New Living Translation
Micah 7:4
4Even 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.
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 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. 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. 5Don’t trust anyone— not your best friend or even your wife! 6For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies are right in your own household!
Read all of Micah 7Micah 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 the godless are like thorns to be thrown away, for they tear the hand that touches them.
- Isaiah 55:13Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”
- Ezekiel 2:6“Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels.
- Hebrews 6:8But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
- Ezekiel 12:23Tell the people, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it.’ Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: ‘The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfilled!’
- Hosea 9:7The time of Israel’s punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, “The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!”
- Amos 8:2“What do you see, Amos?” he asked. I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.” Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again.
- Isaiah 10:3What will you do when I punish you, when I send disaster upon you from a distant land? To whom will you turn for help? Where will your treasures be safe?
- Jeremiah 8:12Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 10:15Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
- Isaiah 22:5Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
- Luke 21:25“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.
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
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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