Micah 2:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Micah 2:1
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.
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
iniquity
אָ֛וֶן'A.ven
H205
strictly nothingness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
work
וּפֹ֥עֲלֵיu.Fo.'a.lei
H6466
to do or make (systematically and habitually) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
evil
רָ֖עra'
H7451
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
beds
מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָ֑םmish.ke.vo.Tam
H4904
a bed (figuratively · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
morning
הַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ha.Bo.ker
H1242
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
light
בְּא֤וֹרbe.'or
H216
illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
practise
יַעֲשׂ֔וּהָya.'a.Su.ha
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
is
יֶשׁyesh-
H3426
there is or are (or any other form of the verb to be · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
power
לְאֵ֖לle.'El
H410
strength · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
hand
יָדָֽםya.Dam
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
Isaiah 32:7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh ri…
Psalms 7:14-16 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
Hosea 7:6-7 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as…
Proverbs 6:12-19 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
Nahum 1:11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
Proverbs 4:16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Romans 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Micah 2:1-5
Here is, I. The injustice of man contriving the evil of sin, Mic 2:1, Mic 2:2. God was coming forth against this people to destroy them, and here he shows what was the ground of his controversy with them; it is that which is often mentioned as a sin that hastens the ruin of nations and families as much as any, the sin of oppression. Let us see the steps of it. 1. They eagerly desire that which is not their own - that is the root of bitterness, the root of all evil, Mic 2:2. They covet fields and houses, as Ahab did Naboth's vineyard. "Oh that such a one's field and house were mine! It lies convenient for me, and I would manage it better than he does; it is fitter for me than for him." 2. The…
Wo to them that devise iniquity - Who lay schemes and plans for transgressions; who make it their study to find out new modes of sinning; and make these things their nocturnal meditations, that, having fixed their plan, they may begin to execute it as soon as it is light in the morning.
Because it is in the power of their hand - They think they may do whatever they have power and opportunity to do.
John Gill on Micah 2:1
Woe to them that devise iniquity,.... Any kind of iniquity; idolatry, or worshipping of idols, for the word is used sometimes for an idol; or the sin of uncleanness, on which the thoughts too often dwell in the night season; or coveting of neighbours' goods, and oppressing the poor; sins which are instanced in Micah 2:2; and every thing that is vain, foolish, and wicked, and in the issue brings trouble and distress: now a woe is denounced against such that think on such things, and please themselves with them in their imaginations, and contrive ways and means to commit them:
and work evil upon their beds; when, the senses being less engaged, the thoughts are more free; but should not be emp…
Micah 2:1
1. Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
1. Vae cogitantibus iniquitatem et fabricantibus malitiam super cubilibus suis! Quum illuxerit mane, exequentur eam, quia est ad potentiam manus ipsorum.
The Prophet does not here speak only against the Israelites, as some think, who have incorrectly confined this part of his teaching to the ten tribes; but he, on the contrary, (in discharging his office, addresses also the Jews. He refers not here to idolatry, as in the last chapter; but inveighs against sins condemned in the second table. As then the Jews had not only pollu…
The Church Fathers
(Chapter 2—Verse 1 onwards) Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil upon their beds! In the morning light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am devising against this family an evil from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil time. On that day, this parable shall be taken up against you, and a song shall be sung with sweetness, saying: We have been utterly devastated. The portion of my people has been changed. How shall he withdraw from me, when he shall return, who will divide our regions? For this reason, there will be no one sending out a measuring line to the assembly of the Lord. LXX: They have become those who think about labors and do evil in their beds. And together, on the day of the consummation, they will complete them. For they have not lifted up their hands to God, and they have desired fields, and they have plundered the orphan, and they have oppressed houses, and they have seized a man, and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am devising evil against this tribe, from which you will not remove your necks, so that you will not walk upright, for it is a time of disaster. In that day a proverb will be taken up against you, and a lamentation with the singing of mournful songs will be sung: We are utterly ruined; my people's portion is measured out with a measuring line, and there is no one to restore it. Our fields are divided up; therefore there will be no one to set a milestone for you in the inheritance. What we have placed at the end of the chapter according to the Hebrew, in the assembly of the Lord, for which the Seventy translated, in the Church of the Lord; according to the Vulgate edition, the beginning of the following chapter is. And therefore, if the Lord permits, we will discuss it. Woe to you, assembly of the Jews, who both plan evil and carry it out. And you defile the sleeping chambers given for rest with lewdness, and whatever wickedness you engage in during the night, as if it were not permissible to delay, you hastily fulfill it as soon as day breaks, not considering that your hand is strong against the Lord. And in order to teach through…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Beds · The wicked devise mischief while on — The wicked devise mischief while on
Early Rising · Practised by the wicked, for: Executing plans of evil — Practised by the wicked, for: Executing plans of evil
Land · Monopoly of — Monopoly of
Malice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Micah · .The oppressions of the covetous — .The oppressions of the covetous
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The violent acts of the great men would be punished by God with the withdrawal of the inheritance of His people, or the loss of Canaan. Mic 2:1. "Woe to those who devise mischief, and prepare evil upon their beds! In the light of the morning they carry it out, for their hand is their God. Mic 2:2. They covet fields and plunder; them, and houses and take them; and oppress the man and his house, the man and his inheritance." The woe applies to the great and mighty of the nation, who by acts of injustice deprive the common people of the inheritance conferred upon them by the Lord (cf. Isa 5:8). The prophet describes them as those who devise plans by night upon their beds for robbing the poor, a…
Power had corrupted the wealthy, who should have been ready to help their fellow Israelites (cp. Gen 4:9; Josh 1:14). • Thinking up evil plans . . . because you have the power to do so indicates a corrupt heart, mind, and character (Gen 6:5). • When you want: They possessed the property of others in a way that amounted to stealing and broke God’s law that forbids coveting (Exod 20:17). A family’s inheritance was a sacred gift from the Lord, intended as a permanent possession (Lev 25:8-55; cp. 1 Kgs 21; Isa 5:8). God looked for righteousness among his people, but instead he found oppression (1 Kgs 10:9; Isa 5:7; 2 Pet 2:13).
Rashi on Micah 2:1
and work evil on their bed—All night they decide in their hearts how they will perform evil in the morning.
