Historical chapter commentary
Verse 1. I. Hebrew and Septuagint “He, the Lord, said;” or, Micheas addressed the princes of both kingdoms, under Ezechias. verse 12. Jeremiah 26:18.—To know and practice. Osee 6:3. Calmet.—Both rich and poor strove to extort from each other. Worthington.
Verse 2. Skins. When some exhorted Tiberius to lay on more taxes, he replied: “a good shepherd must shear the flock, and not tear off the skin.” Suet. xxxii.
Verse 5. Peace. They pretend goodness, while they do the greatest mischief.—Prepare. Lit. “sanctify,” ( Bible.) or denounce war. Calmet.—False prophets seek their private lucre. Worthington.
Verse 6. Vision. Impostors shall skulk through fear, when the people shall see that they were not sent. verse 7.
Verse 8. Spirit. I am no impostor. Calmet. 2:11.
Verse 10. Iniquity. You offer victims unjustly procured, or build your palaces with what belongs to the poor.
Verse 11. Hire. It is not lawful to refuse instruction to those who have nothing; nor must priests act solely for a temporal reward, though reason shews that they should be supported by those whom they have to teach. Matthew 10:8, 10. Galatians 6:6 and 1 Timothy 5:18. Calmet.—The judges grew rich by other people’s quarrels; and, as all ranks offended, they were justly involved in ruin. verse 12. Worthington.
Verse 12. Forests, after its destruction by Nabuchodonosor. Calmet.—In the space of three years’ neglect, shrubs were growing in the courts of the temple. 1 Maccabees 4:38. Bible.—Rufus ploughed up the spot where the temple had stood, after the Romans had burnt it down. Saint Jerome Jos. Bel. vii. 20.—This prediction made a deep impression on the minds of the people. It caused them to refrain from killing Jeremias. verse 1. Calmet.
The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).