Shall the seers be ashamed - For the false visions of comfort and prosperity which they pretended to see. And the diviners confounded - Who pretended to foretell future prosperity; for they themselves are now thralled in that very captivity which the true prophets foretold, and which the false prophets said should not happen. read more
But - I am full of power - Here is the character of the true prophet. He is filled, all his soul is occupied with power, כח coach , with heavenly energy; by the Spirit of the Lord, the fountain of all truth and might; and of judgment, which enables him to make a proper discernment between the precious and the vile; and of might, גבורה geburah , prevalent power, against which vice shall not be able to prevail, and before which iniquity shall not be able to stand: but all shall fall... read more
Hear this - An appeal similar to that in Micah 3:1 . read more
They build up Zion with blood - They might cry out loudly against that butchery practiced by Pekah, king of Israel, and Pul coadjutor of Rezie, against the Jews. See on Micah 2:9 ; (note). But these were by no means clear themselves; for if they strengthened the city, or decorated the temple, it was by the produce of their exactions and oppressions of the people. I do not know a text more applicable than this to slave-dealers; or to any who have made their fortunes by such wrongs as... read more
The heads thereof judge for reward - This does not apply to the regular law officers, who have their proper salaries for giving up their whole time and attention to the conscientious discharge of the duties of their office; but to those who take a reward, who take Bribes, for the perversion of justice; who will decide in favor of those from whom they get the greatest reward. The prophets - divine for money - These are evidently the false prophets; for none, professing to be sent by God,... read more
Therefore shall Zion - be ploughed as a field - It shall undergo a variety of reverses and sackages, till at last there shall not be one stone left on the top of another, that shall not be pulled down; and then a plough shall be drawn along the site of the walls, to signify an irreparable and endless destruction. Of this ancient custom Horace speaks, Odar. lib. i., Od. 16, ver. 18. Altis urbibus ultimae Stetere causae cur perirent Funditus, imprimeretque muris Hostile aratrum... read more
Verse 1 The Prophet in this chapter assails and severely reproves the chief men as well as the teachers; for both were given to avarice and cruelty, to plunder, and, in short, to all other vices. And he begins with the magistrates, who exercised authority among the people; and briefly relates the words in which he inveighed against them. We have said elsewhere, that the Prophets did not record all that they had spoken, but only touched shortly on the heads or chief points: and this was done by... read more
Verse 2 He afterwards subjoins, But they hate good, and love evil, and pull off the skin (94) from my people, the flesh from their bones; that is, they leave nothing, he says, sound and safe, their rapacity being so furious. The Prophet conveys first a general reproof, — that they not only perverted justice, but were also given to wickedness and hated good. He means then that they were openly wicked and ungodly, and also that they with a fixed purpose carried on war against every thing just and... read more
Verse 3 They devour, he says, the flesh of my people, and their skin they strip off from them, and their bones they break in pieces and make small, as that which into the pot is thrown, and which is in the midst of the caldron (95) For when any one throws meat into the pot, he does not take the whole ox, but cuts it into pieces, and having broken it, he then fills with these pieces his pot or his caldron. The Prophet then enhances the cruelty of the princes; they were not content with one kind... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Micah 3:6
Night shall be unto you - Ye shall have no spiritual light, nor will God give you any revelation of his will. The sun shall go down over the prophets - They prospered for a while, causing the people to err; but they shall also be carried into captivity, and then the sun of their prosperity shall go down for ever, and the very day that gives light and comfort to others, shall be darkness and calamity to them. read more