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

5This is what the Lord says about the prophets who mislead my people: When they have something to eat, they say, “All is well!” But they declare a holy war against those who don’t feed them. 6That is why you will have nights without visions. You will have darkness without revelations. The sun will set on the prophets, and the day will turn dark for them. Seers will be put to shame. Those who practice witchcraft will be disgraced. All of them will cover their faces, because God won’t answer them. 8But I am filled with the power of the Lord’s Spirit, with justice, and with strength. So I will tell ⌞the descendants of⌟ Jacob about their crimes and ⌞the nation of⌟ Israel about its sins. 9Listen to this, you leaders of the descendants of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel. You despise justice and pervert everything that is right.

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 8:18The magicians also tried to produce gnats using their magic spells, but they couldn’t do it. The gnats bit people and animals.
• Exodus 9:11The magicians couldn’t compete with Moses because they had boils like all the other Egyptians.
• 1 Samuel 9:9(Formerly in Israel, when a person went to ask God ⌞a question⌟, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because a person we now call a prophet used to be called a seer.)
• Isaiah 44:25I cause the signs of false prophets to fail and make fools of fortunetellers. I make wise men retreat and turn their knowledge into foolishness.
• Isaiah 47:12Keep practicing your spells and your evil magic. You have practiced them ever since you were young. You may succeed. You may cause terror.
• Daniel 2:9If you don’t tell me the dream, you’ll all receive the same punishment. You have agreed among yourselves to make up a phony explanation to give me, hoping that things will change. So tell me the dream. Then I’ll know that you can explain its meaning to me.”
• Zechariah 13:4“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He won’t deceive people by dressing ⌞like a prophet⌟ in a coat made of hair.
• 2 Timothy 3:8As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. Their minds are corrupt, and the faith they teach is counterfeit.
• Leviticus 13:45“People who come down with a skin disease must wear torn clothes and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their upper lips and call out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
• Ezekiel 24:17Groan silently. Don’t grieve for the person who dies. Tie on your turban, and put on your sandals. Don’t cover your face or eat the food that mourners eat.”
• 1 Samuel 14:37Then Saul asked God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?” But he received no answer that day.
• 1 Samuel 28:6He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t answer him through dreams, the Urim, or prophets.
• Psalms 74:9We no longer see miraculous signs. There are no prophets anymore. No one knows how long this will last.
• Amos 8:11The days are going to come, declares the Almighty Lord, when I will send a famine throughout the land. It won’t be an ordinary famine or drought. Instead, there will be a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

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