Rebuke of False Prophets and Complacent People
Micah 2:6-11
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Mic.2.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תטפו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- יטיפון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יטפו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לאלה: PREP+DEM,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יסג: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כלמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 30:10 (thematic): Both passages condemn the demand that prophets stop speaking hard truth and instead give comforting or 'smooth' messages; Isaiah rails against requests to 'prophesy not' or to tell pleasant lies rather than warning.
- Jeremiah 23:16 (thematic): Jeremiah warns not to listen to prophets who prophesy lies and offer false peace—a similar denunciation of misleading or silencing prophecy as in Micah.
- Ezekiel 13:3-9 (thematic): Ezekiel rebukes false prophets who prophesy out of their own minds and tells them they shall no longer prophesy—paralleling Micah’s censure of improper or silencing prophetic speech.
- Micah 3:5 (structural): An internal parallel within Micah that similarly condemns prophets who mislead the people and prophesy for gain, reinforcing the book’s recurring critique of false prophecy and corrupt prophetic practice.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Do not prophesy,” they say to the prophets; “do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions.”
- “Do not prophesy,” say those who prophesy; “do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions.”
Mic.2.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- האמור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הקצר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- מעלליו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- הלוא: PART
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- ייטיבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- עם: PREP
- הישר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- הולך: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:1 (verbal): Both use a rhetorical denial that God’s power or Spirit is limited (Mic. “Is the Spirit of the LORD short?”; Isa. “Behold, the hand of the LORD is not shortened”) to rebut charges of divine inability.
- Jeremiah 23:29 (thematic): Emphasizes the power and effect of God’s word (Jer. “Is not my word like as a fire… and like a hammer?”), resonating with Micah’s claim that God’s words do good to the upright.
- Psalm 33:4 (verbal): Affirms the righteousness and reliability of God’s speech and works (“For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth”), paralleling Micah’s trust in the goodness of God’s words and deeds.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 (thematic): Declares the perfection and justice of God’s actions (“His work is perfect, for all his ways are justice”), echoing Micah’s point that these are indeed the LORD’s doings and are good for the upright.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do those of the house of Jacob say, “Has the LORD’s spirit grown short?” —Are these his deeds? Will not my words do good for the upright who walk blamelessly?
- Whoever says to the house of Jacob, “The Spirit of the LORD is short,”—are these his deeds?—do not my words do good to the one who walks uprightly?
Mic.2.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתמול: CONJ+ADV
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- לאויב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יקומם: VERB,qal,imf,3,m,sg+3mpobj
- ממול: ADV
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אדר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תפשטון: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,pl
- מעברים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בטח: ADV
- שובי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- מלחמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.28:25 (thematic): Part of the Deuteronomic curse-speech where the LORD raises enemies against Israel as punishment; parallels the motif of God standing up against his people and bringing foreign adversaries.
- Isa.10:5-6 (allusion): Assyria is portrayed as the rod/agent of God's anger raised against a people for their sins—a close parallel to the idea of an enemy being set over/against Israel as divine judgment.
- Isa.63:10-11 (verbal): Speaks of Israel grieving the Holy Spirit so that God 'turned and became their enemy'; a verbal and theological parallel to the theme of God or an adversary rising against his people.
- Ps.78:59-62 (thematic): Retells how God, provoked by Israel's sin, 'gave them to the sword' and delivered them into the hands of enemies—echoing the theme of being yielded up to hostile nations.
- Hosea 8:7 (thematic): Describes Israel's culpability and the consequent disaster (sowing wind, reaping whirlwind); thematically linked as an explanation for why enemies rise up against Israel as judgment for their sins.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yesterday my people rose up like an enemy; you stripped the cloak from the passerby who trusted you; you plundered their safety and turned back to battle.
- Lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip off the cloak from those who live at ease, you take away their mantle as spoil—
Mic.2.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נשי: NOUN,f,pl,abs,1cs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- תגרשון: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תענגיה: VERB,qal,impf,2,sg
- מעל: PREP
- עלליה: NOUN,f,sg,abs,pr3f
- תקחו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- הדרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,pr1s
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 3:14-15 (verbal): Accuses the leaders of devouring the vineyard and placing the spoil of the poor in their houses—language about possessions/houses of the poor echoes Micah’s charge of driving people from their homes and seizing their property.
