KJV King James Version
And they covet fields, and take [them] by violence; and houses, and take [them] away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
VERSE STUDY • KJV
Micah 2:2
And they covet fields, and take [them] by violence; and houses, and take [them] away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
Read it in 5 translations
BSB Berean Standard Bible
They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
WEB World English Bible
They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
ASV American Standard Version
And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
YLT Young’s Literal Translation
And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.
Surrounding context — Micah 2
1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
2 And they covet fields, and take [them] by violence; and houses, and take [them] away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
3 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.
4 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.
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.
Topics connected to this verse
Original-language word links
These Hebrew/Greek tokens are linked by Strong's number. Click one for its lexicon definition and other occurrences.
וְחָמְד֤וּH2530 · cha.madto desireשָׂדוֹת֙H7704 · sa.daySirionוְגָזָ֔לוּH1497 · ga.zalto plunderוּבָתִּ֖יםH1004 · betplaceוְנָשָׂ֑אוּH5375 · na.sato lift: raiseוְעָֽשְׁקוּ֙H6231 · a.shaqto oppressגֶּ֣בֶרH1397 · ga.vergreat manוּבֵית֔וֹH1004 · betplaceוְאִ֖ישׁH376 · ishmanוְנַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃ פH5159 · na.cha.lahinheritance
Cross-references
Isaiah 5:8Woe unto them that join house to house, [that] lay field to field, till [there be] no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!Amos 8:4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,Jeremiah 22:17But thine eyes and thine heart [are] not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do [it].Ezekiel 18:12Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,1 Samuel 12:3-4Behold, here I [am]: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received [any] bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.Job 24:2-12[Some] remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed [thereof].Exodus 22:21-24Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.Matthew 23:13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.Micah 3:9Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.1 Timothy 6:10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.1 Kings 21:2-19And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it [is] near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; [or], if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.Malachi 3:5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger [from his right], and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.Nehemiah 5:1-5And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.2 Kings 9:26Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take [and] cast him into the plat [of ground], according to the word of the LORD.Exodus 20:17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.Ezekiel 22:12In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.Habakkuk 2:5-9Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, [he is] a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and [is] as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:Job 31:38If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
Compare classic commentaries on Micah 2:2
Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.
Compare commentaries →