Micah 3:7

Micah 3:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
• New International Version (NIV)The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God.”

Context of Micah 3:7

5The Lord says this: ‘It will be very bad for the prophets who tell false messages. They lead my people the wrong way with false promises. If people give food to them, then they are happy. So they promise that there will be no war. But, if people do not feed them, they become angry. They promise that war will come. 6Because of that, it will become like night for you. I will not show you my messages. You will no longer see what will happen in future times. The sun will go down over you prophets, and the day will become dark for you. Then you prophets will be ashamed. You who tell what will happen in future times will be confused. You will hide your faces in shame because you have no message from me.’ 8But the Spirit of the Lord fills me, to make me powerful. He helps me to know what is right and fair. He makes me brave so that I can speak to you, Jacob's people. I can tell you what you have done wrong. You are Israel's people, but you have not obeyed God. 9So listen to this, you leaders of Jacob's people. You are Israel's rulers. But you never do what is right and fair. You take what is good. And you make it seem bad.

Micah 3:7 word by word

וּבֹ֣שׁוּ הַחֹזִ֗ים וְחָֽפְרוּ֙ הַקֹּ֣סְמִ֔ים וְעָט֥וּ עַל־שָׂפָ֖ם כֻּלָּ֑ם כִּ֛י אֵ֥ין מַעֲנֵ֖ה אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then shall the seersחֹזֶהchôzeh · seerH2374
• be ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
• and the divinersקָסַםqâsam · to divineH7080
• confoundedחָפֵרchâphêr · be ashamedH2659
• yea, they shall all coverעָטָה‛âţâh · to enwrapH5844
• their lipsשָׂפָםώâphâm · mustacheH8222
• no answerמַעֲנֶהma‛ăneh · answerH4617
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Micah 3:7

• Exodus 8:18Then the Egyptian magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear. But they could not do it. The gnats were on all the people and on all the animals.
• Exodus 9:11All the Egyptians had boils, even the magicians. Because of the boils, the magicians could not stand in front of Moses.
• 1 Samuel 9:9(That was the custom in Israel. If someone needed to hear a message from God, he would say, ‘We should go and talk with the seer.’ The man that we now call a prophet was called a ‘seer’ at that time.)
• Isaiah 44:25I show that the false prophets speak useless messages. I show that those who use magic to say what will happen are fools. I cause the ideas of wise people to become useless. People think that their advice is foolish.
• Isaiah 47:12So continue with your magic, if you want to. Say your magic words. You have always used that magic, since you were young. Perhaps your magic will help you. Perhaps you will frighten your enemies!
• Daniel 2:9If you do not tell me the dream, I will certainly punish you with death. You have agreed among yourselves to tell me lies. You want to deceive me until you can think of something better. So now, tell me the dream. Then I will believe you when you tell me what it means.’
• Zechariah 13:4On that day, every prophet will be ashamed that he was ever a prophet. He will not put on the clothes of a prophet that they make from hair. Then people will not know that he is a prophet.
• 2 Timothy 3:8These are people who speak against God's true message, in the same way that Jannes and Jambres spoke against Moses. Their minds have become confused. The way that they serve God is false.
• Leviticus 13:45A person with this disease must tear his clothes. He must not comb his hair. He must cover the lower part of his face. He must shout, “I am not clean.”
• Ezekiel 24:17Cry inside yourself but do not cry aloud. Do not show that you are sad because someone has died. Do not remove the cloth from your head. Keep your shoes on your feet. Do not cover the lower part of your face. Do not eat the food that people eat at funerals.’
• 1 Samuel 14:37Saul asked God, ‘Should we attack the Philistines? Will you give us power over them?’ But God did not answer Saul that day.
• 1 Samuel 28:6Saul asked the Lord what he should do. But the Lord did not answer him in any way. He did not give Saul a dream. He did not use the Urim. He did not give a message to the prophets.
• Psalms 74:9We no longer see any signs that God is with us. There are no more prophets among us. Nobody can tell us how long this will continue.
• Amos 8:11The Lord God says, ‘Listen to me! At that time, I will cause you to be very hungry. It will not be because you need food and water. Instead, everyone in the land will want to hear a message from me.

Commentaries on Micah 3:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Shall the seers be ashamed - For the false visions of comfort and prosperity which they pretended to see. And the diviners confounded - Who pretended to foretell future prosperity; for they themselves are now thralled in that very captivity which the true prophets foretold, and which the false prophets said should not happen.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7They shall cover their lips - Literally, the hair of the upper lip. This was an action enjoined on lepers Leviticus 13:45, and a token of mourning Ezekiel 24:17, Ezekiel 24:22; a token then of sorrow and uncleanness. With their lips they had lied, and now they should cover their lips, as men dumb and ashamed. “For there is no answer of God,” as these deceivers had pretended to have. When all things shall come contrary to what they had promised, it shall…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-7Micah announced God's judgment on the false prophets. Without God's special messages, these seers and fortune-tellers were like the pagan court prophets of nations like Babylon, Mari, and especially Assyria. Those prophets were expected to say what the rulers wanted to hear, but they did not receive true messages from the Lord 1 Samuel 28:6; Amos 8:11–12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. cover their lips--The Orientals prided themselves on the moustache and beard ("upper lip," Margin). To cover it, therefore, was a token of shame and sorrow (Le 13:45; Eze 24:17, 22). "They shall be so ashamed of themselves as not to dare to open their mouths or boast of the name of prophet" [Calvin]. there is no answer of God--They shall no more profess to have responses from God, being struck dumb with calamities (Mi 3:6).Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 3:7

• Minister, Christian
• Mourning
• Prophets
• Sorcery

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Divination
• Divine
• Mourn
• Pluck
• Seer
• Teach
• Confound
• Lip

Commentaries on Micah 3

• 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