Micah 6:12

12 For her rich men are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Micah 6:12 Meaning and Commentary

Micah 6:12

For the rich men thereof are full of violence
That is, the rich men of the city, to whom the voice of the Lord cried, ( Micah 6:9 ) . Jerusalem or Samaria, or any or all the cities of Israel and Judah; the rich men of these cities, who had enough of the world, and were under no temptation to do an ill thing, to get money; and yet their hands and their houses, and their treasuries, as the Targum, were full of goods gotten by violent measures, by the oppression of the poor and needy: and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies;
the rest of the inhabitants, who were not so rich as others, and who had it not in the power of their hands to oppress as others had; yet used deceitful and fraudulent methods to cheat their neighbours in buying and selling; and, to do this, did not stick to tell downright deliberate lies: and their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth;
say one thing, and mean another; deceive their neighbours with their tongues in trade and commerce; averting things for truth they know to be false.

Micah 6:12 In-Context

10 Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure [which is] abominable?
11 Shall I be pure with the unjust balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?
12 For her rich men are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore also will I make [thee] sick in smiting thee; I will make [thee] desolate because of thy sins.
14 Thou shalt eat, and not be satisfied, and thine emptiness [shall remain] in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take away, and not save; and what thou savest will I give up to the sword.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.