New Living Translation
Micah 2:3
3But this is what the Lord says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”
Micah 2:3 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Therefore, the Lord says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, against this family I am devising disaster, From which you cannot remove your necks; Nor shall you walk haughtily, For this is an evil time.
Context of Micah 2:3
1What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. 2When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance. But this is what the Lord says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.” 4In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you: “We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us.” 5Others will set your boundaries then, and the Lord’s people will have no say in how the land is divided.
Read all of Micah 2Micah 2:3 word by word
לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה הִנְנִ֥י חֹשֵׁ֛ב עַל־הַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את רָעָ֑ה אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹֽא־תָמִ֨ישׁוּ מִשָּׁ֜ם צַוְּארֹֽתֵיכֶ֗ם וְלֹ֤א תֵֽלְכוּ֙ רוֹמָ֔ה כִּ֛י עֵ֥ת רָעָ֖ה הִֽיא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Behold, against this familyמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- do I deviseחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: deviseH2803
- an evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
- from which ye shall not removeמוּשׁmûsh · to removeH4185
- your necksצַוָּארtsavvâ'r tsavvâr tsavvârôn tsavvâ'râh · neckH6677
- neither shall ye goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- haughtilyרוֹמָהrômâh · haughtilyH7317
- for this timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
Cross-references for Micah 2:3
- Jeremiah 8:3And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!
- Amos 3:1Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:
- Micah 2:1What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.
- Jeremiah 18:11“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”
- Jeremiah 34:17“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth.
- Lamentations 2:17But it is the Lord who did just as he planned. He has fulfilled the promises of disaster he made long ago. He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy. He has caused her enemies to gloat over her and has given them power over her.
- James 2:13There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
- Amos 2:14Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
- Amos 9:1Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said, “Strike the tops of the Temple columns, so that the foundation will shake. Bring down the roof on the heads of the people below. I will kill with the sword those who survive. No one will escape!
- Zephaniah 1:17“Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”
- Jeremiah 27:12Then I repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. “If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people.
- Lamentations 1:14“He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands.
- Lamentations 5:5Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted but are given no rest.
- Romans 16:4In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches.
- Isaiah 2:11Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.
- Isaiah 3:16The Lord says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.
Commentaries on Micah 2:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Against 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 Micah 2:9; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Such 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5The Lord, acting as a judge, announces the sentence. He will repay his people's wicked hearts and actions with disaster. The prophet uses wordplay here. The Hebrew word for "evil" has many meanings. It can mean moral evil, as in the first case, or calamity or disaster, as in the second. The Lord will bring disaster on them because of their wickedness.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. against this family--against the nation, and especially against those reprobated in Mi 2:1, 2. I devise an evil--a happy antithesis between God's dealings and the Jews' dealings (Mi 2:1). Ye "devise evil" against your fellow countrymen; I devise evil against you. Ye devise it wrongfully, I by righteous retribution in kind. from which ye shall not remove your necks--as ye have done from the law. The yoke I shall impose shall be one which ye cannot shake…Read the comment
Topics related to Micah 2:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Micah 2
- 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries