Micah 7:3 (YLT)

Passage

On the evil <FI>are<Fi> both hands to do <FI>it<Fi> well, The prince is asking--also the judge--for recompence, And the great--he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.

Nearby Context

Micah 7:1 My woe <FI>is<Fi> to me, for I have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul.

Micah 7:2 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 <FI>with<Fi> a net.

Micah 7:3 On the evil <FI>are<Fi> both hands to do <FI>it<Fi> well, The prince is asking--also the judge--for recompence, And the great--he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.

Micah 7:4 Their best one <FI>is<Fi> as a brier, The upright one--than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen--Thy visitation--hath come. Now is their perplexity.

Micah 7:5 Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Perished hath the kind out of the..." into verse 4's "Their best one FI is Fi as...", so "evil" and "both" 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 "evil" and "both" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.