KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 1

1 Micah showeth the wrath of God against Jacob, for idolatry. 10 He exhorteth to mourning.

Mic 1:1 THE word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.*

[*Note: ‘Micah of Moresheth’: Micah is identified as a prophet from Moresheth (Moresheth-Gath, according to Micah 1:14), a small town in the south of Judah. - ‘In the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah’: dates Micah's prophetic activity to about 750-687 BC, a period of political turmoil and religious apostasy in both Judah and Israel (2 Kings 15-20 and 2 Chronicles 27-32); - Samaria and Jerusalem: the fall of Samaria occurred in 722 BC (2 Kings 17), while Jerusalem later fell in 586 BC (2 Kings 25).]

Mic 1:2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

Mic 1:3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

Mic 1:4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

Mic 1:5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

Mic 1:6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

Mic 1:7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.*

[*Note: ‘Idols will be destroyed’: See Exodus 32:20, where Moses destroys the golden calf, and Isaiah 2:18, where idols disappear at the Day of the Lord. - ‘Wages of harlotry’: Compare Hosea 2:5-7, where similar imagery is used to describe Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness. - ‘Burned up in fire’: Compare Deuteronomy 7:25, where God commands that idols be destroyed by fire.]

Mic 1:8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

Mic 1:9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

Mic 1:10 ¶ Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.*

[*Note: ‘Gath’ was a Philistine city and an enemy of Israel (cf. 1 Samuel 17:4) - ‘Aphrah’: The name means ‘dust’ or ‘dust’. Rolling in the dust is an ancient gesture of mourning (cf. Job 2:12).]

Mic 1:11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing.*

[*Note: The verse describes how the cities of Safir meaning ‘beauty’ or ‘splendour’, Sa'anan meaning ‘going out’ or ‘exit’, and Beth-esel meaning ‘house of nearness’, are names that suggest beauty, freedom and nearness, which now suffer shame, fear and isolation. ‘shame and nakedness": See Nahum 3:5 and Isaiah 47:3, where nakedness is used as an image of shame and humiliation - “did not go out”: Compare Judges 5:17, where some tribes refused to participate in the battle, thereby bringing shame on themselves.]

Mic 1:12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.*

[*Note: The name ‘Marot’ comes from a word meaning ‘bitterness’ - ‘Evil came from the Lord’: Here the judgement is presented as coming directly from God, showing that it is a just and divinely sanctioned consequence of the people's sins. This ‘evil’ is not morally evil but rather a form of punishment or trial - The fact that the judgement reaches the gates of Jerusalem underlines its seriousness, as the judgement is not only limited to the surrounding cities but threatens the very heart of Judah.]

Mic 1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.*

[*Note: ‘You inhabitants of Lachish’: Lachish was an important city in Judah, known for its military strategic importance, see Joshua 10:31-32, where Lachish is mentioned as one of the cities captured by Israel, and 2 Kings 18:13-14, where the city played a role in the Assyrian invasion – ‘Daughter of Zion’: A common poetic term for Jerusalem, also used in Isaiah 1:8 and Micah 4:10 to describe the city's relationship with God.]

Mic 1:14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.*

[*Note: Moreshet-gat was the hometown of the prophet Micah (cf. Micah 1:1 and Jeremiah 26:18) – The name ‘Ahazib’ means ‘lie’ or ‘deception’ and is also mentioned in Joshua 19:29 as a city in the territory of Asher, but here it is used symbolically for deceit and false hope.]

Mic 1:15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.*

[*Note: Mareshah was a fortified city in Judah (see Joshua 15:44). The city's name means ‘possession’ or ‘inheritance.’ - ‘Adullam’: Compare with 1 Samuel 22:1-2, where David and his men took shelter in Adullam's cave during persecution.]

Mic 1:16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.*

[*Note: Baldness and shaving of the head were in antiquity expressions of deep sorrow and loss (cf. Isaiah 22:12, Jeremiah 47:5).]

KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 2

1 Against oppression. 4 A lamentation. 7 A reproof of injustice and idolatry. 12 A promise of restoring Jacob.

Mic 2:1 WOE to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

Mic 2:2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

Mic 2:3 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

Mic 2:4 ¶ In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Mic 2:5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.*

[*Note: ‘Cast a cord by lot’: Casting lots and measuring land was the method used to distribute the inheritance in Israel (see Joshua 18:10). This refers to the people's portion in the Promised Land, which has now been lost.]

