Micah 2:4

Micah 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.
• New International Version (NIV)In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, "We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields."
• New King James Version (NKJV)In that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”

Context of Micah 2:4

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. 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.” In 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. 6“Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!”

Micah 2:4 word by word

בַּיּ֨וֹם הַה֜וּא יִשָּׂ֧א עֲלֵיכֶ֣ם מָשָׁ֗ל וְנָהָ֨ה נְהִ֤י נִֽהְיָה֙ אָמַר֙ שָׁד֣וֹד נְשַׁדֻּ֔נוּ חֵ֥לֶק עַמִּ֖י יָמִ֑יר אֵ֚יךְ יָמִ֣ישׁ לִ֔י לְשׁוֹבֵ֥ב שָׂדֵ֖ינוּ יְחַלֵּֽק׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• In that dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• take upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
• a parableמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
• against you, and lamentנָהָהnâhâh · to wailH5091
• with a dolefulנִהְיָהnihyâh · lamentH5093
• lamentationנְהִיnehîy · wailingH5092
• sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We be utterlyשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• he hath changedמוּרmûr · to changeH4171
• the portionחֵ֫לֶקchêleq · portionH2506
• of my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• how hath he removedמוּשׁmûsh · to removeH4185
• from me! turning awayשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• he hath dividedחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
• our fieldsשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704

Cross-references for Micah 2:4

• Numbers 23:7This was the message Balaam delivered: “Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’
• Numbers 24:3and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,
• Job 27:1Job continued speaking:
• Isaiah 14:4you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, “The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended.
• Ezekiel 16:44Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
• Habakkuk 2:6“But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying, ‘What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You’ve become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?’
• Mark 12:12The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
• 2 Samuel 1:17Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan,
• 2 Chronicles 35:25The prophet Jeremiah composed funeral songs for Josiah, and to this day choirs still sing these sad songs about his death. These songs of sorrow have become a tradition and are recorded in The Book of Laments.
• Jeremiah 9:10I will weep for the mountains and wail for the wilderness pastures. For they are desolate and empty of life; the lowing of cattle is heard no more; the birds and wild animals have all fled.
• Jeremiah 14:18If I go out into the fields, I see the bodies of people slaughtered by the enemy. If I walk the city streets, I see people who have died of starvation. The prophets and priests continue with their work, but they don’t know what they’re doing.”
• Joel 1:8Weep like a bride dressed in black, mourning the death of her husband.
• Amos 5:1Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing:
• Lamentations 1:1Jerusalem, once so full of people, is now deserted. She who was once great among the nations now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, she is now a slave.
• Ezekiel 2:10which he unrolled. And I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.
• Deuteronomy 28:29You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.

Commentaries on Micah 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Take up a parable against you - Your wickedness and your punishment shall be subjects of common conversation; and a funeral dirge shall be composed and sung for you as for the dead. The lamentation is that which immediately follows: We be utterly spoiled; and ends, Are these his doings? Micah 2:7.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4In that day shall one take up a parable against you - The mashal or likeness may, in itself, be any speech in which one thing is likened to another: 1) “figured speech,” 2) “proverb,” and, since such proverbs were often sharp sayings against others, 3) “taunting figurative speech.” But of the person himself it is always said, he “is made, becomes a proverb” Deuteronomy 28:37; 1 Kings 9:7; 2 Chronicles 7:20; Psalm 44:15; Psalm 69:12; Jeremiah 24:9; Ezekiel…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The leaders would lose their wealth when their enemies took their property. The land they had taken unfairly from other Israelites would be taken away from them in return (Micah 2:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. one take up a parable against you--that is, Some of your foes shall do so, taking in derision from your own mouth your "lamentation," namely, "We be spoiled," &c. lament with a doleful lamentation--literally, "lament with a lamentation of lamentations." Hebrew, naha, nehi, nihyah, the repetition representing the continuous and monotonous wail. he hath changed the portion of my people--a charge of injustice against Jehovah. He transfers to other nations…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 2:4

• Micah

In the dictionaries

• That Day
• Breaker
• Doleful
• Micah (2)
• lament, lamentation

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