the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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New Living Translation
Micah 7:3
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People are good at doing bad things with both hands. Officials ask for bribes. Judges take money to change their decisions in court. "Important leaders" do whatever they want to do.
As for evil, both hands do it well. The leader asks for a bribe, also the judge, And the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul; So they plot it together.
With both hands they are doing evil. Rulers ask for money, and judges' decisions are bought for a price. Rich people tell what they want, and they get it.
Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asks, and the judge [is ready] for a reward; and the great man, he utters the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together.
That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh] for a reward; and the great [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly; The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul. So they twist the course of justice between them.
Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.
Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; And the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
The yuel of her hondis thei seien good; the prince axith, and the domesman is in yeldyng; and a greet man spak the desir of his soule, and thei sturbliden togidere it.
Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the mischief of his soul: thus they weave it together.
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe; when the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
People cooperate to commit crime. Judges and leaders demand bribes, and rulers cheat in court.
Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together.
Their hands are made ready to do evil; the ruler makes requests for money, and the judge is looking for a reward; and the great man gives decisions at his pleasure, and the right is twisted.
Their hands do evil well. The prince makes his request, the judge grants it for a price, and the great man expresses his evil desires — thus they weave it together.
Both hands are for evil, to do it well. The prince asketh, and the judge [is there] for a reward; and the great [man] uttereth his soul's greed: and [together] they combine it.
Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.
That they may doe euill with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the iudge asketh for a reward: and the great man, he vttereth his mischieuous desire: so they wrap it vp.
Both hands are very able in doing sinful things. The ruler and the judge ask for pay in secret to do what is wrong. The powerful man tells what he wants, and they all make plans together.
Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice.
To make good for the euil of their hands, the prince asked, and the iudge iudgeth for a reward: therefore the great man he speaketh out the corruption of his soule: so they wrapt it vp.
Their hands are ready to do evil, and they never do good; the governor asks for gold, and the judge says, Give me a bribe; and the prince speaks the desire of his soul.
Of wickedness with both hands to make sure, the ruler, doth make demand - and the judge - for a recompense, - and, as for the great man, he, is putting into words the desire of his soul, So have they woven the net!
The evil of their hands they call good: the prince requireth, and the judge is for giving: and the great man hath uttered the desire of his soul, and they have troubled it.
Their hands are upon what is evil, to do it diligently; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.
Yet they say they do wel, when they do euyll: the prince asketh, and the iudge [iudgeth] for a rewarde, therfore the great man speaketh out of the corruption of his soule, and so they wrappe it vp.
they prepare their hands for mischief, the prince asks a reward, and the judge speaks flattering words; it is the desire of their soul:
They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential people tell them what they want, and so they scheme together.
Both hands are good at accomplishing evil:the official and the judge demand a bribe;when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,they plot it together.
Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; And the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
Their hands are upon evil, to do it well; the official and the judge ask for the bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; and they weave it together.
Both hands are on evil, to do it well. The ruler is asking for a bribe, also the judge. And the great one speaks the lust of his soul; he acts , and they weave it together.
On the evil [are] both hands to do [it] well, The prince is asking -- also the judge -- for recompence, And the great -- he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.
yet they saye they do well, when they do euell. As the prince wil, so sayeth the iudge: yt he maye do him a pleasure agayne. The greate ma speaketh what his herte desyreth, & ye hearers alowe him.
They are determined to be experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.
That they may successfully do evil with both hands-- The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.
Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the desire of his soul; So they weave it together.
Concerning evil, both hands do it well.The prince asks, also the judge, for a payment,And a great man speaks the craving of his soul;So they weave it together.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
do: Proverbs 4:16, Proverbs 4:17, Jeremiah 3:5, Ezekiel 22:6
the prince: Micah 3:11, Isaiah 1:23, Jeremiah 8:10, Ezekiel 22:27, Hosea 4:18, Amos 5:12, Matthew 26:15
the great: 1 Kings 21:9-14
his mischievous desire: Heb. the mischief of his soul
wrap: Isaiah 26:21, Luke 12:1, Luke 12:2, 1 Corinthians 4:5
Reciprocal: Genesis 19:4 - But Exodus 20:15 - General Exodus 23:8 - thou shalt take Leviticus 25:14 - General Deuteronomy 1:17 - ye shall hear Deuteronomy 16:19 - wrest Deuteronomy 24:17 - pervert Deuteronomy 27:25 - General Judges 16:5 - we will 2 Samuel 11:14 - wrote a letter 2 Samuel 13:4 - from day to day 2 Samuel 13:29 - servants 1 Kings 21:7 - I will give thee 2 Chronicles 19:7 - taking of gifts Job 22:8 - But as Job 31:21 - when Job 31:34 - that I Psalms 15:5 - nor taketh Psalms 26:10 - bribes Psalms 50:18 - consentedst Psalms 52:1 - mischief Proverbs 16:30 - moving Proverbs 17:8 - whithersoever Proverbs 17:23 - General Proverbs 18:5 - to overthrow Proverbs 24:2 - General Proverbs 28:21 - for Proverbs 29:4 - he that receiveth gifts Proverbs 30:15 - Give Ecclesiastes 3:16 - General Isaiah 5:23 - for reward Isaiah 32:7 - instruments Isaiah 33:15 - shaketh Isaiah 59:14 - General Jeremiah 5:5 - but these Jeremiah 6:7 - violence Jeremiah 9:3 - they bend Jeremiah 11:9 - General Jeremiah 17:11 - he that Ezekiel 9:9 - perverseness Ezekiel 22:12 - taken gifts Hosea 7:1 - they commit Hosea 7:3 - General Amos 2:7 - pant Amos 6:12 - for Malachi 2:16 - covereth Acts 5:9 - have Acts 23:14 - General Acts 24:9 - General Acts 24:26 - hoped 1 Timothy 6:10 - the love
Gill's Notes on the Bible
That they may do evil with both hands earnestly,.... Or "well" t, strenuously, diligently, to the utmost of their power, labouring at it with all their might and main; as wicked men generally are more industrious, and exert themselves more to do evil than good men do to do good; and even weary themselves to commit iniquity: or, "instead of doing good", as Marinus in Aben Ezra, take a great deal of pains to do evil; work with both hands at it, instead of doing good. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "they prepare their hands for evil"; the Syriac version is, "their hands are read? to evil, and they do not do good"; with which agrees the Targum,
"they do evil with their hands, and do not do good.''
