Micah 2:1-3 English Standard Version
Woe to the Oppressors
1 Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster,from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.
Consider the word covet. It is multifaceted. Rather than confusing the issues, it is best to take one aspect at a time. This is worst case. In this case covet has dominated the mind of the oppressor to the point where they lay in bed at night thinking of ways to take what they want.
It is one thing to want a thing you do not deserve, it is another to devise mischief to obtain it. In this worst case scenario a word comes into play as a warning to those who act in this manner. That word is recompense.
Isaiah 59:18 King James Version (KJV) According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
Granted, those who do not believe in the Lord do not consider this to be an earnest threat. Their motto may well be “might makes right”. We who trust in the Lord have our instructions. We are not to repay evil with evil. While that might sound trite, we must remind ourselves that the Lord God all Mighty has the power to extract eternal punishments far worse than anything we might render.
There are lesser covets which are to be avoided.