The Meaning of Micah 7:2 Explained

Micah 7:2

KJV: The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

YLT: Perished hath the kind out of the land, And upright among men -- there are none, All of them for blood lie in wait, Each his brother they hunt with a net.

Darby: The godly man hath perished out of the land, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood, they hunt every man his brother with a net.

ASV: The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The good  [man] is perished  out of the earth:  and [there is] none upright  among men:  they all lie in wait  for blood;  they hunt  every man  his brother  with a net. 

What does Micah 7:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet, using hyperbole, said he could find no faithful godly (Heb. hasid, from hesed; cf. Hosea 4:1-2) or morally and ethically upright people (evidently rulers, cf. Micah 7:3) in the land. Obviously there were some righteous, including Isaiah , but by overstating his case he made his point: there were very few. All of them seemed to wait for the opportunity to advance their own interests, even resorting to violence and bloodshed to do so (cf. Micah 3:10; Micah 6:12). They behaved like hunters waiting to snare unsuspecting birds in their nets.

Context Summary

Micah 7:1-20 - God's Compassion For An Erring People
Things had come to an awful pass in the favored city. Oppression, bribery, and bloodshed, were everywhere in the ascendant. Men wrought evil with both hands. Husbands could not trust their wives. At such a time there is no refuge for God's children save in God, Micah 7:7-13.
When we have learned our lesson we find God appearing for our help. He brings forth to the light and vindicates us. Then those that hated us, and suggested that He had forsaken, will be compelled to admit that He has completely vindicated us from their reproach. Be of good cheer, believer; wait for God. He will bring out thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday, Micah 7:10-12.
Next, the prophet pleads with Israel's Shepherd to repeat the marvels of the Exodus. He knows that God will not only pardon iniquities but subdue them, trampling them beneath His feet. This anticipates the Ascension, Ephesians 1:20-23. When a stone sinks into ocean depths, it cannot be recovered; and when sin is forgiven God never recalls it either here or hereafter. [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 7

1  The church, complaining of her small number,
3  and the general corruption,
5  puts her confidence not in man, but in God
8  She triumphs over her enemies
14  She prays to God
15  God comforts her by promises of confusion to her enemies;
18  and by his mercies

What do the individual words in Micah 7:2 mean?

Has perished the godly [man] from the earth and upright among men [there is] no one they all for blood lie in wait every man - his brother hunts with a net
אָבַ֤ד חָסִיד֙ מִן־ הָאָ֔רֶץ וְיָשָׁ֥ר בָּאָדָ֖ם אָ֑יִן כֻּלָּם֙ לְדָמִ֣ים יֶאֱרֹ֔בוּ אִ֥ישׁ אֶת־ אָחִ֖יהוּ יָצ֥וּדוּ חֵֽרֶם

אָבַ֤ד  Has  perished 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
חָסִיד֙  the  godly  [man] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָסִיד  
Sense: faithful, kind, godly, holy one, saint, pious.
הָאָ֔רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְיָשָׁ֥ר  and  upright 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
בָּאָדָ֖ם  among  men 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
אָ֑יִן  [there  is]  no  one 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
כֻּלָּם֙  they  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
לְדָמִ֣ים  for  blood 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
יֶאֱרֹ֔בוּ  lie  in  wait 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָרַב  
Sense: to lie in wait, ambush, lurk.
אִ֥ישׁ  every  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אָחִ֖יהוּ  his  brother 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
יָצ֥וּדוּ  hunts 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: צוּד 
Sense: to hunt.
חֵֽרֶם  with  a  net 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵרֶם 
Sense: a thing devoted, thing dedicated, ban, devotion.