Micah 7:8-20

8 ¹Rejoice not over me, O ²my enemy; ³when I fall, I shall rise; ⁴when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

9 ⁵I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until ⁶he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. ⁷He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

10 Then ⁸my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who ⁹said to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" ¹⁰My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down ¹¹like the mire of the streets.

11 ¹²A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12 In that day they^[a] will come to you, ¹³from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to ¹⁴the River, ¹⁵from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13 But ¹⁶the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds.

14 ¹⁷Shepherd your people ¹⁸with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest ¹⁹in the midst of ²⁰a garden land;^[b] let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.

15 ²¹As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them^[c] marvelous things.

16 ²²The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; ²³they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf;

17 ²⁴they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; ²⁵they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; ²⁶they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall be in fear of you.

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion

18 ²⁷Who is a God like you, ²⁸pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression ²⁹for the remnant of his inheritance? ³⁰He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

19 He will ³¹again have compassion on us; ³²he will tread our iniquities underfoot. ³³You will cast all our^[d] sins into the depths of the sea.

20 ³⁴You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, ³⁵as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Micah 7:8-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 7

This chapter begins with a lamentation of the prophet, in the name of the church and people of God, concerning the general depravity and corruption of the times in which he lived, Mic 7:1-6; then declares what he was determined to do for his relief in such circumstances, Mic 7:7; comforts himself and the church with a good hope and firm belief of its being otherwise and better with them, to the shame and confusion of their enemies that now rejoiced, though without just reason for it, Mic 7:8-10; with promises of deliverance, after a desolation of the land for some time, Mic 7:11-13; and with the answer returned to the prayers of the prophet, Mic 7:14,15; which would issue in the astonishment of the world, and their subjection to the church of God, Mic 7:16,17; and the chapter is concluded with admiration at the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and his faithfulness to his promises, Mic 7:18-20.

Cross References

• 1. [Jeremiah 50:11; Lamentations 4:21]
• 2. ver. 10
• 3. Psalms 37:24
• 4. Psalms 112:4
• 5. [Jeremiah 10:19]
• 6. See 1 Samuel 24:15
• 7. Psalms 37:6
• 8. ver. 8
• 9. See Joel 2:17
• 10. Micah 4:11
• 11. Psalms 18:42; See 2 Samuel 22:43
• 12. [Psalms 102:13]
• 13. [Isaiah 11:11, 16; Isaiah 19:23, 24; Isaiah 27:13; Hosea 11:11; Zechariah 10:10]
• 14. See Genesis 31:21
• 15. Zechariah 9:10
• 16. Micah 6:13
• 17. Psalms 28:9; [Micah 5:4]
• 18. Psalms 23:4
• 19. Jeremiah 50:19; [Zechariah 10:10]
• 20. See Joshua 19:26
• 21. Psalms 78:12; See Isaiah 11:16
• 22. [Isaiah 26:11; Isaiah 52:15]
• 23. See Judges 18:19
• 24. Psalms 72:9; Isaiah 49:23
• 25. Psalms 18:45
• 26. [Micah 4:1]
• 27. See Exodus 15:11
• 28. Jeremiah 50:20; See Exodus 34:7
• 29. Jeremiah 50:20; See Exodus 34:7
• 30. Psalms 103:9
• 31. Psalms 80:14
• 32. [Romans 6:14]
• 33. [Isaiah 38:17]
• 34. [Luke 1:72, 73]
• 35. Psalms 105:9, 10

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew he
• [b]. Hebrew of Carmel
• [c]. Hebrew him
• [d]. Hebrew their