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Micah Chapter Six

 

Micah 6 Outlines

God Pleads with Israel (v.1~8)

Punishment of Israel’s Injustice (v.9~16)

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 6

This chapter contains reproofs of the people of Israel for their sins threatening them with punishment for them. The prophet is bid to tell them of the controversy the Lord had with them which he did Micah 6:1; and the Lord calls upon them to declare if they had any thing to object to his attitude towards them Micah 6:3; and then puts them in mind of the favours they had received from him in bringing them out of Egypt and giving them such useful persons to go before them lead and instruct them as he had Micah 6:4; and also reminds them of what passed between Balak king of Moab and Balaam the soothsayer; the questions of the one and the answer of the other; whereby the designs of the former against them were frustrated Micah 6:5; but since the voice of the Lord by his prophet was disregarded by them they are called upon to hearken to the voice of his rod Micah 6:9; which should be laid upon them for their fraudulent dealings injustice oppression lies and deceit Micah 6:10; and therefore are threatened with sickness and desolation and a deprivation of all good things the fruit of their labours Micah 6:13; and that because the statutes of Omri the works of Ahab and their counsels were observed by them Micah 6:16.

 

Micah 6:1   Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise plead your case before the mountains And let the hills hear your voice.
   YLT 
1Hear I pray you that which Jehovah is saying: `Rise -- strive thou with the mountains And cause thou the hills to hear thy voice.'

Hear ye now what the Lord saith .... Here begins a new discourse and with an address of the prophet to the people of Israel to hear what the Lord had to say to them by way of reproof for their sins now as they had heard before many great and precious promises concerning the Messiah and the happiness of the church in future time; to hear what the Lord now said to them by the prophet and what he said to the prophet himself as follows:

arise; O Prophet Micah and do thine office; sit not still nor indulge to sloth and ease; show readiness diligence activity zeal and courage in my service and in carrying a message from me to my people:

contend thou before the mountains and let the hills hear thy voice; open the cause depending between me and my people; state the case between us before the mountains and hills; and exert thyself and lift up thy voice loudly and with so much vehemence that if it was possible the very mountains and hills might hear thee; the Lord hereby suggests that they would as soon hear as his people; thus upbraiding their stupidity as he elsewhere does; see Isaiah 1:2. Kimchi and Ben Melech render it to the mountains which is much to the same sense with our version; call and summon them as witnesses in this cause; let the pleadings be made before them and let them be judges in this matter; as they might be both for God and against his people: the mountains and hills clothed with grass and covered with flocks and herds; or set with all manner of fruit trees vines olives and figs; or adorned with goodly cedars oaks and elms; were witnesses of the goodness of God unto them and the same could testify against them; and had they mouths to speak could declare the abominations committed on them; how upon every high mountain and hill and under every green tree they had been guilty of idolatry. The Targum and many versionsF17את ההרים "cum istis montiibus" Junius & Tremellius Piscator Tarnovius; "cum montibus" Montanus Munster Cocceius Burkius. render it "with the mountains"; and the Vulgate Latin version and others "against the mountains"F18"Adversum montes" V. L. Grotius. ; the inhabitants of Judea that being a mountainous country especially some parts of it. Some by "mountains" understand the great men of the land king princes nobles; and by "hills" lesser magistrates with whom the Lord's controversy chiefly was; they not discharging their offices aright nor setting good examples to the people. Some copies of the Targum as the king of Spain's Bible paraphrase it

"judge or contend with the fathers and let the mothers hear thy voice;'

which Kimchi thus explains as if it was said let the fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the mothers Sarah Rebekah Rachel and Leah hear what their children hath rendered to the Lord; let them be as it were called out of their graves to hear the ill requital made to the Lord for all his goodness.

 

Micah 6:2   2 Hear O you mountains the Lord’s complaint And you strong foundations of the earth; For the Lord has a complaint against His people And He will contend with Israel.

   YLT  2Hear O mountains the strife of Jehovah Ye strong ones -- foundations of earth! For a strife [is] to Jehovah with His people And with Israel He doth reason.

Hear ye O mountains the Lord's controversy and ye strong foundations of the earth .... These are the words of the prophet obeying the divine command calling upon the mountains which are the strong parts of the earth and the bottoms of them the foundations of it to hear the Lord's controversy with his people and judge between them; or as some think these are the persons with whom and against whom the controversy was; the chief and principal men of the land who were as pillars to the common people to support and uphold them:

for the Lord hath a controversy with his people and he will plead with Israel; his people Israel who were so by choice by covenant by their own avouchment and profession: they had been guilty of many sins and transgressions against both tables of the law; and now the Lord had a controversy with them for them and was determined to enter into judgment and litigate the point with them; and dreadful it is when God brings in a charge and pleads his own cause with sinful men; they are not able to contend with him nor answer him for one of a thousand faults committed against him; see Hosea 4:1.

 

Micah 6:3   3 “O My people what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.
   YLT 
3O My people what have I done to thee? And what -- have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.

O my people .... These are the words of the Lord himself by the prophet expressing his strong affection to the people of Israel of which his goodness to them was a full proof and this was an aggravation of their ingratitude to him; they were his people whom he had chosen for himself above all people of the earth; whom he had redeemed from the house of bondage had distinguished them by his layouts and loaded them with his benefits and yet they sinned against him:

what have I done unto thee? what evil things what injuries to provoke to such usage? "what iniquity have you" or "your fathers found in me" to treat me after this manner? have I been "a wilderness" or "a land of darkness" to you? Jeremiah 2:5; have I withheld or denied you anything that was for your good? The Targum is

"O my people what good have I said I would do unto thee and I have not done it?'

all that the Lord had promised he had performed; not one good thing had failed he had spoken of; how much good and how many good things had he done for them? nay what good things were there he had not done for them? and what more could be done for them than what had been done? and yet they sinned against him so grossly; see Isaiah 5:4;

and wherein have I wearied thee? what heavy yoke have I put upon thee? what grievous commandments have I enjoined thee? is there anything in my service any duty too hard severe or unreasonable? are the sacrifices required burdensome? "have I caused thee to serve with an offering and wearied thee with incense?" is there any just reason to say of these things "what a weariness is it?" See Isaiah 43:23;

testify against me; declare it publicly if any good thing has been wanting or any evil thing done: thus the Lord condescends to have the case fairly debated and everything said that could be said in their favour or against him: astonishing condescension and goodness!

 

Micah 6:4   4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses Aaron and Miriam.
   YLT 
4For I brought thee up from the land of Egypt And from the house of servants I have ransomed thee And I send before thee Moses Aaron and Miriam.

For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt .... Instead of doing them any wrong he had done them much good; of which this is one instance and he was able to produce more: this a notorious plain and full proof of his goodness to them which could not be denied. It may be rendered as it is by some "surely I brought thee up"F19כי "certe" Calvin Piscator Tarnovius; so some in Vatablus. &c. this is a certain thing well known and cannot be disproved; it must be allowed to be a great favour and kindness to be brought up out of a superstitious idolatrous Heathenish people enemies to God and true religion and who had used them in a barbarous and cruel manner:

and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; or "out of the house of bondage"; as the same words are rendered Exodus 20:2; that is out of hard service in which their lives were made bitter; out of cruel bondage and slavery; which made them cry to the Lord for help and deliverance and he heard them and sent them a deliverer; by whose hand he redeemed them from this base and low estate in which they were and for which they ought ever to have been thankful and to have shown their gratitude by their cheerful and constant obedience. Some take "the house of servants" to be descriptive not of the state of the children of Israel in Egypt but of the character of the Egyptians themselves; who being the posterity of Ham were inheritors of his curse that he should be a servant of servants; and so it is an aggravation of the blessing that Israel were redeemed from being servants to the servants of servants. This sense is mentioned by Kimchi and Abarbinel:

and I sent before thee Moses Aaron and Miriam; not to bring them the news of their deliverance out of Egypt before they came out of it as Kimchi; but to be their guides to conduct and direct them in all matters civil and religious. Moses was their lawgiver leader and commander; Aaron was their priest to offer sacrifice for them and to intercede on their behalf; and Miriam was a prophetess; and they were all very useful and beneficial to them; and a very great blessing it is to a people to have a good constitution civil and ecclesiastic and to have good magistrates and good ministers of the word. The Targum is

"I sent before thee three prophets Moses to teach the tradition of the judgments Aaron to make atonement for the people and Miriam to instruct the women.'

