Micah 7:3 (DBY)

Passage

Both hands are for evil, to do it well. The prince asketh, and the judge [is there] for a reward; and the great [man] uttereth his soul's greed: and [together] they combine it.

Nearby Context

Micah 7:1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer-fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat; there is no early fruit [which] my soul desired.

Micah 7:2 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.

Micah 7:3 Both hands are for evil, to do it well. The prince asketh, and the judge [is there] for a reward; and the great [man] uttereth his soul's greed: and [together] they combine it.

Micah 7:4 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.

Micah 7:5 Believe ye not in a companion, put not confidence in a familiar friend: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "both", "hands", "evil", "well", "prince", "asketh", "judge", and "reward". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "both" and "hands", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "The godly man hath perished out of..." into verse 4's "The best of them is as a...", so "both" and "hands" belong inside that flow. In Micah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "both" and "hands" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.