Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Micah
Micah is a prophet of both stern justice and tender hope, alternating between warnings of judgment on a corrupt people and shining promises: the ruler to come from Bethlehem, and the timeless call to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Micah records the ministry of Micah of Moresheth, a contemporary of Isaiah who prophesied to Judah roughly 750 to 700 BC. He confronts the injustice, corruption, and idolatry of both Israel and Judah, warning of judgment while holding out extraordinary hope. Micah foretells the ruler who would come from Bethlehem (5:2), and sums up true religion in one of Scripture's most quoted verses: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God (6:8).
This commentary covers Micah verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Micah's prophecy of Bethlehem points directly to the birth of Jesus, and his call to justice, mercy, and humility describes the heart God has always sought. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
All 7 chapters of Micah are complete, from the LORD coming down in judgment, through the Ruler born in Bethlehem and the call to do justly and love mercy, to the closing hymn to the God who casts our sins into the depths of the sea.
Author
Micah of Moresheth in Judah, a contemporary of Isaiah.
Setting
Judah and Israel, roughly 750 to 700 BC.
Key Themes
Justice, judgment on corruption, and the hope of a coming ruler.
Famous Verses
The ruler from Bethlehem (5:2); do justly, love mercy (6:8).
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Micah Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Micah 1:1-16
The LORD Comes Down
God steps out of His holy temple to witness against Samaria and Judah, the mountains melt before Him, and the prophet wails over an incurable wound of sin reaching the gate of Jerusalem.
Read Chapter 1 →Micah 2:1-13
The Breaker Is Come Up Before Them
The woe on those who 'devise iniquity' on their beds and seize the fields and houses of the poor 'because it is in the power of their hand'; the people who tell the prophets 'Prophesy ye not'; and the sudden hope of the gathered flock led out by 'the breaker,' their King, 'and the LORD on the head of them.'
Read Chapter 2 →Micah 3:1-12
Full of Power by the Spirit of the LORD
The rulers who 'hate the good, and love the evil' and devour God's people, the prophets who cry 'Peace' for pay, priests who 'teach for hire,' Micah's lone boldness 'full of power by the spirit of the LORD,' and the shattering of presumption, 'Zion shall be plowed as a field.'
Read Chapter 3 →Micah 4:1-13
Swords Into Plowshares
The mountain of the LORD exalted in the last days, the nations flowing to learn His ways, 'they shall beat their swords into plowshares,' every man 'under his vine and under his fig tree,' the gathering of the lame into a strong nation, and the promise that though Zion goes 'even to Babylon,' 'there the LORD shall redeem thee.'
Read Chapter 4 →Micah 5:1-15
But Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah
The great prophecy of the Ruler born in Bethlehem 'whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting,' the Shepherd-King great 'unto the ends of the earth,' the promise that 'this man shall be the peace,' and the remnant among the nations 'as a dew from the LORD' and 'as a lion,' purged of every idol.
Read Chapter 5 →Micah 6:1-16
To Do Justly, and to Love Mercy
The LORD's courtroom controversy with His people, the wounded plea 'O my people, what have I done unto thee?', the famous summary of true religion, 'what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?', and the barren judgment on 'the bag of deceitful weights' and 'the statutes of Omri.'
Read Chapter 6 →Micah 7:1-20
Who Is a God Like Unto Thee?
The prophet's grief over a corrupt society where 'the good man is perished,' his resolve 'I will look unto the LORD,' the confidence 'when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me,' and the book's glorious close, 'Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity... and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.'
Read Chapter 7 →