English Standard Version
Micah 7:17
17they 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the Lord our God. They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence.
Context of Micah 7:17
15As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things. 16The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; 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. 18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. 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 3:14The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
- Psalms 72:9May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!
- Isaiah 49:23Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."
- Isaiah 60:14The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 65:25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the Lord.
- Lamentations 3:29let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope;
- Revelation 3:9Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.
- 1 Samuel 14:11So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, "Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves."
- Psalms 18:45Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
- Jeremiah 16:16"Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
- Exodus 15:14The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
- Joshua 2:9and said to the men, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
- Joshua 9:24They answered Joshua, "Because it was told to your servants for a certainty 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 from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing.
- Psalms 9:20Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
- Isaiah 2:19And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
- Isaiah 64:2as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might 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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