Adam Clarke

“ Verse 10
Arise ye, and depart - Prepare for your captivity; ye shall have no resting place here: the very land is polluted by your iniquities, and shall vomit you out, and it shall be destroyed; and the destruction of it shall be great and sore.
Some think this is an exhortation to the godly, to leave a land that was to be destroyed so speedily.
Verse 11
If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood - The meaning is: If a man who professes to be Divinely inspired do lie, by prophesying of plenty, etc., then such a person shall be received as a true prophet by this people. ”

“ Verse 5
What is the transgression of Jacob? - Is it not something extremely grievous? Is it not that of Samaria? Samaria and Jerusalem, the chief cities, are infected with idolatry. Each has its high places, and its idol worship, in opposition to the worship of the true God. That there was idolatry practiced by the elders of Israel, even in the temple of Jehovah, see [61] , etc. As the royal cities in both kingdoms gave the example of gross idolatry, no wonder that it spread through the whole land, both of Israel and Judah. ”

“ As he is the Creator of all things, so he is the Eternal, and no part of what was created. All being but God has been created. Whatever has not been created is God. But Jesus is the Creator of all things ”

“ Verse 5
Trust ye not in a friend - These times will be so evil, and the people so wicked, that all bonds will be dissolved; and even the most intimate will betray each other, when they can hope to serve themselves by it. ”

“ The remnant of the ten tribes, wherever they are, shall be brought in under Christ; and though now lost among the nations of the earth, they will then not only be brought in among the fullness of the Gentiles, but most probably be distinguished as Jews.
On this verse Abp. Newcome says, "The sense is, God will not fully vindicate and exalt his people, till the virgin mother shall have brought forth her Son; and till Judah and Israel, and all the true sons of Abraham among their brethren the Gentiles, be converted to Christianity. ”

“ Verse 5
That bite with their teeth - That eat to the full; that are well provided for, and as long as they are so, prophesy smooth things, and cry, Peace! i.e., Ye shall have nothing but peace and prosperity. Whereas the true prophet, "who putteth not into their mouths," who makes no provision for their evil propensities, "they prepare war against him." קדשו עליו מלחמה kiddeshu alaiv milchamah, "They sanctify a war against him." They call on all to help them to put down a man who is speaking evil of the Lord's people; and predicting the destruction of his temple, and Israel his inheritance. ”

“ Verse 16
The statutes of Omri are kept - Omri, king of Israel, the father of Ahab, was one of the worst kings the Israelites ever had; and Ahab followed in his wicked father's steps. The statutes of those kings were the very grossest idolatry. Jezebel, wife of the latter, and daughter of Ithobaal, king of Tyre, had no fellow on earth. From her Shakespeare seems to have drawn the character of Lady Macbeth; a woman, like her prototype, mixed up of tigress and fiend, without addition. Omri Ahab, and Jezebel, were the models followed by the Israelites in the days of this prophet. ”

“ Many, when they hear the nature of sin pointed out, and the way of salvation made plain through the blood of the Lamb, have shut their eyes both against sin and the proper sacrifice for it, and parried all exhortation, threatening, etc., with this text: "God requires nothing of us but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with him." ”

“ He shows that in this way all men should walk; that this is the duty of Every rational being; but he well knows that no fallen soul can act thus without especial assistance from him, and that it is only the regenerate man, the man who has found redemption through the blood of the cross, and has God for His God, that can thus act and walk. ”

“ It not unfrequently happens that the Christless worldling, who has got into the priest's office for a maintenance, and who leaves the people undisturbed in their unregenerate state, is better received than the faithful pastor, who proclaims the justice of the Lord, and the necessity of repentance and forsaking sin, in order to their being made partakers of that holiness without which no man shall see God. ”

