The Meaning of Micah 7:4 Explained

Micah 7:4

KJV: The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

YLT: Their best one is as a brier, The upright one -- than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen -- Thy visitation -- hath come. Now is their perplexity.

Darby: The best of them is as a briar; the most upright, worse than a thorn-fence. The day of thy watchmen, thy visitation is come; now shall be their perplexity.

ASV: The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The best  of them [is] as a brier:  the most upright  [is sharper] than a thorn hedge:  the day  of thy watchmen  [and] thy visitation  cometh;  now shall be their perplexity. 

What does Micah 7:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The best and most upright of the people were like briars and thorn hedges in that they entangled and hurt all who came in contact with them. As when the people posted a watchman to warn of coming danger, so the prophets, God"s watchmen, had announced coming punishment from Yahweh. Yet the people had not heeded their cries of danger. When captivity came, the result would be confusion among the people.

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 7:4 mean?

The best of them [is] like a brier the most upright [is sharper] than a thorn hedge the day of your watchman and your punishment comes now shall be their perplexity
טוֹבָ֣ם כְּחֵ֔דֶק יָשָׁ֖ר מִמְּסוּכָ֑ה י֤וֹם מְצַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ פְּקֻדָּתְךָ֣ בָ֔אָה עַתָּ֥ה תִהְיֶ֖ה מְבוּכָתָֽם

טוֹבָ֣ם  The  best  of  them  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
כְּחֵ֔דֶק  like  a  brier 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵדֶק  
Sense: brier, thorn, prick.
יָשָׁ֖ר  the  most  upright  [is  sharper] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
מִמְּסוּכָ֑ה  than  a  thorn  hedge 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְסוּכָה  
Sense: hedge.
י֤וֹם  the  day 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
מְצַפֶּ֙יךָ֙  of  your  watchman 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: צָפָה  
Sense: to look out or about, spy, keep watch, observe, watch.
פְּקֻדָּתְךָ֣  and  your  punishment 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: פְּקֻדָּה  
Sense: oversight, care, custody, mustering, visitation, store.
בָ֔אָה  comes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
עַתָּ֥ה  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
תִהְיֶ֖ה  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מְבוּכָתָֽם  their  perplexity 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מְבוּכָה  
Sense: confusion, perplexity, confounding.