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2. Man's Plans and God's

¹ Woe to those who plan iniquity,
   to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
   because it is in their power to do it.
² They covet fields and seize them,
   and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
   they rob them of their inheritance.

³ Therefore, the LORD says:

   “I am planning disaster against this people,
   from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
   for it will be a time of calamity.
⁴ In that day people will ridicule you;
   they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;
   my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
   He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

⁵ Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide the land by lot.

False Prophets

    ⁶ “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
   “Do not prophesy about these things;
   disgrace will not overtake us.”
⁷ You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
   “Does the LORD become Or Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient?
   Does he do such things?”

   “Do not my words do good
   to the one whose ways are upright?
⁸ Lately my people have risen up
   like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
   from those who pass by without a care,
   like men returning from battle.
⁹ You drive the women of my people
   from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing
   from their children forever.
¹⁰ Get up, go away!
   For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
   it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
¹¹ If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
   ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’
   that would be just the prophet for this people!

Deliverance Promised

    ¹² “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
   I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
   like a flock in its pasture;
   the place will throng with people.
¹³ The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
   they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
   the LORD at their head.”

Micah confirms here what is contained in the former verse; for he sets forth the alacrity with which the avaricious were led to commit plunder; nay, how unbridled was their cupidity to do evil. As soon as they have coveted any thing, he says, they take it by force. And hence we gather, that the Prophet, in the last verse, connected wicked counsels with the attempt of effecting them; as though he had said, that they indeed carefully contrived their frauds, but that as they were skillful in their contrivances, so they were not less bold and daring in executing then.

The same thing he now repeats in other words for a further confirmation, As soon as they have coveted fields, they seize them by force; as soon as they have coveted houses they take them away; they oppress a man and his house together; ⁸⁰⁸⁰     This verse presents an instance of parallelism not uncommon, in which the first and the last line correspond, and the second and the third; as will be seen in the following version: —
   And they covet fields and forcibly seize them,
And houses, and they take them away;
Yea, they oppress the young man and his house,
And the old man and his inheritance.
   There must be some distinction between גבר, which I render, “the young man,” and איש, rendered above, “the old man.” The first means, robust, strong; and the second is a common term for man, but sometimes signifies a husband, and also a man in years. We may, indeed in harmony with the passage, consider the first as meaning a householder, and the latter as signifying a husbandman. The fields in the first line are the same with the inheritance in the last: and houses and a house are mentioned in the two intervening lines. — Ed. that is, nothing escaped them: for as their wickedness in frauds was great, so their disposition to attempt whatever they wished was furious. And well would it be were there no such cruel avarice at this day; but it exists every where, so that we may see, as in a mirror, an example of what is here said. But it behaves us carefully to consider how greatly displeasing to God are frauds and plunders, so that each of us may keep himself from doing any wrong, and be so ruled by a desire of what is right, that every one of us may act in good faith towards his neighbors, seek nothing that is unjust, and bridle his own desires: and whenever Satan attempts to allure us, let what is here taught be to us as a bridle to restrain us. It follows —