Micah 7:4 (DRB)

Passage

He that is best among them, is as a brier, and he that is righteous, as the thorn of the hedge. The day of thy inspection, thy visitation cometh: now shall be their destruction.

Nearby Context

Micah 7:2 The holy man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood, every one hunteth his brother to death.

Micah 7:3 The evil of their hands they call good: the prince requireth, and the judge is for giving: and the great man hath uttered the desire of his soul, and they have troubled it.

Micah 7:4 He that is best among them, is as a brier, and he that is righteous, as the thorn of the hedge. The day of thy inspection, thy visitation cometh: now shall be their destruction.

Micah 7:5 Believe not a friend, and trust not in a prince: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that sleepeth in thy bosom.

Micah 7:6 For the son dishonoureth the father, and the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man's enemies are they of his own household.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "best", "brier", "righteous", "thorn", "hedge", "inspection", "visitation", and "cometh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "best" and "brier", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "The evil of their hands they call..." into verse 5's "Believe not a friend and trust not...", so "best" and "brier" 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 "best" and "brier" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.