The Book of Micah with Brit-Am/Hebrew Awareness Commentary
Continued from Micah ch.6. part 2.
Micah (ESV) 7:
1 Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
Woe is me! In Hebrew "alali-li" meaning literally "Wail for me!
"Alal" is the root of the English word "wail." The similarity between English and Hebrew is actually a very strong point of ours.
For various reasons we have not stressed this enough.
The Prophet is saying that he feels like the left-overs from the summer harvest, the almost-rejects and second grade fruit that most people disregard.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.
Everyone has turned astray.
3 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.
Everyone is corrupt. Greed, graft and avarice rules in the courts and administration.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
The Time of Retribution predicted by the Prophet has arrived.
What are you going to do now?
5 Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
Do not even confide in your wife concerning matters whose knowledge can do you harm!
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
Children rebel against their parents. In-laws fight with each other.
In normal times the family of a person is their bastion of strength.
Now due to our sins the opposite holds!
7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Pray to God. Trust in HIM. He will help you!
Continued at Micah ch. 7 part 2. Dan, Oriel, and Ireland.