properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
doors
פִּתְחֵיpit.chei-
H6607
an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine plural construct
mouth
פִֽיךָFi.kha
H6310
the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
lieth
מִשֹּׁכֶ֣בֶתmi.sho.Khe.vet
H7901
to lie down (for rest · preposition + verb, qal active participle, feminine singular construct
bosom
חֵיקֶ֔ךָchei.Ke.cha
H2436
the bosom (literally or figuratively) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
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
Jeremiah 9:4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will…
Psalms 118:8-9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Job 6:14-15 To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
Judges 16:5-20 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what mean…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Micah 7:1-6
This is such a description of bad times as, some think, could scarcely agree to the times of Hezekiah, when this prophet prophesied; and therefore they rather take it as a prediction of what should be in the reign of Manasseh. But we may rather suppose it to be in the reign of Ahaz (and in that reign he prophesied, ch. 1:1) or in the beginning of Hezekiah's time, before the reformation he was instrumental in; nay, in the best of his days, and when he had done his best to purge out corruptions, still there was much amiss. The prophet cries out, Woe is me! He bemoans himself that his lot was cast in such a degenerate age, and thinks it his great unhappiness that he lived among a people that we…
Trust ye not in a friend--Faith is kept nowhere: all to a man are treacherous (Jer 9:2-6). When justice is perverted by the great, faith nowhere is safe. So, in gospel times of persecution, "a man's foes are they of his own household" (Mat 10:35-36; Luk 12:53).
guide--a counsellor [CALVIN] able to help and advise (compare Psa 118:8-9; Psa 146:3). The head of your family, to whom all the members of the family would naturally repair in emergencies. Similarly the Hebrew is translated in Jos 22:14 and "chief friends" in Pro 16:28 [GROTIUS].
her that lieth in thy bosom--thy wife (Deu 13:6).
Adam Clarke on Micah 7:5
Trust ye not in a friend - These times will be so evil, and the people so wicked, that all bonds will be dissolved; and even the most intimate will betray each other, when they can hope to serve themselves by it.
On this passage, in the year 1798, I find I have written as follows: -
"Trust ye not in a friend. - Several of those whom I have delighted to call by that name have deceived me.
"Put ye not confidence in a guide. - Had I followed some of these I should have gone to perdition.
"Keep the door of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. - My wife alone never deceived me."
It is now twenty-seven years since, and I find no cause to alter what I then wrote.
John Gill on Micah 7:5
The Church Fathers
[In spiritual discipline], the disposition of the doer is given more weight than the thing that is done. Even the truth at times is found to have harmed some people and a lie to have helped them. For one time King Saul was complaining in the presence of his retainers about David's flight, saying, "Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards and make all of you tribunes and centurions, since you have all conspired against me, and there is no one to inform me?" What but the truth did Doeg the Edomite tell him when he said, "I saw the son of Jesse in Nob, with Ahimilech the son of Ahitub the priest. He consulted the Lord on his behalf and gave him provisions and he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistines as well"? For this truth he deserved to be uprooted from the land of the living, and of him it is said by the prophet, "Therefore God shall destroy you forever, pluck you up and remove you from your tent and uproot you from the land of the living." For indicating the truth, then, he was everlastingly uprooted from the land in which Rahab the harlot was planted, along with her family, because of her lie. In the same way we remember that Samson in most ruinous fashion delivered over to his wicked wife a truth that had long been concealed by a lie. Therefore the truth that he had very heedlessly disclosed to her brought about his own undoing, because he failed to keep that prophetic command: "Keep the doors of your mouth from her who sleeps at your breast."
(Verse 5-7) Your day of reckoning has come, your visitation is here. Now there will be destruction: do not trust your friend, and do not rely on your leader. Guard the doors of your mouth against the one who lies in your bosom; for a son insults his father, and a daughter rises up against her mother; a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and enemies are those of a man's own household. But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for God, my savior; my God will hear me. LXX: Woe, woe, your vengeance has come, now there will be weeping for them: do not trust in friends, nor hope in leaders. Beware of those who lie with you, do not trust them, for a son brings shame to his father, and a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: a man's enemies are the members of his own household. But I will look to the Lord, I will wait for God my savior: my God will hear me. Except for the beginning of the chapter, both editions agree in the rest of the parts, and in the meantime, according to the historical context, it indicates the day of the siege of Samaria or Jerusalem, which had been eagerly awaited and feared, and its visitation, meaning captivity, saying: Your devastation has come: now there will be devastation for them, that is, for the inhabitants, or siege: Mabucha () indeed signifies more πολιορκίαν and φρούρησιν, that is, siege and custody, than devastation in Hebrew. Therefore, do not believe the words of prophets, nor lend your ear to the deceitful flattery of the divine; because if trust is rare among dear names and blood relations, how much more so in those who flatter you, lying for their own gain, and who command not what is useful for the sick, but what is delightful and pleasing! Do not trust a friend; for Achitophel rose up against David (2 Samuel 15), and true Achitophel Judas rose up against Christ (Matthew 26). And, do not trust in a leader, like the men of Shechem trusted in Abimelech (Judith 9). They made him king, and they were oppressed by him. Guard the gates of your mouth from the one who sleeps in your bosom (Ibid., 16): do not allow what Samson endured from Delilah (2 Kings 16). For a son brings shame to his father; notably Absalom to David: he defiled not only the kingdom, but also his father's concubines with incestuous relations. A daughter rises against her mother: although we may…
Dictionary and topics
Despondency · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
Trust ye not in a friend,.... This is not said to lessen the value of friendship; or to discourage the cultivation of it with agreeable persons; or to dissuade from a confidence in a real friend; or in the least to weaken it, and damp the pleasure of true friendship, which is one of the great blessings of life; but to set forth the sad degeneracy of the then present age, that men, who pretended to be friends, were so universally false and faithless, that there was no dependence to be had on them:
put ye not confidence in a guide; in political matters, in civil affairs, as civil magistrates, judges, counsellors; or in domestic matters. The Targum renders it, in one near akin. Kimchi interpre…
Micah 7:5-6
5. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
5. Ne fidatis amico, ne speretis in consiliario (vel, duce;) ab ea quae dormit in sinu tuo custodi aperturas oris tui:
6. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
6. Quia filius contumelia afficit patrem, filia surgit contra matrem suam, nurus contra socrum suam; inimici viri domestici ejus (homines domus ejus, ad verbum.)
The Prophet pursues the subject we discussed yesterday, -- that liberty, in iniquity, bad arrived to…
And even the best men form no exception to the rule. Mic 7:4. "Their best man is like a briar; the upright man more than a hedge: the day of thy spies, thy visitation cometh, then will their confusion follow. Mic 7:5. Trust not in the neighbour, rely not upon the intimate one; keep the doors of thy mouth before her that is thy bosom friend. Mic 7:6. For the son despiseth the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the people of his own house." טובם, the good man among them, i.e., the best man, resembles the thorn-bush, which only pricks, hurts, and injures. In ישׁר the force of the suffix still continues: the most r…
Don’t trust anyone: Bitterness, corruption, and treachery had poisoned the community of the Lord’s people (cp. Matt 10:34-36; Luke 12:52-53).
Rashi on Micah 7:5
Believe not a friend [This is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning. But our Sages explained it as referring to the Most High. Do not sin and say that the Holy One, blessed be He, is our Friend, and He will forgive us. [from Hagiga 16a]
from her who lies in your bosom—Your soul will testify against you.
the openings of your mouth Heb. פִּתְחֵי. The words of your mouth, the openings of your mouth.
