The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 104

EXPOSITION. The Hebrew word. (k1,aaidh) implies :one CHAPTER VII. who exercises love to.others, who is meroiful, \'era. 1-6.--§ 5. Israera penitential loving, and righteoUB. .la perished out of aclmm.oledgment of the general COTTuption. the earth; has diaappeared from the world (comp. Pa. xiv. 2, S; and especially Isa. Ver. 1.-Woe is me! (Job L 15). Micah !vii 1). They all lie iD wait tor blood. threntens no more; he represents repentant They all practise violence and rapine, and, Israel confessing its corruption and lament- meditate how they may pursue their evil ing the· necessity of pnnish.ment. I am as de~igos, even to the shedding of blood. when they have gathered the SU.111J11er fruitll ; LXX., .. ~,,.,ES .~ls 111p.11n ll11c&.(011T111, whioh literally, I am a. the gatherings of thefroit- narrows the oharge to one speoial •kind ·of harvost. The point of comparison is only to iniquity, viz. commitLing judicial. murders. he i,,ferred from the cont.ext. At the fruil- They hlll1t every man hl,a. brother with. a. har~est no eaxly figs are to be found, and net. They ought to love. ,their .. brethren, (in the next cle.n,;e) after the vintage no their fellow-oonntrymen,, partakers of the more grapes ; BO in Israel !here is none same hope and privileges (Lev. xix. 18). ri;:hteo11.1 left. The Septuagint gives a Instead of this, they pursoo them I'S the plainer exposition, 'E-ye,/46-r,v .:,f cruv&.-yo,v fowler traps birds, or the hunter beasts. ,.a>..&.µT/Y ,,, O.J.LT/"'f• " I became as one that The word rendered "net" (cherem) is in ,l!'athereth straw in harvest;" so the Vulgate, most versions translated " destruction.'' Factua ,um in=t qui collegit in autumno Thus, Septuugint, IK8AI/Joucr,v l1t8M/Jji: Vol. racemo, t1indimia; joining the two elaUHes gate, ad mortem '1/enalur-; ao the ·Syriao and together. Ky soul deli.red the 11.nt-ripe fruit; Chaldee. In the ··present oonneotion it i& bett,r, fiOI' ear'1! fig 1Dhich mg ,oul daired. best taken as "-net" (Hab. i. 16). The Loline11& and grace of more primitive Ver. 3.-That they may do evil, eto. 1 tim~s are wholly absent from this later mlher, both hands aTe upon (equivalent to period (see Hos. ix. 10, where a 6imilo.r " busy with ") evil to do it thproughly. This figure is used; compare also Christ's dealing clause and the rest of the verse are very. with the barren fig tree, Matt. n:i. 18, etc.). ob110ure. Clieyno supposes the text to be cor- The first-ripe figs were proverbially sweet rupt. Henderson renders, " For evil their· 11.nrl good (see Isa. xxv1ii. 4; Jer. n:iv. 2; hands are well prepared ; " so virtually, Rncl Hosea., Zoe. tit.). Hitzig, Pusey, and the Septuagint. Caspari Vei·. 2.-This verse explains the pre• agrees rather with the Vulgate tMalum ee,liug rompari~on; the grupe and the early manuum sua,·um dicunt bonmn)," Hands ar~ fig represent the rightc.'Oua DJBn. The good (busy) upon evil t,o make (it seem) good," Dla.D; LXX., •~u•/3~s, the godly, pio118 man. wh.ich looks to thu.t extrewity. of iniquity UR, VII, 1-20,] THE BOOK OF MICAH. 107