 

Micah 6:5   5 O My people remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him From Acacia Grove[a] to Gilgal That you may know the righteousness of the Lord.”

   YLT  5O My people remember I pray you What counsel did Balak king of Moab What answer him did Balaam son of Beor (From Shittim unto Gilgal ) In order to know the righteous acts of Jehovah.'

O my people remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted .... What a scheme he had laid; what contrivances he had formed; what consultations he had with a soothsayer or diviner he sent for to curse Israel; how he sought to get the God of Israel on his side and to set him against them that he might be rid of them and they be ruined and destroyed. The Moabites were the descendants of Moab a son of Lot by one of his daughters; when they first set up their kingdom is not certain; nor who their kings in succession were before Balak: it appears there was a former king whom the king of the Amorites fought with and took away his land from him Numbers 21:26; who probably was Zippor the father of Balak and whom he succeeded; the kingdom being recovered by him or by this his son; however he was on the throne when Israel was upon the borders of his kingdom which threw him into a panic; upon which he sent messengers to a neighbouring magician next mentioned to advise with him what to do in this his extremity; and the Jews have a tradition that because of the multitude of sacrifices he offered he was worthy to have Ruth the descendant from him; who they say was the daughter of Eglon the grandson of Balak king of MoabF19T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 105. 2. :

and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; this man is called a soothsayer Joshua 13:22; The Jews say he was first a prophet; and so the Apostle Peter calls him 2 Peter 2:16; and afterwards became a divinerF20Ib. fol. 106. 1. : they differ very much about him who he was and from whom he descended. Beor his father is sometimes said to be the son of LabanF21Shalshelet Hakabala fol. 7. 1. ; and at other times Balaam himself is said to be Laban the SyrianF23Targum Jon. in Numb. xxii. 5. Targum in 1 Chron. i. 44. Vid. Burkium ib. whose soul they suppose transmigrated into Balaam as it afterwards did into Nabal according to them. SomeF24Hieron. Quaeat. Hebr. in Genesim fol. 69. D. take him to be the same with Elihu who interposed in the dispute between Job and his friends; and others say that he was one of the eunuchs counsellors and magicians of Pharaoh both when Moses was a child and when he wrought his miracles in Egypt; and that Jannes and Jambres of whom the Apostle Paul makes mention 2 Timothy 3:8; were his two sonsF25Dibre Hayamim Shel Moseh fol. 4. 2. & 6. 2. Targum Jon. in Exod. ix. 21. Shemot Rabba sect. 1. fol. 90. 1. T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 106. : he was an inhabitant of Pethor which was situated on the river Euphrates thought by Junius to be the Pacoria of Ptolemy: he seems to have been a Mesopotamian though some say a Midianite; but whether one or the other he did not live at any great distance from the king of Moab: he was slain by the sword the children of Israel in the times of Joshua Joshua 13:22; and as the Jews sayF26T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 106. 2. Shalshelet Hakabala fol. 7. 2. he was when he was but thirty three or thirty four years of age; they observing upon it that bloody and deceitful men do not live out half their days; but this does not seem so well to agree with other things they say of him; however this soothsayer and sorcerer Balak sent for to curse Israel; whose heart and tongue though a wicked man and would fain have done according to Balak's wish and desire were so overruled by the power of God that instead of cursing Israel he was obliged to bless them and to prophesy of their future happiness and prosperity and of the Messiah that should spring from them; see history of all this in Numbers 22:1;

from Shittim unto Gilgal that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord; here something must be supplied to make sense of the words; either "remember what good things I did for youF1"Recordare qualia bona exhibuerim tibi" Munster; "memento eorum quae gesta sunt" Vatablus; "quae contigerint tibi" Calvin; "memento eorum quae fecerim" Grotius; "recordare quid evenerit tibi" Piscator. from Shittim to Gilgal"; the former was the place where the children of Israel committed whoredom and idolatry and was on the other side Jordan; and the latter was the place they came to when they had passed over Jordan where the covenant of circumcision was renewed and the first passover kept; now they are called upon to remember the goodness of God unto them from one place to another and what were done between them; how that at Shittim though they provoked the Lord to anger yet he did not cut them all off but spared a number of them to enter and possess the land of Canaan; and though Moses died by the way yet be raised up Joshua to go before them and in a miraculous manner led them through the river Jordan and brought them to Gilgal--favours ever to he had in remembrance. So the Targum

