Micah 7:4

Micah 7:4

2 The ^afaithful man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
^bEvery man hunts his brother with a net.

3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a ^abribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.

4 The best of them is ^alike a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.

5 ^aDo not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your ^bbosom.

6 For ^ason dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will ^await for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

8 ^aDo not rejoice over me, my enemy;
^bWhen I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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Micah 7:5 >>

The best of them is as a brier - The gentlest of them is a thorn , strong, hard, piercing, which letteth nothing unresisting pass by but it taketh from it, "robbing the fleece, and wounding the sheep." "The most upright" , those who, in comparison of others still worse, seem so, "is sharper than a thorn hedge" , (literally, the upright, them a thorn hedge.) They are not like it only, but worse, and that in all ways; none is specified, and so none excepted; they were more crooked, more tangled, sharper. Both, as hedges, were set for protection; both, turned to injury. Jerome: "So that, where you would look for help, thence comes suffering." And if such be the best, what the rest?

The day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh - When all, even the good, are thus corrupted, the iniquity is full. Nothing now hinders the "visitation" , which "the watchmen" , or prophets, had so long foreseen and forewarned of. "Now shall be their perplexity" ; "now" , without delay; for the day of destruction ever breakcth suddenly upon the sinner. "When they say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them" I Thessalonians 5:3. : "whose destruction cometh suddenly at an instant" . They had perplexed the cause of the oppressed; they themselves were tangled together, intertwined in mischief, as a thorn-hedge. They should be caught in their own snare; they had perplexed their paths and should find no outlet.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Micah 7:4:**

Job 1:10

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Micah 7:5 >>

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