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Micah 2:3

in Micah 2

Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time.

KJV

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

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This verse in Micah 2

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
Such had been their habitual doings. They had done all this, he says, as one continuous act, up to that time. They were habitually devisers of iniquity, doers of evil. It was ever-renewed. By night they sinned in heart and thought; by day, in act. And so he speaks of it in the present. They do it. But, although renewed in fresh acts, it was one unbroken course of acting. And so he also uses the form, in which the Hebrews spoke of uninterrupted habits, They have coveted, they have robbed, they have taken. Now came God’s part.

This site's exposition

against this family do I devise an evil

on Micah 2:3-5

The Lord answers the schemers in their own vocabulary, devising an evil against this family in exchange for the evil they devised, a measure-for-measure judgment the prophets use often. Verse 4 pictures the mockery that will follow, a doleful parable sung over the fallen landowners, we be utterly spoiled, our fields divided away from us by another, the very reversal they inflicted on their victims now inflicted on them. Verse 5 makes the loss permanent under the old land law: none shall cast a cord by lot to remeasure an inheritance in the congregation of the Lord, because the family holding it will be gone.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Micah · Written before 420.

proposed

(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.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Against this family - God will devise evil against their family, as they devised evil against the family of their neighbours. Haughty - You have made others hang the head; so shall you now. Is evil - Full of miseries on the whole family of Jacob.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): Therefore thus saith the Lord, the righteous God, that judges between man and man, and is an avenger on those that do wrong, Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, that is, against the whole kingdom, the house of Israel, and particularly those families in it that were cruel and oppressive.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

Therefore thus saith the Lord, behold, against this family do I devise an evil,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

They who will not bend to God's "easy yoke" (Mt 11:29, 30), shall feel His iron yoke. go haughtily--(Compare Note, see on Jer 6:28). Ye shall not walk as now with neck haughtily uplifted, for the yoke shall press down your "neck." this time is evil--rather, "for that time shall be an evil time," namely, the time of the carrying away into captivity (compare Am 5:13;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Against this family (the Israelites) do I devise an evil - You have devised the evil of plundering the upright; I will devise the evil to you of punishment for your conduct; you shall have your necks brought under the yoke of servitude. Tiglath-pileser ruined this kingdom, and transported the people to Assyria, under the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah; and Micah lived to see this catastrophe. See on Mic 2:9 (note).

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Amos 5:13Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.7 worksIsaiah 2:11–12The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.7 worksJeremiah 8:3And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.7 worksJeremiah 18:11Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways, and correct your ways and deeds.’6 worksLamentations 2:17The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.5 worksJames 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Amos 9:1–4I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.5 worksLamentations 5:5We are closely pursued; we are weary and find no rest.5 worksIsaiah 28:14–18Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.5 worksLamentations 1:14My transgressions are bound into a yoke, knit together by His hand; they are draped over my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has delivered me into the hands of those I cannot withstand.4 worksMicah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.4 worksIsaiah 3:16The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—4 worksZephaniah 1:17–18I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.4 worksJeremiah 13:15–17Listen and give heed. Do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken.4 worksAmos 2:14Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.4 worksDaniel 5:20–23But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.4 worksJeremiah 34:17Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.4 worksJeremiah 36:23And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 18:11

    Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 17:13

      Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your…

    • Isaiah 55:6–7

      Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

    • Jeremiah 7:3

      Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.

    • Jeremiah 35:15

      Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve…

    • Isaiah 1:16–19

      Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

  • Through

    Jeremiah 8:3

    And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 9:6

      In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.

    • Jeremiah 29:14

      I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD.…

  • Through

    Lamentations 2:17

    The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and…

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 5:11

      Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Micah

Micah Exhorts the Israelites to Repent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Micah Exhorts the Israelites to Repent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Micah: the study guide →Read Micah 2 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Micah 2 →