Mic 2:6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

Mic 2:7 ¶ O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

Mic 2:8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.*

[*Note: ‘pull off the robe’ see Exodus 22:26-27, where the law forbids keeping a borrower's cloak overnight, as it is necessary for their survival. Isaiah 58:7 recalls sharing one's clothes with the naked. - ‘Pass by securely’ Psalms 35:20 condemns those who attack those who live in peace.]

Mic 2:9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

Mic 2:10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

Mic 2:11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

Mic 2:12 ¶ I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

Mic 2:13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 3

1 The cruelty of the princes. 5 The falsehood of the prophets. 8 The security of them both.

Mic 3:1 AND I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

Mic 3:2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

Mic 3:3 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

Mic 3:4 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

Mic 3:5 ¶ Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

Mic 3:6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.

Mic 3:7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

Mic 3:8 ¶ But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

Mic 3:9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

Mic 3:10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

Mic 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.

Mic 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 4

1 The glory, 3 peace, 8 kingdom, 11 and victory of the church.

Mic 4:1 BUT in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Mic 4:3 ¶ And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.*

[*Note: The verse describes a future time of peace and harmony under God's righteous government. The weapons of war are replaced by instruments of peaceful labour. In Isaiah 2:4: there is an almost identical vision of peace under the reign of the Messiah.] 

[*Note: The word ‘Plowshares’ in the KJV is an English word referring to ‘ploughshares’. The ploughshare is the sharp, metallic part of a plough that cuts through the soil, in tillage, to turn it over and prepare it for planting. - The word ‘pruninghooks’ in the KJV is an English word used to describe a tool for pruning trees and vines. Traditionally, a pruning hook has a curved or hooked blade shape, making it easier to cut off branches or shoots.]

Mic 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

Mic 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

Mic 4:6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

Mic 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

Mic 4:8 ¶ And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

Mic 4:9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counseller perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.

Mic 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

Mic 4:11 ¶ Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.

Mic 4:12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

Mic 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 5

1 The birth of Christ. 4 His kingdom. 8 His conquest.

Mic 5:1 NOW gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

Mic 5:2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.*

[*Note: This prophecy points to a future king who will rule over Israel. This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem and identified as the rightful heir to the throne of David (Matthew 2:6) - ‘Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting’ This describes the eternal nature of the coming ruler. It implies his divinity, since only God has an origin that extends from eternity.]

Mic 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

Mic 5:4 ¶ And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

Mic 5:5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

Mic 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

Mic 5:7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

Mic 5:8 ¶ And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Mic 5:9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

Mic 5:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:

Mic 5:11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:

Mic 5:12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

Mic 5:13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.

Mic 5:14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.*

[*Note: ‘Pluck up thy groves’. Groves refer to sacred gardens or groves used for idolatry, often associated with the worship of Ashera, a Canaanite goddess. These places were used for rituals that God condemned (Deuteronomy 16:21; 2 Kings 23:6).]

Mic 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 6

1 God's controversy for unkindness, 6 for ignorance, 10 for injustice, 16 and for idolatry.

Mic 6:1 HEAR ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

Mic 6:2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.

Mic 6:3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

Mic 6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.*

[*Note: The term ‘redeemed’ emphasises God's role as saviour and deliverer. ‘House of servants’ refers to the brutal slavery Israel endured in Egypt. - God reminds his people of the leaders he chose to guide them during and after the Exodus. - Moses: the prophet and lawgiver who communicated God's will; - Aaron: the first high priest, who led the spiritual aspect of Israel's relationship with God. - Miriam: the prophetess who played an important role in the people's rejoicing and praise after the rescue (Exodus 15:20-21).]

Mic 6:5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

Mic 6:6 ¶ Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?*

[*Note: Burnt offerings and calves were central to Israel's sacrificial worship under the Law of Moses (Leviticus 1:3-5). Year-old calves were considered particularly valuable and symbolise the best that a human being could offer. 1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6.]

Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?*

[*Note: This verse asks questions that highlight man's often misguided attempts to please God through lavish sacrifices or extreme actions. Empty rituals versus righteousness of heart: 1 Samuel 15:22: ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice.’ – Psalms 51:16-17: ‘You have no pleasure in sacrifice... A broken heart is a sacrifice to God.’ – Leviticus 12:31: God condemns child sacrifice as abominable acts of pagan cultures.]

Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Mic 6:9 The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

Mic 6:10 ¶ Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

Mic 6:11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?*

[*Note: God's abhorrence of dishonest weights and measures: Scales were an important part of trade and economic transactions in ancient times. ‘Wicked balances’ refers to manipulated tools used to deceive or exploit customers, which is a symbol of injustice and corruption; - “Deceitful weights” describes weights that do not correspond to their stated value and are used to deceive in business. This represents deliberate dishonesty and financial exploitation – Proverbs 11:1: ‘A false measure is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight’; Deuteronomy 25:15: ‘You shall have full and right weights and measures, that you may live long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.’]

Mic 6:12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Mic 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.

Mic 6:14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

Mic 6:15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

Mic 6:16 ¶ For the statutes of Omri* are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing*: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

[*Note: Omri was a king of Israel who is described as one of the most ungodly in Israel's history (1 Kings 16:25; 21:25). His ‘statutes’ represent unrighteous and idolatrous laws and practices that continued to influence Israel after his reign - Ahab, Omri's son, was even worse and is known for his idolatry, especially to Baal, and for his wicked queen Jezebel (1 Kings 16:30-33). ‘All the deeds of the house of Ahab’ include their promotion of idolatry and corruption.] 

[*Note: The word ‘hissing’ in the KJV is ‘שְׁרֵקָה’ (shereqah), which comes from the root ‘שרק’ (sharaq) (“hiss”) and refers to an expression of contempt or derision. – ‘Hiss’,1 To make a sound by driving the breath between the tongue and the upper teeth; to give a strong aspiration, resembling the sound made by a snake and certain other animals, or that of water thrown on hot iron. Hissing is an expression of contempt. ‘The merchants of the people shall hiss at thee;’ Ezek. 27:36. 2 To express contempt or dislike by hissing. – Webster's Dictionary 1828. – ‘Hissing’,Making the noise of serpents. A hissing sound; an expression of scorn or contempt. 1 The occasion of contempt; the object of contempt and scorn. ‘I will make this city desolate, and a hissing;’ Jeremiah 19:8. – Webster's Dictionary 1828.]

KING JAMES VERSION

MICAH, CHAPTER 7

1 The Church complaining of her small number, 3 and the general corruption, 5 putteth her confidence, not in man but in God. 8 She triumpheth over her enemies. 14 God comforteth her by promises, 16 by confusion of the enemies, 18 and by his mercies.

Mic 7:1 WOE is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.*

[*Note: The grapegleanings were the few remaining grapes left after the main harvest. These were often small, inconspicuous and not as valuable. It symbolises a sense that nothing of real value remains. Isaiah 17:6]

Mic 7:2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

Mic 7:3 ¶ That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.

Mic 7:4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

Mic 7:5 ¶ Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

Mic 7:6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

Mic 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Mic 7:8 ¶ Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Mic 7:9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

Mic 7:10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

Mic 7:11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.

Mic 7:12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.

Mic 7:13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

Mic 7:14 ¶ Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.*

[*Note: Carmel is a mountain range in northern Israel, near the Mediterranean coast. It extends from present-day Haifa southwards and was known for its forested nature and fertile soil. Isaiah 35:2; Mount Carmel was also the site of the prophet Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40. - Bashan and Gilead as fertile areas: Deuteronomy 32:14: Amos 4:1.]

Mic 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

Mic 7:16 ¶ The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

Mic 7:17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent*, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.

[*Note: ‘They shall lick the dust like a snake’: The snake is a symbol of defeat and humiliation. ‘Licking the dust’ reinforces the image of total submission and shame (compare Genesis 3:14, where the snake is cursed to crawl on the ground and eat dust) - Snakes ‘lick the dust’ by using their forked tongue, which is part of their sense of smell. They stick out their tongue and collect microscopic particles from the air or ground. When the tongue is withdrawn, it is taken to a specialised organ in the palate, the Jacobson's organ, where the particles are analysed to identify scents. The tongue transfers odour particles to the organ, which helps the snake to perceive its surroundings, and because the tongue, like the Jacobson's organ, is divided, it can determine which direction the odour is strongest. Thus, the snake's ‘licking’ does not produce taste in the traditional sense, but a combination of smell and chemical analysis of the environment. – Symbolically, this illustration also matches the use of the word ‘hissing’) in e.g. Micah 6:16, they mimic the sound of snakes by making a hissing sound, which is an expression of scorn or contempt]

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Mic 7:20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.