The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 20

EXPOSITION. The prophet suddenly addresses them, the OHAPTER II. "fe.mily." Your necks. He speaks of the Vere. 1-5.-§ 6. 'I'he prophet juetifie, his calamity as e. heo.vy, galling yoke, from threat by recounting the Bins of which the which they should bt, unable to free them- selves (comp. Hos. x.11). This yoke is their urandees are guilty. conquest and exile at the hands of foreigners Ver. 1.-The prophet, himself one of the (comp. Jer. xxvii. 12). Haughtily. With head people, first inveighs e.ge.inet the sine of erect. Septi:e.gint, op0oi. Their pride shall injustice e.nd oppression of the poor. be brought low. This time is evil; full of Devise . . . work . . . pre.ctise. A gra.de.- calamity, which is announced in the follow- tion. They a.re not led into these sins by ing verses. Tho words occur in Amos v. others ; they themselves conceive the evil 13, but the evil there spoken of is moral purpose in their own hea1t; then they pre- (comp. Eph. v. 16). pe.re e.nd me.ture their scheme by reflection; Ver. 4.-In that day. The evil time men- then they proceed to execute it. Work evil; tioned in ver. 3. A pe.re.ble (mashal); pro- i.e. prepare the means for ce.rrying out their bably here "a taunting song." The enemy conception (comp. Ise.. xii. 4). Upon their shall use the words in which Israel laments beds. At night, the nature.I time for reflec- her cale.mity as a taunt against her (Hab. ii. tion (comp. Job iv. 13; Ps. iv. 4; xxxvi. 4). 6). And lament with a doleful lamentation. Is light. Fe.r from shrinking from the The Hebrew gives a. remarkable alliteration, light of day in putting into effect their evil Nahah nehi niheyah; Septuagint, 0p7JV7J9fitT.- projects, they set a.bout their e.ooomplish- "'"' Bp11vos iv µb..,, "Le.ment a lamentation mcnt as soon e.s ever the morning e.llows with melody;" Vulgate, CantalJitur canti- them. Beoe.use it is in the power of their cum cum auaffitaf.e; " Wail a wail of woe " he.nd. Their might me.kes their right. (Pusey). The Syriac coincides with the (For the phrase, comp. Gen. xxxi. 29; Prov. LXX. By taking the three words as cog- iii. 27.) AB the word el me.y be taken to nates, we get a very forcible sentence; but mean "God" e.s well as "power," some most modern commentators consider niheyah render here, "For their he.nd is their god," not n. feminine formo.tion, butnipb. of the sub- comparing the boe.st of Mezentius in Virgil, stantive verb kayak; hence the words would 'lEneid,' x. 773- mean," Lament with the lamentation;" "It ,, Dextre. mihi Deus et ielum quod missile is done," they shall say; " we are utterly libro." spoiled." Thus Cheyne. The lamentation begins with "It is done," o.nd oon tin ues to The Vulge.te he.s, Quonia,n contra Deum the end of the verse. The verbs are used est manm eorum; LXX., tu&T& out< ifpcu, rpbs impersonally-" one shall take up," "one 'TOV ®•ov x•ipas a.u'T,';,v, " Bece.use they lifted shall lament," "one shall say ; " but it is not up their he.nds unto God." So the plain the.t the last two refer to the Jews who Syrie.c, with the omission of the negative. shall utter the given dirge, which in tum Ver. 2.-They oarry out by open violence shall be repee.ted as a taunt by the enemy. the fraud which they have devised and We are utterly spoiled. According to the ple.nned (comp. Ise.. v. 8; Amos iv. 1). second of the explanations of the preceding Covet fields. Compare the oase of Ahab clause, these words expand nnd define tha o.nd Na.both (1 King~ xxi.). The oomme.nd- despairing cry, "It is done I" In the other ment e.gaiust coveting (Exod. xx. 17) taught co.so, they are the commencement of tba the Jews tho.t God re~rded sins of thought lamentation. Septu11gint, .Ta./\aurwp['f hcx- as well e.s of e.otion. The Le.w forbade the 11.a,-rrwpfi,raµ•v, "We are miserably miser- alien11tion of landed property and the tro.nsfer able." The complnint is twofold. First, of estates from tribe to tribe (Lev. xxv. 23- the once flourishing condition of Isr,\el is 28; Numb. xxxvi. 7). A rioh man might changed to ruin and desolation. Secondly, buy a poor man's estate subjeot to the law He bath ohanged ( cha ngeth) the portion of of jubilee ; but these gro.ndees se~m to ho.ve my people. 'rhis is the second calo.mity: forced the sale of property, or else seized it he, Jehovah, passes our inheritance over to by force or fro.ucl. Oppress; Vulge.te, calum- the he.nds of others ; the land of Canaan, niabantur. The Hebrew word involves the ~ledged to us, is tro.nsferred to our enemies. idea of violence. Septuagint., 1<auµnpfi81J lv uxo1vlq,, "bath Ver, 8.-The sin shall be followed by its been measured with a line." Row bath appropriate punishment. As they devised he removed it [the portion] from me1 evll, God will devise e. penalty, This family. This is \Jetter thl\n the l\l ternati ve ronder- The whole people (Amos iii. I). An evil. .t\. ing, " How doth he dep,ut lrom me?" (lhnstiscmont, o. judgmeut (Anios iii. 6). Ye. Turning e.we.y he hath divided our fields; l!dfOAH, 0 18 THE BOOK OF MICAH. [OH, ll, 1-13.