"were not great things done for you in the plain of Shittim unto the house of Gilgal that the righteousness of the Lord might be known?'

both his justice in punishing offenders at Shittim and his bounty and kindness as well as his truth and faithfulness in sparing others; bestowing his favours on them and bringing them into the promised land: or it may be supplied thus as by some "remember what Balak consultedF2"Memento quid cogifaverit contra te Balac et quid responderit ei Balaam a Settim" &c. Ribera; so Menochius Tirinus. from Shittim to Gilgal"; that is with Balaam and what answer and advice he gave him; which was to send beautiful women among the Israelites and so tempt them to adultery and by that means to idolatry; and which scheme and consultation took place at Shittim by means of which several thousands were slain; and the device was to have continued the temptation even to Gilgal which had it not been prevented in all likelihood would have issued in the destruction of that people; and therefore they had reason to know own and acknowledge the goodness and faithfulness of God unto them: or rather taking the phrase "from Shittim to Gilgal" to be a proverbial oneF3See Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity p. 290. of going from place to place it may have respect to Balak's having Balaam from place to place to take a view of the people and curse them; or how he might set the God of Israel against them and gain him over to him; and then the sense is this

"remember how Balak consulted Balaam from place to place and what answers he returned him; all which was done that "he (Balak) might know the righteousness of the Lord";'

and so the Syriac version renders it and it will bear to be so rendered: the thing which Balak chiefly consulted was how he should get the God of Israel on his side; as it was usual with Heathen princes when at war to attempt to get the gods of their enemies from them and on their side; and inquires of Balaam how this was to be effected; what righteousness it was the Lord required; what duties of religion to be performed; what rites or sacrifices were acceptable to him; and the sum of his questions on this head and Balaam's answer to them are contained in the following verses.

 

Micah 6:6   6 With what shall I come before the Lord And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings With calves a year old?
   YLT 
6With what do I come before Jehovah? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves -- sons of a year?

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord .... These are not the words of the people of Israel God had a controversy with and now made sensible of their sin and humbled for it; and willing to appease the Lord and make it up with him at any rate; for there are such things proposed by them as do by no means suit with persons of such a character nay even suppose them to be hypocritical; and much less are they what were put into their mouths by the prophet to say as some suggest; but they are the words of Balak king of Moab which and what follow are questions he put to Balaam who had told him that he could do nothing without the Lord nor anything contrary to his word: now he asks what he must do to get the good will of this Lord; in what manner and with what he must appear before him serve and worship him as the Targum; that so he might have an interest in him and get him to speak a word to Balaam in his favour and against Israel; see Numbers 22:8;

and bow myself before the high God? the most high God the God of gods whose Shechinah or Majesty is in the high heavens as the Targum: his meaning is with what he should come or bring with him when he paid his homage and obeisance to him by bowing his body or his knee before him; being willing to do it in the most acceptable manner he could:

shall I come before him with burnt offerings with calves of a year old? such as he had been used to offer on the high places of Baal to that deity. Sacrifices of this kind prevailed among the Heathens which they had received by tradition from the times of Adam and Noah; see Numbers 22:41.

 

Micah 6:7   7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

   YLT  7Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my first-born [for] my transgression? The fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams .... If single burnt offerings of bullocks and heifers will not do will rams and thousands of them be acceptable to him? if they will they are at his service even as many as he pleases; such creatures as well as oxen were offered by Balak Numbers 23:1;

or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? for meat offerings as Jarchi in which oil was used: this is a hyperbolical expression as Kimchi rightly observes; suggesting that he was willing to be at any expenses even the most extravagant if he could but gain his point and get the God of Israel on his side. Some render it "ten thousands of fat valleys"F4ברבבות נחלי שמן "in decem millibus vallium pinguium" Munster. ; abounding with corn and wine and oil; the produce of which had he so many he could freely part with could he but obtain his end; see Job 20:17;

shall I give my firstborn for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? his Son his firstborn his own flesh and blood to make atonement for his sins and transgressions; this betrays the person speaking. The people of Israel though they were sometimes guilty of this horrid unnatural and abominable sin in the height of their degeneracy and apostasy as to sacrifice their children to Mo; yet when convinced of their sins and humbling themselves before God for them even though but in a hypocritical way could never be so weak and foolish so impious and audacious as to propose that to God which they knew was so contrary to his will and so abominable in his sight Leviticus 18:21; but this comes well enough from a Heathen prince with whom it was the height of his devotion and religion and the greatest sacrifice he thought he could offer up to God; for there is a climax a gradation in the words from lesser things to greater; and this is the greatest of all and what was done among the Heathens 2 Kings 17:31; and was afterwards done by a king of Moab 2 Kings 3:26.

 

Micah 6:8   8 He has shown you O man what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly To love mercy And to walk humbly with your God?

   YLT  8He hath declared to thee O man what [is] good; Yea what is Jehovah requiring of thee Except -- to do judgment and love kindness And lowly to walk with thy God?

He hath showed me O man what is good .... This is not the answer of the prophet to the body of the people or to any and every one of the people of Israel; but of Balaam to Balak a single man that consulted with him and put questions to him; particularly what he should do to please the Lord and what righteousness he required of him that would be acceptable to him; and though he was a king he was but a man and he would have him know it that he was no more and as such addresses him; and especially when he is informing him of his duty to God; which lay not in such things as he had proposed but in doing that which was good and avoiding that which was evil in a moral sense: and this the Lord had shown him by the light of nature; which is no other than the work of the law of God written in the hearts of the Heathens by which they are directed to do the good commanded in the law and to shun the evil forbidden by it; see Romans 2:14;

and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly; or "judgment"F5משפט "judicium" V. L. Munster; "jus" Junius & Tremellius Piscator. ; to exercise public judgment and justice as a king among his subjects; to do private and personal justice between man and man; to hurt no man's person property and character; to give to everyone their due and do as he would desire to be done by; which as it is agreeable to the law of God so to the light of nature and what is shown required and taught by it:

and to love mercy; not only to show mercy to miserable objects to persons in distress; to relieve the poor and indigent; to clothe the naked and feed the hungry; but to delight in such exercises; and which a king especially should do whose throne is established by mercy and who is able and should be munificent; and some Heathen princes by their liberality have gained the name of benefactors "Euergetes" as one of the Ptolemies did; see Luke 22:25; such advice Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar a Heathen prince as agreeable to the light of nature; see Daniel 4:27;

and to walk humbly with thy God? his Creator and Benefactor from whom he had his being and all the blessings of life and was dependent upon him; and therefore as a creature should behave with humility towards his Creator acknowledging his distance from him and the obligations he lay under to him; and even though a king yet his God and Creator was above him King of kings and Lord of lords to whom he owed his crown sceptre and kingdom and was accountable to him for all his administrations: and this "walking humbly" is opposed to "walking in pride" which kings are apt to do; but God can humble them and bring them low as Heathen kings have been obliged to own; see Daniel 2:21.

 

Micah 6:9   9 The Lord’s voice cries to the city— Wisdom shall see Your name: “Hear the rod! Who has appointed it?
   YLT 
9A voice of Jehovah to the city calleth And wisdom doth fear Thy name Hear ye the rod and Him who appointed it.

The Lord's voice crieth unto the city .... The Lord having bid his prophet call to the mountains and hills to hear his voice and the prophet having obeyed his will and the Lord having by him addressed his people Israel and expostulated with them about their ingratitude observing to them many instances of his goodness; here informs them that this voice of his whether in his prophet or in his judgments was directed to the city either Samaria or Jerusalem or both and even to all the cities of Israel and Judah the singular being put for the plural; that is to the inhabitants of them. Cities being populous and where persons of the highest rank and figure as well as of the best sense dwell and generally very wicked though favoured with greater advantages; all which are reasons why the voice of the Lord in his word and providences particularly cries to them to repent of their sins and reform from them as might be expected from such persons; and so doing would set a good example to those who live in the country. Some render it "the Lord's voice crieth to awake"F6לעיר "ad suscitandum" Vatablus; "ad expergefaciendum" Calvin; "ad excitandum" Drusius. So Joseph Kimchi. ; or to "stir up"; it calls upon men asleep to awake out of sleep; to arouse from their carnal security; to attend to their sins their danger and their duty; to repent of their sins and so avoid the danger they were in through them and perform their duty they had such a voice as this see in Ephesians 5:14; this reading of the words is mentioned by Kimchi;

