Micah 7:17

Micah 7:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the Lord our God and will be afraid of you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall be in fear of you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall lick the dust like a serpent; They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, And shall fear because of You.

Context of Micah 7:17

15“As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I shall show you marvelous and miraculous things.” 16The [pagan] nations shall see [God’s omnipotence in delivering Israel] and be ashamed Of all their might [which cannot be compared to His]. They shall put their hand on their mouth [in silent astonishment]; Their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent; Like crawling things of the earth They shall come trembling out of their fortresses and hiding places. They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our God And they shall be afraid and stand in awe before You [O Lord]. 18Who is a God like You, who forgives wickedness And passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He [constantly] delights in mercy and lovingkindness. 19He shall again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power]. Yes, You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:17 word by word

יְלַחֲכ֤וּ עָפָר֙ כַּנָּחָ֔שׁ כְּזֹחֲלֵ֣י אֶ֔רֶץ יִרְגְּז֖וּ מִמִּסְגְּרֹֽתֵיהֶ֑ם אֶל־יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ יִפְחָ֔דוּ וְיִֽרְא֖וּ מִמֶּֽךָּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They shall lickלָחַךְlâchak · to lickH3897
• the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• like a serpentנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
• they shall moveרָגַזrâgaz · to trembleH7264
• out of their holesמִסְגֶּ֫רֶתmisgereth · perimeterH4526
• like wormsזָחַלzâchal · to crawlH2119
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• they shall be afraidפָּחַדpâchad · to dreadH6342
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and shall fearיָרֵאyârê' · to fear: revereH3372

Cross-references for Micah 7:17

• Genesis 3:14The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the cattle, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life.
• Psalms 72:9The nomads of the desert will bow before him, And his enemies will lick the dust.
• Isaiah 49:23Kings will be your attendants, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the Lord; For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me.
• Isaiah 60:14The sons of those who oppressed you will come bowing down to you [in submission], And all those who despised you and treated you disrespectfully will bow down at the soles of your feet, And they will call you the City of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
• Isaiah 65:25The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.
• Lamentations 3:29Let him put his mouth in the dust [in recognition of his unworthiness]; There may yet be hope.
• Revelation 3:9Take note, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know [without any doubt] that I have loved you.
• 1 Samuel 14:11When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”
• Psalms 18:45Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their strongholds.
• Jeremiah 16:16“Behold (listen carefully), I will send for many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the clefts of the rocks.
• Exodus 15:14The peoples have heard [about You], they tremble; Anguish and fear has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
• Joshua 2:9and she said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror and dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted [in despair] because of you.
• Joshua 9:24They replied to Joshua and said, “Because your servants were told in no uncertain terms that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the land’s inhabitants before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and so we did this [deceptive] thing.
• Psalms 9:20Put them in [reverent] fear of You, O Lord, So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. Selah.
• Isaiah 2:19They [the stricken, deprived of all in which they had trusted] will go into the caves of the rocks And into the holes of the ground [fleeing] From the terror and dread of the Lord And from the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth.
• Isaiah 64:2As [sure as] fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

Commentaries on Micah 7:17

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17They shall lick the dust like a (the) serpent - To lick the dust, by itself, pictures the extreme humility of persons who east themselves down to the very earth (as in Psalm 72:9; Isaiah 49:23). To lick it “like the serpent” seems rather to represent the condition of those who share the serpent‘s doom Genesis 3:14; Isaiah 65:25, whose lot, viz. earth and things of earth, they had chosen (Rup.): “They shall move out of their holes”, or, better, shall…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-20Verses 14-20 When God is about to deliver his people, he stirs up their friends to pray for them. Apply spiritually the prophet's prayer to Christ, to take care of his church, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, and to go before them, while they are here in this world as in a wood, in this world but not of it. God promises in answer to this prayer, he will do that for them which shall be repeating the miracles of former ages. As their sin brought them…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Like snakes, the nations had attacked Israel's heel (compare Genesis 3:14–15). The prophets often described foreign nations as deceitful, poisonous serpents (Isaiah 14:29; Jeremiah 8:17; Ezekiel 29:1–3). Now these nations would face humiliation (compare Psalm 72:9). Crawling and "licking dust" were metaphors for defeat and humiliation.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. lick the dust--in abject prostration as suppliants (Psa 72:9; compare Is 49:23; 65:25). move out of their holes--As reptiles from their holes, they shall come forth from their hiding-places, or fortresses (Psa 18:45), to give themselves up to the conquerors. More literally, "they shall tremble from," that is, tremblingly come forth from their coverts. like worms--reptiles or crawlers (De 32:24). they shall be afraid of the Lord--or, they shall in fear…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 7:17

• Conviction
• Fear of God
• Serpent

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Light
• Mouth
• Net
• Worm
• Dust
• Micah (2)
• Reptile
• Serpent

Commentaries on Micah 7

• 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