YHWH, says Micah, will come down to intervene in Judah and Samaria. He will judge their idolatry and injustice.
Micah 2:1-2, Plotting evil in their beds
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning's light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud a man of his home,
a fellowman of his inheritance.
The rich and powerful are portrayed as lying in their beds at night, scheming on ways to get rich on the backs of the poor and vulnerable. In the Mosaic covenant, a man's land was inviolate and there were inheritance laws to protect it. (In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab conspires to steal the vineyard of Naboth, a vineyard that was part of Naboth's family inheritance.) In the culture of the ANE, dawn was a time for righting wrongs, for fixing the injustices done in the darkness. (See Job 38:12-13, for example.) But here the wicked jump up at dawn and carry out the injustices they schemed up during the night.
Micah 2:3-5,
Therefore, the LORD says:
"I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
In that day men will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
`We are utterly ruined;
my people's possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.'"
Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide the land by lot.
A disaster is coming, and the proud people cannot save themselves. A lament begins in verse four, lamenting the destruction of this once beautiful (but arrogant) kingdom. Those who have plotted the ruin of others will have no role in a future assembly of YHWH, when the land is divided again.
The second line of verse 4 has a rhythmic wə·nā·hāh nə·hî nih·yāh, literally "and lament with a bitter lamentation." In the Old Testament culture, a lament is a funeral song. Laments appear throughout the prophets, singing a mournful song of the death of the nation.
Micah 2:6, Do not prophesy
"Do not prophesy," their prophets say.
"Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace will not overtake us."
"Do not prophesy," Micah is told, "do not depress us!" The false prophets do not want to hear the bad news that Micah brings.
Micah 2:7-9, To speak words that do good?
Should it be said, O house of Jacob:
"Is the Spirit of the LORD angry?
Does he do such things?"
"Do not my words do good
to him whose ways are upright?
Lately my people have risen up like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe from those
who pass by without a care,
like men returning from battle.
You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing from their children forever.
Micah responds to the command to shut up. He must speak out. If YHWH is angry at Israel, won't the words of a prophet have a chance of doing good, of correcting some and supporting others who are upright?
But the people of Judah have become an enemy; they see someone with a rich robe walking in the street and they go and steal the robe. They drive women and children from their homes. (Note the progression from abusing men to abusing women and then children.) As Waltke points out (p. 646), the idolatry has allowed oppression and injustice; "False theology leads to unethical behavior,"
Micah 2:10-11, False promises of beer
Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
it is ruined,
beyond all remedy.
If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
`I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,'
he would be just the prophet for this people!
Judah is defiled. In order to please the people and the rulers, there are liars and deceivers who promise prosperity and pleasure, "Lots of wine and beer!" The Hebrew word for falsehood (in verse 11) is sheqer, while the word translated "beer" is shekar; the liar speaks a sheqer, promising shekar.
It is possible that Micah's command in the first line of verse 10 is a deliberate echo of the shouts of the rich oppressors as they take over the land of the poor. One's home should be a resting place -- now it is the rich leaders who will be denied rest.
Micah 2:12-13, A breaker shepherd
"I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.
One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their king will pass through before them,
the LORD at their head."
Instead of the liars who promise wine and beer, Micah promises, after a future judgment, that there will be a future peace. A Breaker (hap·pō·rêṣ) will break open a way to return the people to their safe pen and pasture. This powerful shepherd king will lead them, with YHWH at the front of their parade, to a final home. This shepherd king will be described more later (in 4:6-8 for example.)
Some Random Thoughts
A major message of all the prophets seems to be "false theology leads to unethical behavior," as quoted in the commentary on verses 7-9. The constant message of almost all the prophets is that the people of Israel have turned and worshiped other gods. And that the natural consequence of this is injustice and oppression of the poor. The idolatry and oppression of the poor are not separated; they are viewed as pieces of the same cloth.
First published July 14, 2025; updated July 14, 2025
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