Some make the sense to depend on what goes before and follows; "to do evil, both hands" are open and ready, and they hurt with them; "but to do, good the prince asketh, and the judge for a reward" u; forward enough to do evil, but very backward to do any good office;
the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh] for a reward; and, if they do it, must be bribed, and have a reward for it, even persons of such high character; but this sense is not favoured by, the accents; besides, by what follows, it seems as if the "prince", by whom may be meant the king upon the throne, and the "judge" he that sits upon the bench under him, sought for bribes to do an ill thing; to give a cause wrong against a poor man, and in favour of a rich man that will bribe high:
and the great [man] he uttereth his mischievous desire; the depravity, corruption, and perverseness of his soul; who is either some great man at court, that, being encouraged by the example of the prince and judge, openly and publicly requires a bribe also to do an ill thing; and without any shame or blushing promises to do it on that consideration; or a counsellor at the bar, who openly declares that he will speak in such a cause, though a bad one, and defend it, and not doubt of carrying it; or else this is some rich wicked man, that seeks to oppress his poor neighbour, and, being favoured by the prince and judge he has bribed, does without fear or shame speak out the wickedness of his heart, and what an ill design he has against his neighbour, whose mischief, hurt, and ruin, he seeks:
so they wrap it up together; or, "twist it together" w; as cords are, which thereby become strong; slid so these three work up this mischievous business, and strengthen and establish it; and such a threefold cord of wickedness is not easily broken or unravelled: or, "they perplex it" x; as thick branches of trees are implicated and wrapped together; so these agree to puzzle and perplex a cause, that they may have some show of carrying it with justice and truth. So the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "they trouble it"; confound the matter, and make it dark, dubious, and difficult. The Targum is, "they corrupt it"; or deprave it; put an ill sense on things, and make a wrong construction of them.
t להיטיב "bene", Drusius. u So Grotius. w יעבתוה "contorquent", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius "contorquere solent", Burkius; "contortuplicant", Junius, Grotius; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 38. 2. x "A radice עבת quae intricare significat, atque confusum reddere, atque perplexum", Sanctius,
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
That they may do evil with both hands earnestly - (Literally, upon evil both hands to do well,) that is, “both their hands are upon evil to do it well,” or “earnestly” , as our translation gives the meaning; only the Hebrew expresses more, that evil is their good, and their good or excellence is in evil. Bad men gain a dreadful skill and wisdom in evil, as Satan has; and cleverness in evil is their delight. Jerome: “They call the evil of their hands good.” “The prince asketh, and the judge asketh (or, it may more readily be supplied, judgeth, doth that which is his office,) against right “for a reward”, (which was strictly forbidden,) “and the great man he uttereth his mischievos desire” (Deuteronomy 16:19. See above Micah 3:11), (or the “desire of his soul”.) Even the shew of good is laid aside; whatever the heart conceives and covets, it utters; - mischief to others and in the end to itself.
The mischief comes forth from the soul, and returns upon it. “The elders and nobles in the city” 1 Kings 21:8, 1 Kings 21:11, as well as Ahab, took part, (as one instance,) in the murder of Naboth. The great man, however, here, is rather the source of the evil, which he induces others to effect; so that as many as there were great, so many sources were there of oppression. All, prince, judges, the great, unite in the ill, and this not once only, but they are ever doing it and “so they wrap it up”, (literally, twist, intertwine it.) Things are twisted, either to strengthen, or to pervert or intricate them. It might mean, they “strengthen” it, that which their soul covets against; the poor, or they “pervert” it, the cause of the poor.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Micah 7:3. That they may do evil with both hands — That is, earnestly, greedily, to the uttermost of their power. The Vulgate translates: Malum manuum suarum dicunt bonum; "The evil of their hands they call good."
The prince asketh — A bribe, to forward claims in his court.
The judge asketh for a reward — That he may decide the cause in favour of him who gives most money, whether the cause be good or evil. This was notoriously the case in our own country before the giving of Magna Charta; and hence that provision, Nulli vendemus justitiam aut rectum: "We will not sell justice to any man." And this was not the only country in which justice and judgment were put to sale.
The great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire — Such consider themselves above law, and they make no secret of their unjust determinations. And so they wrap it up - they all conjoin in doing evil in their several offices, and oppressing the poor; so our translators have interpreted the original ויעבתוה vayeabtuha, which the versions translate variously. Newcome has, "And they do abominably."
