Micah 7:5 - Exposition

Such is the moral corruption that the nearest relations cannot be trusted: selfishness reigns everywhere The prophet emphasizes this universal evil by warning the better portion of the people. Friend … guide. There is a gradation here, beginning with "neighbour," or "common acquaintance," and ending with "wife." The word rendered "guide" means "closest, most familiar friend, as in Psalms 55:13 (14, Hebrew). Our version is sanctioned by the Septuagint, ἡγουμένοις , "leaders;" and the Vulgate, duce; but the context confirms the other translation (comp. Proverbs 16:28 ; Proverbs 17:9 ). Our Lord has used some of the expressions in the next verso in describing the miseries of the latter day ( Matthew 10:21 , Matthew 10:35 , Matthew 10:36 ; Matthew 24:12 ; comp. Luke 12:53 ; Luke 21:16 ; 2 Timothy 3:2 ). Keep the doors of thy mouth. Guard thy secrets. (For the phrase, comp. Psalms 141:3 .) Her that lieth in thy bosom. Thy wife ( Deuteronomy 13:6 ; Deuteronomy 28:54 ).