Micah 2:4

In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through the prophet Micah to the oppressive leaders of Israel, announcing a coming day of calamity where their unjust land seizures will be turned against them.

The words — מָשָׁ֗ל (ma.Shal) denotes a proverb or taunting saying, while נִֽהְיָה֙ (nih.Yah) literally means "it is finished," capturing the finality of their ruin.

The thread — The structure of a taunting proverb appears in Habakkuk 2:6, while the theme of forfeited land allotments connects directly to Micah 2:3 and 2:5.

Why it lands — It demands recognition that divine justice reverses human exploitation, requiring readers to abandon pride and acknowledge that unjust gain leads to total loss.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

בַּיּ֨וֹםba/i.Yomon the/ day הַה֜וּאha./Hu'<the>/ that יִשָּׂ֧אyi.Sa'someone will lift up עֲלֵיכֶ֣ם'a.lei./Khemon/ you מָשָׁ֗לma.Shala saying וְנָהָ֨הve./na.Hahand/ he will wail נְהִ֤יne.Hia wailing נִֽהְיָה֙nih.Yahit is finished אָמַר֙'a.Marhe will say שָׁד֣וֹדsha.Dodutterly <devastate>נְשַׁדֻּ֔נוּne.sha.Du.nuwe are devastated חֵ֥לֶקChe.lek[the] portion of עַמִּ֖י'a.M/ipeople/ my יָמִ֑ירya.Mirhe exchanges אֵ֚יךְ'eikhhow!יָמִ֣ישׁya.Mishhe removes [it]לִ֔יL/ifor/ meלְשׁוֹבֵ֥בle./sho.Vevto/ an apostate שָׂדֵ֖ינוּsa.Dei./nufields/ our יְחַלֵּֽק׃ye.cha.Lekhe apportions

King James Version

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Cross-references

Habakkuk 2:6 Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’
Numbers 23:7 And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
Deuteronomy 28:29 and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.
Isaiah 6:11 Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
Isaiah 24:3 The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered. For the LORD has spoken this word.
Jeremiah 9:10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
Jeremiah 9:17 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them.
Micah 1:15 I will again bring a conqueror against you, O dweller of Mareshah. The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
Numbers 23:18 Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
Numbers 24:3 and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,