and the man of wisdom shall see thy name; not the mere natural man or who is possessed only of natural wisdom though he may have ever so great a share of it; for as he sees not the things of the Spirit of God the things of the Gospel so neither the name and perfections of God in his judgments on the earth; much less the man that is wise to do evil full of wicked subtlety and makes a jest of everything religious and serious; nor such as are wise in their own opinion or have only a superficial share of wisdom; but such who have a share of solid and substantial wisdom a man of "substance" as the wordF7תושיה "vir constans" Pagninus; "vir essentilae" Gualtherus apud Tarnovium. sometimes signifies; see Proverbs 8:21; such who have true wisdom in the hidden part that which comes from above and is pure and peaceable and makes men wise to salvation; such men see and discern the power and providence of God in all the judgments that are in the earth; his attributes and perfections; his severity on some and goodness to others; his sparing grace and mercy and his special lovingkindness and even all his perfections for he is known to such by the judgments he executeth; see Psalm 9:16; and such "fear" his "name" also as some render the wordsF8יראה שמך "timebit nomen tuum" Pagninus Montanus. So the Targum. ; they not only fear the Lord and his goodness but have an awful sense of his judgments and tremble at them. Some read the words "thy name sees that which is"F9"Nam quod res est videt nomen tuum" Junius & Tremellius Piscator Tarnovius. ; so the margin of our Bibles; that is the Lord seeth that which is done in the city though ever so secret and private and therefore his voice cries to it;

hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it; these are the words of the man of wisdom as Kimchi observes; who seeing the name and perfections of God in his judgments on the earth upon others and exhorts them to hear the voice rod of the rod of correction and affliction the rod of judgment and vengeance as held in the hand of God and shook over a city or nation; which has a voice in if to men reproving them for their sins; commanding them to return from them; calling them to repentance and humiliation; teaching and instructing them in their duty; and giving cautions and warnings to others lest the like should befall them; and this is the voice that is to be attended to: audit should be considered that there is no affliction calamity or judgment but is appointed by the Lord the kind and nature measure and duration of it; what its end issue and use; and he that has appointed it is all wise and all knowing unchangeable and invariable all powerful and able to put his purposes and decrees into execution; nor can they be frustrated. The Targum of the whole is

"with the voice the prophets of the Lord Cry to the city; and teachers fear the name (of the Lord); hear O king and rulers and the rest of the people of the land.'

 

Micah 6:10   10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked And the short measure that is an abomination?
   YLT 
10Are there yet [in] the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness And the abhorred scanty ephah?

Are there yet the treasures of wickedness the house of the wicked?.... There are; they continue there. This is the voice of the Lord by the prophet and the language of the rod of correction to be heard exposing the sins of the people for which the Lord had a controversy with them; particularly their mammon of unrighteousness the vast wealth riches and treasures collected together by very wicked and unlawful ways and means; and which instead of restoring them to the persons they had defrauded of them they retained them in their houses notwithstanding the reproofs of the prophets and the corrections of the Almighty. Some render it "is there not fire?" &c.F11עוד האש μη πυρ Sept. "adhuc ignis" V. L. So Joseph Kimchi. ; that is in the house of the wicked because of the treasures of wickedness that which consumes them; but GussetiusF12Ebr. Comment. p. 352. interprets it of fornications and adulteries. Others render it "is there yet a man?" &c.F13"Adhuc num vir domo" Montanus; "adhuc suntne viro domus improbi" some in Drusius. So R. Sol. Urbin fol. 37. 2. ; an honourable man as Aben Ezra who continues in his iniquity after the Lord's voice cries to the city; but Abendana interprets it of the prophet himself continuing to reprove the wicked for their treasures of wickedness and their other sins;