- Amos 5:11 (thematic): Condemns trampling on the poor and exacting levies while building fine houses (which they do not inhabit); thematically parallels Micah’s critique of social exploitation and dispossession of families.
- Zechariah 7:10 (thematic): Commands not to oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor—this injunction stands in direct ethical contrast to Micah’s complaint that people (women/households) are driven from their homes.
- Deuteronomy 24:17 (verbal): Legal prohibition against perverting justice for the sojourner and fatherless and against taking a widow’s garment in pledge—provides the Torah-law background violated by the practices Micah condemns.
- Jeremiah 22:3 (thematic): Calls for justice—deliverance of the spoiled from the hand of the oppressor and protection of the needy—parallels Micah’s prophetic denunciation of those who strip families of their homes and inheritance.
Alternative generated candidates
- You will drive the women of my people from their houses; you will take away their delights from before their eyes; you will strip off their beauty forever.
- the women of my people you drive from their pleasant houses; from their children you take away my splendour forever.
Mic.2.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קומו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- ולכו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- המנוחה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בעבור: PREP
- טמאה: ADJ,f,sg
- תחבל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- וחבל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נמרץ: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 52:11 (verbal): Both texts issue an imperative to ‘depart/go out’ and warn against touching the unclean — a call to leave a defiled place; Isaiah 52:11’s ‘Depart, depart; touch no unclean thing’ closely echoes Micah’s ‘Arise and go… for it is not a resting-place because of uncleanness.’
- Jeremiah 50:8 (thematic): Jeremiah’s ‘Flee out of the midst of Babylon… deliver every man his soul’ parallels Micah’s summons to depart because the place is defiled and destined for destruction — the theme of urgent flight from doomed, impure localities.
- Zechariah 2:6 (structural): Zechariah’s repeated cry ‘Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north…’ mirrors Micah’s imperative structure (arise/leave) — both are prophetic commands to depart in view of impending judgment or displacement.
- Leviticus 18:25 (thematic): Leviticus warns that when the land is defiled it will ‘vomit out its inhabitants’ — a legal/theological parallel to Micah’s idea that uncleanness makes a place no resting‑place and brings about destruction/expulsion.
Alternative generated candidates
- Arise, go away — for this is not your resting place; impurity has been found, and you shall be ensnared by a strong cord.
- Arise and go, for this is not your resting place; because it is defiled, it will consume you—an eager cord will entangle you.
Mic.2.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושקר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כזב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אטף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ליין: VERB,qal,inf
- ולשכר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מטיף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:14 (thematic): Condemns prophets who prophesy lies and seduce/lead the people astray—parallel to Micah’s rebuke of a deceitful speaker who addresses the people.
- Isaiah 28:7 (verbal): Speaks of priests and prophets reeling with wine and strong drink, linking intoxication with prophetic failure—language and theme echo Micah’s image of enticement by wine.
- Hosea 4:11 (thematic): Connects whoredom and wine to the loss of understanding and moral/ spiritual seduction, paralleling Micah’s motif of intoxicants leading people into error.
- Proverbs 20:1 (verbal): States that wine is a mocker and strong drink deceives, matching Micah’s portrayal of wine/strong drink as instruments of deception.
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (thematic): Denounces false prophets/prophetesses who utter lies and deceive the people with false visions—closely parallels Micah’s charge against a lying teacher addressing the nation.
Alternative generated candidates
- If a man goes about in spirit and falsehood, a liar saying, “I will prophesy for you of wine and strong drink,” then he shall be the proclaimer for this people.
- Can one who deals in empty talk and lies say, “I will go after wine and strong drink; I will be the prophet for this people”?
“Do not prophesy,” they say to those who prophesy. “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things; prophesy illusions.”
O you who are called the house of Jacob—“Is the Spirit of the LORD short?”—are these his deeds? Do not my words do good for the one who walks uprightly?
Even lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip the cloak from those who pass by secure, from those who trust in you; you set yourselves once more for battle.
You drive the women of my people from their pleasant houses; from their young you strip away the treasures of their delight—you take away their glory forever.
Arise and go; for this is not your rest. Because it is defiled, it will bring ruin upon you—severe destruction is coming.
If a man goes about in a spirit of falsehood and utters lies, saying, “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink,” then he shall be the prophet for this people.