Micah 4:12

Micah 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

Context of Micah 4:12

10Writhe in pain and labor to give birth, O Daughter of Zion, Like a woman in childbirth; For now you shall go out of the city, Live in the field, And go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; There the Lord shall redeem you From the hand of your enemies. 11Now many [conquering] nations are assembled against you, Who say, ‘Let her be profaned [through Gentile presence and the temple’s destruction], And let our eyes gaze on and gloat over Zion.’ But they (Gentile nations) do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His purpose and plan; For He has gathered them (Gentiles) like sheaves to the threshing floor [for destruction]. 13Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion! For I will make your horn iron And I will make your hoofs bronze; That you may beat many peoples in pieces [trampling down your enemies], That you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain (pagan possessions) And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Micah 4:12 word by word

וְהֵ֗מָּה לֹ֤א יָֽדְעוּ֙ מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א הֵבִ֖ינוּ עֲצָת֑וֹ כִּ֥י קִבְּצָ֖ם כֶּעָמִ֥יר גֹּֽרְנָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not the thoughtsמַחֲשָׁבָהmachăshâbâh machăshebeth · plotH4284
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• neither understandבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• they his counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• for he shall gatherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
• them as the sheavesעָמִיר‛âmîyr · sheafH5995
• into the floorגֹּ֫רֶןgôren · threshing floorH1637

Cross-references for Micah 4:12

• Isaiah 55:8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
• Romans 11:33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and decisions and how unfathomable and untraceable are His ways!
• Isaiah 21:10O my threshed people [Judah, who must be judged and trampled down by Babylon], my afflicted of the threshing floor. What I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [that Babylon is to fall].
• Joel 3:12Let the nations be stirred [to action] And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge and punish All the surrounding nations.
• Zechariah 14:1Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you (Jerusalem) will be divided in your midst.
• Luke 3:17His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom); but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire.”
• Revelation 14:14Again I looked, and this is what I saw: a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp sickle [of swift judgment] in His hand.

Commentaries on Micah 4:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12But they know not the thoughts of the Lord - These think that God has utterly rejected his people, and they shall have a troublesome neighbor no more: but this is not his design; he will afflict them for a time; but these, the enemies of his people, he will gather as sheaves into the threshing-floor, there to be trodden, and the wheel to go over them. This is the counsel, the purpose of God, which these do not understand. The persons here referred to are…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel - The pagan did, for their own ends, what God willed for His. The first step was the same; God willed that His people should be punished; they willed to punish them. But all which lay beyond, they saw not; that God willed (on their repentance) to pardon His own people, but to punish themselves for their pride Isaiah 10:7, Isaiah 10:12 and cruelty Zechariah 1:15, Zechariah…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 Many nations would assemble against Zion to rejoice in her calamities. They would not understand that the Lord had collected them as sheaves are gathered to be threshed; and that Zion would be strengthened to beat them to pieces. Nothing has yet taken place in the history of the Jewish church agreeing with this prediction. When God has conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with strength and ability for it. Believers should…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12God reveals his plans to his servants (Daniel 2:19–23; Amos 3:7), but the nations do not know. They are not aware of God's great plans or his actions behind the scenes for his people. The hopes and plans of the nations around Israel were in vain. The Lord's plans for his unique people will succeed, and he will rule the nations (Genesis 12:1–3; 15:12–21; Exodus 19:4–6; Isaiah 45:23; 66:23). At the threshing floor, people beat and trampled grain to separate…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. thoughts of the Lord--Their unsearchable wisdom, overruling seeming disaster to the final good of His people, is the very ground on which the restoration of Israel hereafter (of which the restoration from Babylon is a type) is based in Is 55:8; compare with Mi 4:3, 12, 13, which prove that Israel, not merely the Christian Church, is the ultimate subject of the prophecy; also in Ro 11:13. God's counsel is to discipline His people for a time with the…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 4:12

• Blindness

In the dictionaries

• Agriculture
• Gather
• Micah (2)
• Threshing

Commentaries on Micah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings