Micah 7:4

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

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.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

טוֹבָ֣ם כְּחֵ֔דֶק יָשָׁ֖ר מִמְּסוּכָ֑ה י֤וֹם מְצַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ פְּקֻדָּתְךָ֣ בָ֔אָה עַתָּ֥ה תִהְיֶ֖ה מְבוּכָתָֽם׃

Transliteration

Their ṭôb like ḥēdeq, yāšār like məsûkāh; yôm your məṣappêkā your pəquddātəkā bāʾāh, now tihyeh their məbûkātām.

Grammar Details

*ṭôbām*: masculine singular adjective with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their best/good one
*kə*: preposition - like/as
*ḥēdeq*: masculine singular noun - brier/thorn
*yāšār*: masculine singular adjective/noun - upright person/straight one
*min*: preposition - from/than/out of
*məsûkāh*: feminine singular noun - hedge/thorn hedge
*yôm*: masculine singular construct noun - day of
*məṣappêkā*: Piel participle, masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your watchmen/lookouts
*pəquddātəkā*: feminine singular noun with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your punishment/visitation
*bāʾāh*: Qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular - has come
*ʿattāh*: adverb - now
*tihyeh*: Qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular - will be
*məbûkātām*: feminine singular noun with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their confusion/bewilderment

Word Meanings

*ṭôb*: good/best/most upright
*ḥēdeq*: brier/thorn/bramble
*yāšār*: upright person/straight one/honest person
*məsûkāh*: hedge/thorn hedge/barrier
*məṣappêkā*: your watchmen/lookouts/guards
*pəquddātəkā*: your punishment/visitation/judgment day
*məbûkātām*: their confusion/bewilderment/consternation

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Isa 22:5 : 5 For it is a day of discomfiture, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.
Ezek 2:6 : 6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
2 Sam 23:6-7 : 6 But the ungodly shall be all of them as thorns to be thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with the hand; 7 But the man that toucheth them Must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear: And they shall be utterly burned with fire in [their] place.
Isa 10:3 : 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
Ezek 12:23-24 : 23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every vision. 24 For there shall be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
Hos 9:7-8 : 7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the man that hath the spirit is mad, for the abundance of thine iniquity, and because the enmity is great. 8 Ephraim [was] a watchman with my God: as for the prophet, a fowler's snare is in all his ways, [and] enmity in the house of his God.
Amos 8:2 : 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said Jehovah unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
Nah 1:10 : 10 For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.
Luke 21:25 : 25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows;
Heb 6:8 : 8 but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned.
Isa 55:13 : 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree; and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Jer 8:12 : 12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
Jer 10:15 : 15 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

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23And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall be for briers and thorns.
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