The Meaning of Micah 2:11 Explained

Micah 2:11

KJV: If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

YLT: If one is going with the wind, And with falsehood hath lied: 'I prophesy to thee of wine, and of strong drink,' He hath been the prophet of this people!

Darby: If a man walking in wind and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink, he shall be the prophet of this people.

ASV: If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood do lie,'saying , I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If  a man  walking  in the spirit  and falsehood  do lie,  [saying], I will prophesy  unto thee of wine  and of strong drink;  he shall even be the prophet  of this people. 

What does Micah 2:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Micah bemoaned the fact that the Israelites had become so responsive to the false prophets that if one of them even spoke out (cf. Micah 2:6) promising alcohol galore they would follow him. Any prophet who preached greater affluence and prosperity would have a receptive audience. In contrast, Micah"s message of doom was unpopular. God"s people would follow anyone whose prophetic fantasies blew with the wind, in contrast to being led by the Spirit ( Micah 2:7), or who lied to them by speaking falsehood.
"But we today need to deal with our sins of covetousness, selfishness, and willingness to believe "religious lies." We must abandon "soft religion" that pampers our pride and makes it easy for us to sin. Why? Because "our God is a consuming fire" ( Hebrews 12:29), and "The Lord shall judge His people" ( Hebrews 10:30). Remember, judgment begins in the house of the Lord ( 1 Peter 4:17)." [1]
"Unfortunately the evangelical church today is too closely associated with the business establishment, too usually motivated by serving self, not others, and too little concerned with the oppressed and needy, in spite of the clear teaching of the NT on this subject ( Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 12:31; Acts 4:32-37; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10; 1 John 1:6; 1 John 2:10; 1 John 3:16-18)." [2]

Context Summary

Micah 2:1-13 - The Harvest Of Greed And Injustice
Micah 1:1-16 dealt with sins against the first table of the law; this deals with those against the second. Evil must sooner or later befall those who devise evil against their neighbors, covet their goods, and oppress their persons. So absolute would be the destruction, that estates would no longer descend from father to son, or be measured by lot, Micah 2:5; and the people would become hard and callous to the prophet's voice, Micah 2:6. Yet through it all God's Spirit would yearn over His people, Micah 2:7-13; His words would still comfort humble souls. But the cruelty of men who despoiled their poor neighbors, not only of their ornaments but of the tunic next their skin, would bring disaster upon the entire nation. The guilty people must prepare to arise and depart, for Canaan could no longer be their home.
But even from captivity God would restore His people, breaking the way through walls of difficulty. Our Breaker is the Lord Jesus who broke the way for us from the prison-house of death. Let us follow Him as He passes on His way to victory. [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 2

1  Against oppression
4  A lamentation
7  A reproof of injustice and idolatry
12  A promise to restore Jacob

What do the individual words in Micah 2:11 mean?

If a man should walk in a spirit and false and speak a lie [saying] I will prophesy to you of wine and drink and Even he would be the prattler of people this
לוּ־ אִ֞ישׁ הֹלֵ֥ךְ ר֙וּחַ֙ וָשֶׁ֣קֶר כִּזֵּ֔ב אַטִּ֣ף לְךָ֔ לַיַּ֖יִן וְלַשֵּׁכָ֑ר וְהָיָ֥ה מַטִּ֖יף הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה

אִ֞ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הֹלֵ֥ךְ  should  walk 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
ר֙וּחַ֙  in  a  spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
וָשֶׁ֣קֶר  and  false 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁקֶר  
Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.
כִּזֵּ֔ב  and  speak  a  lie 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּזַב  
Sense: to lie, tell a lie, be a liar, be found a liar, be in vain, fail.
אַטִּ֣ף  [saying]  I  will  prophesy 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נָטַף  
Sense: to drop, drip, distil, prophesy, preach, discourse.
לְךָ֔  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
לַיַּ֖יִן  of  wine 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.
וְלַשֵּׁכָ֑ר  and  drink 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֵׁכָר  
Sense: strong drink, intoxicating drink, fermented or intoxicating liquor.
וְהָיָ֥ה  and  Even  he  would  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מַטִּ֖יף  the  prattler 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: נָטַף  
Sense: to drop, drip, distil, prophesy, preach, discourse.
הָעָ֥ם  of  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
הַזֶּֽה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.