Micah 6:12

For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. FOR - rather, 'Inasmuch as,' etc.; the conclusion, "therefore," etc., following in . THE RICH MEN THEREOF - of Jerusalem....

The Prophet means that the people were so given to avarice and plunder, that all the riches they had heaped together had been got by iniquitous robberies or by wicked gain. He now addresses the citizens of Jerusalem: for though iniquity then prevailed through the whole of Judea, there was yet a reason why he should distinctly accuse the inhabitants of Jerusalem; for they must have led the way by their example, and they were also worse in wickedness than the rest of the people: they were at least more obstinate, as they daily heard God’s Prophets. Hence he says, _her rich men gather not their wealth _except by violence. It is indeed certain, that the rich were not then alone guilty before God; but this evil has too much prevailed, that the more liberty any one possesses, the more he employs it to do wrong. Those indeed who have not the power refrain, not because they are not inclined to d...

9-16 God, having showed how necessary it was that they should do justly, here shows how plain it was that they had done unjustly. This voice of the Lord says to all, Hear the rod when it is coming, before you see it, and feel it. Hear the rod when it is come, and you are sensible of the smart; hear what counsels, what cautions it speaks. The voice of God is to be heard in the rod of God. Those who are dishonest in their dealings shall never be reckoned pure, whatever shows of devotion they may make. What is got by fraud and oppression, cannot be kept or enjoyed with satisfaction. What we hold closest we commonly lose soonest. Sin is a root of bitterness, soon planted, but not soon plucked up again. Their being the people of God in name and profession, while they kept themselves in his love, was an honour to them; but now, being backsliders, their having been once the people of God turns...

Verse Micah 6:12. _FOR THE RICH MEN THEREOF ARE FULL OF VIOLENCE_] This shows that they did not _love mercy_. _THE INHABITANTS THEREOF HAVE SPOKEN LIES_] This shows that they did not _humble themselves to walk with God_....

FOR THE RICH MEN THEREOF - that is, “of the city, Micah 6:9 are full of violence.” It bad been little, had thieves and robbers lived by violence, but now, (as Isaiah at the same time upbraids them,) “her princes were become companions of thieves” Isaiah 1:23. Not the poor out of distress, but the rich, out of wantonness and exceeding covetousness and love of luxury, not only did wrong but were filled, not so much with riches, as with violence. Violence is the very meat and drink wherewith they are filled, yea, and wherewith they shall be filled, when it is returned upon their heads. AND THE INHABITANTS THEREOF HAVE SPOKEN LIES - Fraud is itself lying, and lying is its inseparable companion. Jerome: “Lying followeth the gathering together of rich

EXPOSITION VERSE 6:1-7:20 Part III. In this address, which is later than the preceding parts, the prophet sets forth the way of salvation: PUNISHMENT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN; REPENTANCE IS THE ONLY GROUND FOR HOPE OF PARTICIPATING IN THE COVENANT MERCIES. MICAH 6:1 1. _God_'_s controversy with his people for their ingratitude._ MICAH 6:1 HEAR YE NOW. The whol

FOR THE RICH MEN THEREOF ARE FULL OF VIOLENCE,.... That is, the rich men of the city, to whom the voice of the Lord cried, Micah 6:9. Jerusalem or Samaria, or any or all the cities of Israel and Judah; the rich men of these cities, who had enough of the world, and were under no temptation to do an ill thing, to get money; and yet their hands and their houses, and their treasuries, as the Targum, were full of goods gotten by violent measures, by the oppression of the poor and needy: AND THE INHABITANTS THEREOF HAVE SPOKEN LIES; the rest of the inhabitants, who were not so rich as others, and who had it not in the power of their hands to oppress as others had; yet used deceitful and fraudulent methods to cheat their neighbours in buying and selling; and, to do this, did not stick to tell downright deliberate lies: AND THEIR TONGUE [IS] DECEITFUL IN THEIR MOUTH;

Micah 6:1. _Hear ye now what the LORD saith;_ And yet some doubt the infallible inspiration of Scripture. I would commence every reading of the Scripture with such a word of admonition as this: «Hear ye now what the Lord saith.» That is what the prophet said; but God spake by the prophet: «Hear ye now what the Lord saith.» Micah 6:1. _Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice._ As men were hardened, and turned away their ears, the prophet was bidden to speak to the mountains, those mountains which had been disfigured with the shrines of idols, with altars on every high hill, or, perhaps, those higher hills that were never cultivated, and that remained untouched by the defiling hand of men. God makes an appeal to these ancient things....

THE THIRD PROPHETIC DISCOURSE (6-7) CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The words of Jehovah to His people (Micah 6:1) _ 2. Israel's answer (Micah 6:6) 3. The moral demands of Jehovah (Micah 6:8) 4. The Lord must judge them (Micah 6:9) Micah 6:1. This chapter is cast in the form of a controversy. The utterance has been called by some the most important in the prophetic literature. It is hardly this, nor is, as critics claim, the eighth verse a definition of religion, “the greatest saying in the Old Testament.” The beginning is sublime, “Hear ye now what

COMMERCIAL DISHONESTY AND ITS PUNISHMENT. This rather corrupt passage is quite distinct from Micah 6:1. It may have been written by Micah, and forms a parallel to his denunciation of agrarian dishonesty in Micah 2:1 ff. But it might equally well belong, _e.g._ to the time of Malachi 3:5 (c. 450) in respect of the sins which are denounced and the threat of their punishment. Let Jerusalem listen to Yahweh, who asks concerning the wealth of the wicked, and the dishonest means by which it has been acquired (Deuteronomy 25:14; Proverbs 20:10;...