Christian Standard Bible
Micah 7:17
17They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of the Lord our God; they will stand in awe of you.
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
15I will perform miracles for them as in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt. 16Nations will see and be ashamed of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf. They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of the Lord our God; they will stand in awe of you. 18Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love. 19He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Read all of Micah 7Micah 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 3:14So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.
- Psalms 72:9May desert tribes kneel before him and his enemies lick the dust.
- Isaiah 49:23Kings will be your guardians and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who put their hope in me will not be put to shame.
- Isaiah 60:14The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet. They will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 65:25The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain,” says the Lord.
- Lamentations 3:29Let him put his mouth in the dust — perhaps there is still hope.
- Revelation 3:9Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
- 1 Samuel 14:11They let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison, and the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they’ve been hiding!”
- Psalms 18:45Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.
- Jeremiah 16:16“I am about to send for many fishermen” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and they will fish for them. Then I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks,
- Exodus 15:14When the peoples hear, they will shudder; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
- Joshua 2:9and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.
- Joshua 9:24The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly communicated to your servants that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.
- Psalms 9:20Put terror in them, Lord; let the nations know they are only humans.Selah
- Isaiah 2:19People will go into caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the Lord and from his majestic splendor, when he rises to terrify the earth.
- Isaiah 64:2just as fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water — to make your name known to your enemies, so that nations would 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
In the dictionaries
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
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