Revised Literal Translation
Micah 7:3
3That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.1
Micah 7:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
- New International Version (NIV)Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Their 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)That they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.
Context of Micah 7:3
1Woe 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. 2The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. 4The 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. 5Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
Read all of Micah 7Micah 7:3 word by word
עַל־הָרַ֤ע כַּפַּ֙יִם֙ לְהֵיטִ֔יב הַשַּׂ֣ר שֹׁאֵ֔ל וְהַשֹּׁפֵ֖ט בַּשִׁלּ֑וּם וְהַגָּד֗וֹל דֹּבֵ֨ר הַוַּ֥ת נַפְשׁ֛וֹ ה֖וּא וַֽיְעַבְּתֽוּהָ׃Read the interlinear
- That they may do evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
- with both handsכַּףkaph · palmH3709
- earnestlyיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
- the princeשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- askethשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
- and the judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- for a rewardשִׁלּוּםshillûm shillûm · recompenseH7966
- and the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- he utterethדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- his mischievousהַוָּהhavvâh · desireH1942
- desireנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
- so they wrap it upעָבַת‛âbath · to weaveH5686
Cross-references for Micah 7:3
- Proverbs 4:16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
- Jeremiah 3:5Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
- Ezekiel 22:6Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.
- Micah 3:11The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon Yhwh, and say, Is not Yhwh among us? none evil can come upon us.
- Isaiah 1:23Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
- Jeremiah 8:10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
- Ezekiel 22:27Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
- Hosea 4:18Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
- Amos 5:12For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
- Matthew 26:15And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
- 1 Kings 21:9And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
- Isaiah 26:21For, behold, Yhwh cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
- Luke 12:1In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
Commentaries on Micah 7:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3That they may do evil with both hands - That is, earnestly, greedily, to the uttermost of their power. The Vulgate translates: Malum manuum suarum dicunt bonum; "The evil of their hands they call good." The prince asketh - A bribe, to forward claims in his court. The judge asketh for a reward - That he may decide the cause in favor of him who gives most money, whether the cause be good or evil. This was notoriously the case in our own country before the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3That they may do evil with both hands earnestly - (Literally, upon evil both hands to do well,) that is, “both their hands are upon evil to do it well,” or “earnestly”, as our translation gives the meaning; only the Hebrew expresses more, that evil is their good, and their good or excellence is in evil. Bad men gain a dreadful skill and wisdom in evil, as Satan has; and cleverness in evil is their delight. Jerome: “They call the evil of their hands good.”…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3skilled at evil: That is, they had learned how to do evil very well. the prince and the judge demand a bribe: The law forbade rulers and judges from accepting bribes or turning justice in the wrong direction (Exodus 18:19–22; Deuteronomy 16:18–20). Because of this, Israel’s legal system no longer worked in a fair way.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly--literally, "Their hands are for evil that they may do it well" (that is, cleverly and successfully). the great man, he--emphatic repetition. As for the great man, he no sooner has expressed his bad desire (literally, the "mischief" or "lust of his soul"), than the venal judges are ready to wrest the decision of the case according to his wish. so they wrap it up--The Hebrew is used of intertwining cords…Read the comment
Topics related to Micah 7:3
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Micah 7:3 his…: Heb. the mischief of his soul. ↩
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries