New Living Translation
Micah 7:1
1How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger.
Micah 7:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.
- New International Version (NIV)What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
Context of Micah 7:1
How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. 2The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers. 3Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice.
Read all of Micah 7Micah 7:1 word by word
אַ֣לְלַי לִ֗י כִּ֤י הָיִ֙יתִי֙ כְּאָסְפֵּי־קַ֔יִץ כְּעֹלְלֹ֖ת בָּצִ֑יר אֵין־אֶשְׁכּ֣וֹל לֶאֱכ֔וֹל בִּכּוּרָ֖ה אִוְּתָ֥ה נַפְשִֽׁי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeאַלְלַי'alelay · woe!H480
- is me! for I am as when they have gatheredאֹ֫סֵף'ôseph · gatheringH625
- the summer fruitsקַ֫יִץqayits · summerH7019
- as the grapegleaningsעֹלֵלוֹת‛ôlêlâh · gleaningH5955
- of the vintageבָּצִירbâtsîyr · vintageH1210
- no clusterאֶשְׁכּוֹל'eshkôl 'eshkôl · clusterH811
- to eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
- desiredאָוָה'âvâh · to desireH183
- the firstripe fruitבַּכֻּרוֹתbikkûrâh · early figH1063
Cross-references for Micah 7:1
- Psalms 120:5How I suffer in far-off Meshech. It pains me to live in distant Kedar.
- Isaiah 6:5Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
- Isaiah 24:16We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One! But my heart is heavy with grief. Weep for me, for I wither away. Deceit still prevails, and treachery is everywhere.
- Jeremiah 4:31I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor, the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is beautiful Jerusalem gasping for breath and crying out, “Help! I’m being murdered!”
- Jeremiah 15:10Then I said, “What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay— yet they all curse me.”
- Jeremiah 45:3You have said, ‘I am overwhelmed with trouble! Haven’t I had enough pain already? And now the Lord has added more! I am worn out from sighing and can find no rest.’
- Isaiah 17:6Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
- Isaiah 24:13Throughout the earth the story is the same— only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
- Isaiah 28:4It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. Whoever sees it will snatch it up, as an early fig is quickly picked and eaten.
- Hosea 9:10The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped.
Commentaries on Micah 7:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Wo is me! - This is a continuation of the preceding discourse. And here the prophet points out the small number of the upright to be found in the land. He himself seemed to be the only person who was on God's side; and he considers himself as a solitary grape, which had escaped the general gathering. The word קץ kayits, which is sometimes used for summer, and summer fruits in general, is here translated late figs; and may here, says Bishop Newcome, be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Woe - ois me! for I am, as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts,” Isaiah said at the same time, “is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plants” Isaiah 5:7. Isaiah said, brought forth wild grapes; Micah, that there are but gleanings, few and poor. It is as though Satan pressed the vineyard of the Lord, and made the most his prey, and few were left to those who…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The general prevalence of wickedness. (1-7) Reliance on God, and triumph over enemies. (8-13) Promises and encouragements for Israel. (14-20) Verses 1-7 The prophet bemoans himself that he lived among a people ripening apace for ruin, in which many good persons would suffer. Men had no comfort, no satisfaction in their own families or in their nearest relations. Contempt and violation of domestic duties are a sad symptom of universal corruption. Those are…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard: After the second crop of figs and fruit in August to September (toward the end of summer), no more fruit was produced for several months (see Isaiah 16:9; Jeremiah 48:32). No one could satisfy Micah’s hunger for righteousness (Micah 7:2–6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-201. I am as when, &c.--It is the same with me as with one seeking fruits after the harvest, grapes after the vintage. "There is not a cluster" to be found: no "first-ripe fruit" (or "early fig"; see on Is 28:4) which "my soul desireth" [Maurer]. So I look in vain for any good men left (Mi 7:2).Read the comment
Topics related to Micah 7:1
In the dictionaries
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
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