Micah 2 4

Micah 2:4 kjv

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.

Micah 2:4 nkjv

In that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: 'We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.' "

Micah 2:4 niv

In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.'?"

Micah 2:4 esv

In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, "We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields."

Micah 2:4 nlt

In that day your enemies will make fun of you
by singing this song of despair about you:
"We are finished,
completely ruined!
God has confiscated our land,
taking it from us.
He has given our fields
to those who betrayed us. "

Micah 2 verses

Micah 2 4 Meaning

This verse dramatically predicts a future judgment where the disobedient people of God will become the subject of a biting taunt and a profound lament. It reveals their eventual cry of utter ruin, acknowledging that their inherited land—the core of their identity and security—has been forcibly altered, removed from their possession, and re-allotted to others due to their turning away from God's ways.

Micah 2 4 Context

Micah chapter 2 begins with a severe "woe" pronounced against those in Judah and Israel who meticulously plan evil (Mic 2:1). Their primary transgression highlighted here is the greedy coveting and violent seizure of houses and fields from their neighbors (Mic 2:2). These powerful individuals abuse their position to dispossess the vulnerable, demonstrating a profound disregard for God's law concerning inheritance and justice. The immediate consequence, as stated in Micah 2:3, is God devising a "disaster" against them from which they cannot escape. Micah 2:4 then articulates the specific nature of this disaster: a complete reversal of their fortunes, becoming the very victims they had created. Historically, Micah's prophecy came during a period when the Assyrian Empire was a significant threat, ultimately leading to the fall of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) in 722 BC and severe devastation to Judah. The "day" of judgment anticipates foreign invasion, exile, and the subsequent loss of the promised land, which was foundational to Israel's identity and covenant relationship with God. The taunt and lament directly contrast with the false peace preached by unfaithful prophets whom the people preferred to hear.

Micah 2 4 Word analysis

• "In that day" (בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא - bayyōm hahū): A common prophetic marker, pointing to a divinely appointed, definite future time of reckoning.
• "take up" (יִשָּׂא - yissāʼ): Implies to lift up or utter aloud, signifying a public declaration.
• "a taunt" (מָשָׁל - mashal): More than a proverb; here, it's a mocking and scornful lament, often with ironic undertones, directed at a fallen oppressor.
• "against you" (עֲלֵיכֶם - ʻalêkem): Directly addresses the wicked elite who seize land, as previously denounced in Micah 2:1-2.
• "and lament with a bitter lamentation" (וְנָהָה נְהִי נִהְיָה - wə nāhāh nĕhî nihyāh): A powerfully emphatic Hebrew construct. The triple repetition of the root "lament" emphasizes the deep, incurable sorrow and mournful wailing that will accompany their utter devastation. It's a funeral dirge for their lost state.
• "and say" (אָמַר - ’āmar): Introduces the direct words spoken within this prophetic lament.
• "We are utterly ruined" (שֻׁדְּדֵנוּ שָׁדוֹד - shuddəḏēnû shāḏôḏ): Another strong intensive, meaning "we are thoroughly plundered," "we are completely devastated." It signifies absolute destruction.
• "he has changed" (הֶחֱלִיף - heḥĕlîf): The "he" refers to God, indicating divine authorship of this radical alteration. It suggests a complete reversal of fortunes, from inheritance to loss.
• "the portion of my people" (חֵלֶק עַמִּי - ḥēleq ‘ammî): "Portion" (cheleq) signifies a land inheritance, a tribal allotment within the Promised Land, central to covenant blessings and Israelite identity. The phrase implies a deep, communal sense of loss.
• "how he has removed it from me!" (אֵיךְ יָמִישׁ לִי - ’êḵ yāmîsh lî): An exclamation of distress and shock at the complete, forcible separation from their land. The speaker directly attributes the dispossession to God's action.
• "To an apostate he has allotted our fields" (וְלִשְׁוֹבֵב יְחַלֵּק שָׂדֵינוּ - wĕlishôvēv yĕḥallēq śāḏênû):
  • "To an apostate" (לְשֹׁבֵב - lishôvēv): From a root meaning "to turn back" or "to backslide." It implies that either the rebellious people themselves are "apostates" for whom the land is re-allotted away from them (due to their sin), or that God allots it to an "apostate" nation or person (a foreign conqueror acting as His instrument of judgment), who are "apostate" in their nature against God. The emphasis is on the consequence of their own turning away from God.
  • "he has allotted" (יְחַלֵּק - yekhallel): Means to divide or distribute, implying a precise and intentional redistribution, again emphasizing God's sovereign hand in orchestrating this judgment.
  • "our fields" (שָׂדֵינוּ - śāḏênû): The very lands they unjustly coveted and seized from others are now justly taken from them.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "In that day shall one take up a taunt against you, and lament with a bitter lamentation": This establishes the severe public shaming and profound grief that will define the judgment. The taunt is not merely derision; it marks the downfall of the once-proud oppressors, and the deep lament underscores the absolute and irrecoverable nature of their loss.
• "We are utterly ruined; he has changed the portion of my people; how he has removed it from me!": These clauses detail the despair. "Utterly ruined" states the dire reality of total devastation. "He has changed the portion" identifies the mechanism of ruin—the alteration of their secure, covenantal inheritance. "How he has removed it from me!" is a raw cry of bewilderment and pain over the personal and collective loss of ancestral land, unequivocally recognizing the sovereign hand of God in their calamitous situation.
• "To an apostate he has allotted our fields.": This powerful conclusion brings full circle the ironic judgment. Their fields, gained through injustice and covetousness, are now formally apportioned by God, not for them, but either to a foreign power as an instrument of divine wrath or as a consequence of their own profound turning away from God, fulfilling the warnings against covenant disobedience.

Micah 2 4 Bonus section

• The profound significance of "portion" (cheleq) in the Hebrew worldview cannot be overstated; it ties an Israelite's identity and well-being intrinsically to their land inheritance, making its loss a spiritual and existential crisis, a direct consequence of covenant infidelity.
• The dramatic form of this prophecy—a spoken lament from the perspective of the dispossessed—amplifies its impact, making the predicted experience of judgment palpably real for Micah's original audience.
• The ironic twist within the verse highlights divine justice: those who had illegally and forcefully "allotted" portions of others' fields to themselves will see their own fields divinely "allotted" away to others.
• While a lament, the specific wording "how he has removed it from me!" carries an implicit, sorrowful recognition of God's hand in their punishment, forcing an acknowledgement of His ultimate authority.

Micah 2 4 Commentary

Micah 2:4 serves as a dramatic prophecy of reversal, directly applying the principle of lex talionis (retribution in kind) to the greedy elite of Judah. Having unlawfully seized the land of others, they are now prophesied to lose their own ancestral "portion" – their very inheritance in the Promised Land. The use of a "taunt" and "bitter lamentation" signifies a complete public humiliation, far deeper than mere sorrow. It underscores a fundamental breach of their covenant relationship with God. The repeated attribution of this action to "he" (God) reveals that the looming historical invasions and exiles were not arbitrary but divinely orchestrated judgments, fitting responses to their "apostasy" – their turning away from justice and God's law. This verse powerfully teaches that social injustice and covetousness against one's neighbor directly undermine divine promises and will lead to severe, often reciprocal, divine consequences.