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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.

Context of Micah 7:4

2The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. 3Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. 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. 5Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; 6for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

Micah 7:4 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• The bestטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• as a brierחֵ֫דֶקchêdeq · briarH2312
• the most uprightיָשָׁרyâshâr · uprightH3477
• than a thorn hedgeמְסוּכָהmesûkâh · hedgeH4534
• the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of thy watchmenצָפָהtsâphâh · to watchH6822
• thy visitationפְּקֻדָּהpeqûddâh · punishmentH6486
• comethבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• now shall be their perplexityמְבוּכָהmebûkâh · confusionH3998

Cross-references for Micah 7:4

• 2 Samuel 23:6But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand;
• Isaiah 55:13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
• Ezekiel 2:6And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
• Hebrews 6:8But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
• Ezekiel 12:23Tell them therefore, 'Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.' But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision.
• Hosea 9:7The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.
• Amos 8:2And he said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.
• Isaiah 10:3What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
• Jeremiah 8:12Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 10:15They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
• Isaiah 22:5For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.
• Luke 21:25"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and 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