הֲדָרִ֖י לְעוֹלָֽם׃

The women of my people you drive out from their comfortable homes. From their children you take away my splendor forever.

KJV The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The crime now targets the most vulnerable: women and children. The verb tegareshun ('you drive out') is the same word used for divorce (Leviticus 21:7) — these women are expelled from their own homes. The phrase hadari ('my splendor') — God speaks of 'my splendor' being taken from the children. This may refer to the children's covenant inheritance, their dignity, or their freedom. The word le'olam ('forever') intensifies the tragedy — this is not temporary deprivation but permanent dispossession.
Micah 2:10

ק֣וּמוּ וּלְכ֔וּ כִּ֥י לֹא־זֹ֖את הַמְּנוּחָ֑ה בַּעֲב֤וּר טָמְאָה֙ תְּחַבֵּ֔ל וְחֶ֖בֶל נִמְרָֽץ׃

Get up and go! For this is not your resting place, because of the defilement that brings destruction, a painful destruction.

KJV Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The command qumu ulekhu ('get up and go') echoes God's commission to Jonah (Jonah 1:2) but here is a sentence of exile. The menuchah ('rest, resting place') alludes to the Deuteronomic promise of rest in the land (Deuteronomy 12:9) — the land was supposed to be Israel's rest, but defilement (tum'ah) has corrupted it. The wordplay chevel nimrats ('painful destruction') uses chevel, which can mean both 'cord' (the surveyor's cord of v. 5) and 'destruction/pain.' The land that was measured out by cord will be destroyed.
Micah 2:11

ל֣וּ אִישׁ־הֹלֵ֤ךְ ר֙וּחַ֙ וָשֶׁ֣קֶר כִּזֵּ֔ב אַטִּ֣ף לְךָ֔ לַיַּ֖יִן וְלַשֵּׁכָ֑ר וְהָיָ֥ה מַטִּ֖יף הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה׃

If a man walking in wind and lies were to deceive and say, 'I will preach to you about wine and strong drink' — he would be the preacher for this people!

KJV If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A devastating indictment of the people's taste in prophets. The word ruach ('wind, spirit') here carries the sense of empty wind — hot air. A prophet who spouts nonsense (sheker, 'falsehood') and preaches about wine and beer (yayin veshekar) would be enthusiastically received. The verb attif ('I will preach') returns to the nataf/drip verb from verse 6, completing the wordplay: Micah's opponents told him not to 'drip,' but they would eagerly accept a prophet who 'drips' messages about alcohol. The sarcasm is withering.
Micah 2:12

אָסֹ֨ף אֶאֱסֹ֜ף יַעֲקֹ֣ב כֻּלָּ֗ךְ קַבֵּ֤ץ אֲקַבֵּץ֙ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יַ֥חַד אֲשִׂימֶ֖נּוּ כְּצֹ֣אן בָּצְרָ֑ה כְּעֵ֕דֶר בְּת֥וֹךְ הַדָּבְר֖וֹ תְּהִימֶ֥נָה מֵאָדָֽם׃

"I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely assemble the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture — a noisy throng of people."

KJV 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 the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The tone shifts abruptly from judgment to restoration. The double infinitive absolute (asof e'esof... qabbets aqabbets) expresses emphatic certainty — 'I will surely, surely gather.' The 'remnant of Israel' (she'erit Yisra'el) introduces a key concept in Micah: not all will be lost; a faithful remainder will survive. The imagery of sheep in a pen (tso'n botsrah) suggests both protection and abundance — the pen is so full it buzzes with noise (tehimenah me'adam, 'they will hum with people'). Some scholars read botsrah as a reference to the city Bozrah in Edom, but the context favors the common noun 'pen, enclosure.'
Micah 2:13

עָלָ֤ה הַפֹּרֵץ֙ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם פָּרְצ֥וּ וַיַּעֲבֹ֖רוּ שַׁ֣עַר וַיֵּ֣צְאוּ ב֑וֹ וַיַּעֲבֹ֤ר מַלְכָּם֙ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיהוָ֖ה בְּרֹאשָֽׁם׃

The one who breaks open the way goes up before them; they break through, pass through the gate, and go out by it. Their king passes on before them, the LORD at their head.

KJV The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The haporets ('the one who breaks open') is a messianic title in later Jewish interpretation — the one who breaks open the way of exile and leads the flock home. The image is of a shepherd breaking through a pen's wall or gate so the flock can follow. The final identification — 'their king... the LORD at their head' (malkam... vaYHWH berosham) — places God Himself as the king who leads the procession. The term malkam ('their king') could also be read as a reference to the Messiah. The verse moves from sheep imagery to royal procession, blending pastoral and monarchic metaphors.
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