Micah 7:4

Micah 7:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
• New International Version (NIV)The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm. Now is the time of your confusion.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity.

Context of Micah 7:4

2The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net. 3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together. The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion. 5Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. 6For a son dishonors his father, 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.

Micah 7:4 word by word

טוֹבָ֣ם כְּחֵ֔דֶק יָשָׁ֖ר מִמְּסוּכָ֑ה י֤וֹם מְצַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ פְּקֻדָּתְךָ֣ בָ֔אָה עַתָּ֥ה תִהְיֶ֖ה מְבוּכָתָֽם׃Read the interlinear

• The best of themטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• like a brierחֵ֫דֶקchêdeq · briarH2312
• the most uprightיָשָׁרyâshâr · uprightH3477
• than a hedge of thornsמְסוּכָהmesûkâh · hedgeH4534
• The dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• for your watchmenצָפָהtsâphâh · to watchH6822
• has comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• your visitationפְּקֻדָּהpeqûddâh · punishmentH6486
• Nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• isהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• of their confusionמְבוּכָהmebûkâh · confusionH3998

Cross-references for Micah 7:4

• 2 Samuel 23:6But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside, for they can never be gathered by hand.
• Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will grow, and instead of the brier, the myrtle will spring up; this will make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.”
• Ezekiel 2:6But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.
• Hebrews 6:8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
• Ezekiel 12:23Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will put an end to this proverb, and in Israel they will no longer recite it.’ But say to them: ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.
• Hosea 9:7The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived— let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
• Amos 8:2“Amos, what do you see?” He asked. “A basket of summer fruit,” I replied. So the LORD said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel; I will no longer spare them.”
• Isaiah 10:3What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
• Jeremiah 8:12Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
• Jeremiah 10:15They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
• Isaiah 22:5For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision— of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains.
• Luke 21:25There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.

Commentaries on Micah 7:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The best of them is as a brier - They are useless in themselves, and cannot be touched without wounding him that comes in contact with them. He alludes to the thick thorn hedges, still frequent in Palestine. The day of thy watchmen - The day of vengeance, which the prophets have foreseen and proclaimed, is at hand. Now shall be their perplexity; no more wrapping up, all shall be unfolded. In that day every man will wish that he were different from what he…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The best of them is as a brier - The gentlest of them is a thorn, strong, hard, piercing, which letteth nothing unresisting pass by but it taketh from it, “robbing the fleece, and wounding the sheep.” “The most upright”, those who, in comparison of others still worse, seem so, “is sharper than a thorn hedge”, (literally, the upright, them a thorn hedge.) They are not like it only, but worse, and that in all ways; none is specified, and so none excepted…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The day for your watchmen has come: The people of Israel will soon be conquered by the Assyrians. The people of Judah will soon face destruction by the Babylonians. All the people of the earth will soon face God in judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. as a brier--or thorn; pricking with injury all who come in contact with them (2Sa 23:6, 7; Is 55:13; Eze 2:6). the day of thy watchmen--the day foretold by thy (true) prophets, as the time of "thy visitation" in wrath [Grotius]. Or, "the day of thy false prophets being punished"; they are specially threatened as being not only blind themselves, but leading others blindfold [Calvin]. now--at the time foretold, "at that time"; the prophet transporting…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 7:4

• Depravity of Man
• Despondency
• Hedge
• Rulers
• Sin
• Thorn
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Apple
• Brier
• Light
• Mouth
• Net
• Thorn
• Hedge
• Micah (2)
• Thorns, Thistles, Etc.
• Visitation

Commentaries on Micah 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings