Miqueas 7:3

Filipino Cebuano Bible

3 Ang ilang mga kamot anaa na sa kadautan andam sa bulohaton sa pagbuhat niana sa dakung kakugi; ang principe mangutang batok sa linupigan ug ang maghuhukom andam sa pagdawat sa balus; ug ang tawong gamhanan, nagapahayag siya sa dautang tinguha sa iyang kalag: sa ingon niana gisalapid nila ang justicia .

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."