and the scant measure that is abominable? or "the ephah of leanness provoking to wrath"F14ואיפת רזרן זעומה "et ephah macilentiae indignatio a Deo proventura" Tarnovius; "detestatus Domino" Pagninus; "et ephah maciei abominatione digna" Burkius. ; that is a deficient measure less than it should be; the "ephah" was a dry measure and it was made small as in Amos 8:5; and held less than it should; and this brought leanness and poverty upon those to whom they sold by it as well as ruin upon themselves in the issue; for such practices as they were abominable and detestable to God; they stirred up his wrath and brought destruction on those that used them. The Targum is

"false measures that bring a curse.'

 

Micah 6:11   11 Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales And with the bag of deceitful weights?
   YLT 
11Do I reckon [it] pure with balances of wickedness? And with a bag of deceitful stones?

Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances .... These are the words either of the prophet or rather of God signifying that he could not and would not allow countenance and approve of persons that used false scales or balances; or justify and reckon them just as they would be thought to be but condemn them and pronounce them very wicked men and deserving of punishment here and hereafter:

and with the bag of deceitful weights? or "stones"F15אבני מרמה "lapidum doli" Piscator; "lapidum fraudis" Montanus. ; which were used in weighing goods and which were deceitful when a heavier was used in buying and a lighter in selling. So the Targum

"and with the bag in which are weights greater and lesser;'

condemned in Deuteronomy 25:13.

 

Micah 6:12   12 For her rich men are full of violence Her inhabitants have spoken lies And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
        YLT 
12Whose rich ones have been full of violence And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood And their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth.
For the rich men thereof are full of violence .... That is the rich men of the city to whom the voice of the Lord cried Micah 6:9. Jerusalem or Samaria or any or all the cities of Israel and Judah; the rich men of these cities who had enough of the world and were under no temptation to do an ill thing to get money; and yet their hands and their houses and their treasuries as the Targum were full of goods gotten by violent measures by the oppression of the poor and needy:

and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies; the rest of the inhabitants who were not so rich as others and who had it not in the power of their hands to oppress as others had; yet used deceitful and fraudulent methods to cheat their neighbours in buying and selling; and to do this did not stick to tell downright deliberate lies:

and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth; say one thing and mean another; deceive their neighbours with their tongues in trade and commerce; averting things for truth they know to be false.

 

Micah 6:13   13 “Therefore I will also make you sick by striking you By making you desolate because of your sins.
   YLT 
13And I also I have begun to smite thee To make desolate because of thy sins.

Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee .... With the rod to be heard Micah 6:9; by sending among them some of his sore judgments as famine pestilence the sword of the enemy internal wars and the like; which should cause their kingdom and state and families to decline and waste away as a sickly and diseased body. So the Targum

"and I brought upon thee illness and a stroke.'

The Septuagint Vulgate Latin Syriac and Arabic versions render it "and I began to smite thee"; as by Hazael king of Syria and Tiglathpileser king of Assyria who had carried part of them captive;

in making thee desolate because of thy sins; went on not only to make them sick and bring them into a declining state but into utter desolation; as by Shalmaneser king of Assyria who carried Israel captive; and by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon who led Judah captive because of their sins of idolatry injustice and oppression with others that abounded among them.

 

Micah 6:14   14 You shall eat but not be satisfied; Hunger[b] shall be in your midst. You may carry some away [c] but shall not save them; And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword.

   YLT  14Thou -- thou eatest and thou art not satisfied And thy pit [is] in thy midst And thou removest and dost not deliver And that which thou deliverest to a sword I give.

Thou shalt eat but not be satisfied .... Either not having enough to eat for the refreshing and satisfying of nature; or else a blessing being withheld from food though eaten and so not nourishing; or a voracious and insatiable appetite being given as a curse; the first sense seems best:

and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; meaning they should be humbled and brought down either by civil discords and wars among themselves or through the enemy being suffered to come into the midst of their country and make havoc there; which would be as a sickness and disease in their bowels. So the Targum

"thou shalt have an illness in thy bowels.'