“ We have next a most famous prediction concerning the birthplace of the Messiah, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from Everlasting, [108] . See [109] . The Jews obstinately persisting in their opposition to the Messiah, God will therefore give them up into the hands of their enemies till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled: and then all the posterity of Jacob, both Israel and Judah, shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, along with the Gentiles, be brought into the large and peaceful pastures of this Great Shepherd of the sheep, [110] , [111] . ”

“ Thou shalt have power, authority, and unconquerable strength; for thine enemies shall be no more against thee than the corn against oxen shod with brass, or a puny animal against the horn of a fierce bull tipped with iron. ”

“ I will devise the evil to you of punishment for your conduct; you shall have your necks brought under the yoke of servitude. Tiglath-pileser ruined this kingdom, and transported the people to Assyria, under the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah; and Micah lived to see this catastrophe. See on [83] (note) .
Verse 4
Take up a parable against you - Your wickedness and your punishment shall be subjects of common conversation; and a funeral dirge shall be composed and sung for you as for the dead. The lamentation is that which immediately follows: We be utterly spoiled ”

“ Bishop Newcome observes that Micah was of the kingdom of Judah, as he only makes mention of kings who reigned over that country. It is supposed that he prophesied farther on in the reign of Hezekiah than Hosea did; although [7] was written before the captivity of the ten tribes, which happened in the sixth year of Hezekiah. It is plain from [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , that he was sent both to Israel and Judah. Like Amos and Hosea, he reproves and threatens, with great spirit and energy, a corrupt people. ”

“ Verse 10
They build up Zion with blood - They might cry out loudly against that butchery practiced by Pekah, king of Israel, and Pul coadjutor of Rezie, against the Jews. See on [94] (note) . But these were by no means clear themselves; for if they strengthened the city, or decorated the temple, it was by the produce of their exactions and oppressions of the people.
I do not know a text more applicable than this to slave-dealers; or to any who have made their fortunes by such wrongs as affect the life of man ”

“ The Jewish nation was greatly extended and very powerful under Herod, at the time that our Lord was born. See Calmet.
Verse 13
Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate - This should be translated in the preter tense, "Though the land Had been desolate;" that is, the land of Israel had been desolate during the captivity, which captivity was the "fruit of the evil doings of them that had dwelt therein."
Verse 14
Feed thy people with thy rod - בשבטך beshibtecha, "with thy crook." The shepherd's crook is most certainly designed, as the word flock immediately following shows. ”

“ Now shall be their perplexity; no more wrapping up, all shall be unfolded. In that day every man will wish that he were different from what he is found to be; but he shall be judged for what he is, and for the deeds he has done. ”

“ The women of my people - Ye are the cause of the women and their children being carried into captivity - separated from their pleasant habitations, and from my temple and ordinances - and from the blessings of the covenant, which it is my glory to give, and theirs to receive. These two verses may probably relate to the war made on Ahaz by Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel. They fell suddenly upon the Jews ”

“ The prophet begins this chapter with lamenting the decay of piety and the growth of ungodliness, using a beautiful allegory to imply (as explained in [154] ) that the good man is as seldom to be met with as the early fig of best quality in the advanced season, or the cluster after the vintage, [155] , [156] . He then reproves and threatens in terms so expressive of great calamities as to be applied in the New Testament to times of the hottest persecution, [157] . ”

“ As a dew from the Lord - Even during their captivity many of the Jews were the means of spreading the knowledge of the one true God; see [127] ; [128] ; [129] ; [130] . This may be the dew from the Lord mentioned here. When the Messiah appeared, the Gospel was preached by them; and it shall again be propagated by their future glorious restoration, [131] , [132] .
The grass, that tarrieth not for man - Which grass springs up without the attention and culture of man; לאיש leish, even the best and most skillful of men. ”

“ And thou wilt do us that good, which, from the most ancient days, thou hast promised to our fathers by an oath." Between the divisions, refers to the covenant made between God and Abraham, [180] , [181] , [182] . Well might the prophet exult in his challenge to earth and hell. Who Is a God Like unto Thee! Hell is speechless, earth is dumb. Infidels dare not open their mouths!!! Hallelujah! מי אל כמוך mi El camocha! Jesus is the mighty God and Savior, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin, and saving to the uttermost all that come unto God through him. ”

“ And they shall abide - After this the Jews shall no more go astray, but shall remain one people with the Gentiles, under the one Shepherd and Bishop of all souls.
Newcome translates, "They shall be converted" for instead of וישבו veyashebu, he reads וישובו veyashubu, which gives him the translation above. This is the reading of three MSS. of Kennicott's and De Rossi's, with the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.
For now shall he be great - The Messiah shall be great, as bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. All nations shall receive his religion, and he shall be universal King. ”

“ The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? - This clause is an explanation of the former. Shall I make the first-born, the best and goodliest of my children, חטאת chattath, a Sin-Offering for my soul? ”

“ Nor waiteth for the sons of men - לבני אדם libney adam, for the sons of Adam, the first transgressor. The dew and the showers descend on the earth and water it, in order to render it fruitful; and the grass springs up independently either of the worth or wickedness of man. ”

“ They are gone into captivity - This is a prediction of the captivity by Shalmaneser. Samaria, the chief city, is called on to deplore it, as then fast approaching.
Chapter 2 Introduction
Here the prophet denounces a wo against the plotters of wickedness, the covetous and the oppressor, [75] , [76] . God is represented as devising their ruin, [77] . An Israelite is then introduced as a mourner, personating his people, and lamenting their fate, [78] . ”

“ Newcome, a prophecy that was to be fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah, when the Gentiles were to be admitted into covenant with God, and the apostles were to preach the Gospel, beginning at Jerusalem, [101] ; [102] , etc., when Christ was to be the spiritual Judge and King of many people, was to convince many nations of their errors and vices, and was to found a religion which had the strongest tendency to promote peace. Bp. Lowth thinks that "Micah took this passage from Isaiah;" or the Spirit may have inspired both prophets with this prediction ”

“ The answer follows in the words of the prophet, [136] ; who goes on to upbraid the people of his charge with their injustice and idolatry, to which he ascribes want of success in their lawful undertakings, and those heave calamities which are now impending, [137] .
Verse 1
Arise, contend thou - This chapter is a sort of dialogue between God and the people. God speaks the five first verses, and convicts the people of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The People, convinced of their iniquity, deprecate God's judgments, in the sixth and seventh verses. ”

“ For sublimity and impressiveness in several places, he is unrivalled. The Lord's controversy, [39] , is equal to any thing even in the prophet Isaiah. It has a powerful effect on every attentive reader.
His strength of expression: - [40] - "Therefore will I make Samaria a heap of the field, a place for the plantings of a vineyard:And I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will discover her foundations." [41] - "Ye who hate good and love evil:Who pluck their skin from off them,And their flesh from off their bones." ”

“ Then breaks in a chorus of his people declaring their peculiar happiness in being members of his kingdom, [98] . The prophet resumes the subject; predicts the restoration and future prosperity of Israel, [99] ; and exhorts them not to be discouraged at their approaching captivity, as they should in due time not only be delivered from it, but likewise be victorious over all their enemies, [100] . These last verses, which evidently contain a prediction of the final triumph of Christianity over every adversary, have been applied to the conquests of the Maccabees ”

“ The two last letters in the word, יה, might have been easily mistaken in the MS. for the letter ע where I may suppose the word stood thus, תושע, shall be saved; and as several MSS. read יראי yirey, they who fear, instead of יראה yireh, he shall see, the whole clause might have been just what it appears in the Vulgate and Septuagint. It is also necessary to remark that the word in dispute has various forms in some MSS., which is a strong presumption against its authenticity. ”

“ Their sin is unprecedented, and usual methods of access will not avail. They are distracted in their minds, and make a variety of proposals to themselves, some rational, some absurd and impossible, and some even sinful. ”