The Syriac version is

"a dysentery shall be in thine intestines;'

a secret judgment wasting and destroying them;

and thou shall take hold but shall not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword; the sense is that they should take hold of their wives and children and endeavour to save them from the sword of the enemy and being carried captive: or should "remove" themF16ותסג "et amovebis" Junius & Tremellius Piscator Tarnovius; "summovebis" Drusius so Ben Melech; "et removebis" Burkius. as the word is sometimes used in order to secure them from them; or should "overtake"F17"Assequeris" Syr. ; the enemy carrying them captive; but should not be able by either of these methods to save them from being destroyed or carried away by them; and even such as they should preserve or rescue for a while yet these should be given up to the sword of the enemy the same or another. Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret this of their women conceiving and not bringing forth; and if they should yet what they brought forth should be slain by the swordF18R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed fol. 35. 2. . But the Targum and Jarchi incline to the former sense.

 

Micah 6:15   15 “You shall sow but not reap; You shall tread the olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; And make sweet wine but not drink wine.
   YLT 
15Thou -- thou sowest and thou dost not reap Thou -- thou treadest the olive And thou pourest not out oil And new wine -- and thou drinkest not wine.

Thou shall sow but thou shalt not reap .... Either that which is sown shall not spring up but rot in the earth; or if it does spring up and come to maturity yet before that they should be removed into captivity or slain by the sword and their enemies should reap the increase of their land their wheat and their grain:

thou shall tread the olives; in the olive press to get out the oil:

but thou shalt not anoint with oil; as at feasts for refreshment and at baths for health this becoming another's property; or it being a time of distress and mourning would not be used it being chiefly at festivals and occasions of joy that oil was used:

and sweet wine; that is shalt tread the grapes in the winepress to get out the sweet or new wine:

but shalt not drink wine; for before it is fit to drink the enemy would have it in his possession; see Leviticus 26:16; these are the punishments or corrections of the rod they are threatened with for their sins.

 

Micah 6:16   16 For the statutes of Omri are kept; All the works of Ahab’s house are done; And you walk in their counsels That I may make you a desolation And your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore you shall bear the reproach of My people.”[d]

   YLT  16And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri And all the work of the house of Ahab And ye do walk in their counsels For My giving thee for a desolation And its inhabitants for a hissing And the reproach of My people ye do bear!

For the statutes of Omri are kept .... Who of a captain of the army was made king of Israel and proved a wicked prince; he built Samaria and set up idolatrous worship there after the example of Jeroboam in whose ways he walked and as it seems established the same by laws and edicts; and which were everyone of them observed by the Israelites in the times of the prophet though at the distance of many years from the first making of them which aggravated their sin; nor would it be any excuse of them that what they practised was enjoined by royal authority since it was contrary to the command of God; for the breach of which and their observance of the statutes of such a wicked prince they are threatened with the judgments of God; see 1 Kings 16:16;

and all the works of the house of Ahab; who was the son of Omri and introduced the worship of Baal and added to the idolatry of the calves which he and his family practised; and the same works were now done by the people of Israel:

and ye walk in their counsels; as they advised and directed the people to do in their days:

that I should make thee a desolation; the city of Samaria the metropolis of Israel or the whole land which was made a desolation by Shalmaneser an instrument in the hand of God; and this was not the intention and design of their walking in the counsels and after the example of their idolatrous kings but the consequence and event of so doing:

and the inhabitants thereof an hissing; either of Samaria or of all the land who should become the scorn and derision of men when brought to ruin for their sins:

therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people; that which was threatened in the law to the people of God when disobedient to him; or shameful punishment for profaning the name and character of the people of God they bore; or for reproaching and ill using the poor among the people of God; and so it is directed to the rich men before spoken of and signifies the shame and ignominy they should bear by being carried captive into a foreign land for their sins.

 

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Footnotes:

  1. Micah 6:5 Hebrew Shittim (compare Numbers 25:1; Joshua 2:1; 3:1)
  2. Micah 6:14 Or Emptiness or Humiliation
  3. Micah 6:14 Targum and Vulgate read You shall take hold.
  4. Micah 6:16 Following Masoretic Text Targum and Vulgate; Septuagint reads of nations.