God’s Word Translation
Micah 4:12
12They don’t know the thoughts of the Lord or understand his plan. He will bring them together like cut grain on the threshing floor.
Micah 4:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
- New International Version (NIV)But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
Context of Micah 4:12
10Daughter of Zion, writhe in pain and groan like a woman in labor. Now you will leave the city, live in the open fields, and go to Babylon. There you will be rescued. There the Lord will reclaim you from your enemies. 11But now many nations gather against you. They say, “Let’s dishonor Zion and gloat over it.” They don’t know the thoughts of the Lord or understand his plan. He will bring them together like cut grain on the threshing floor. 13Get up and thresh, people of Zion. I will make your horns as hard as iron and your hoofs as hard as bronze. You will smash many nations into small pieces. You will claim their loot for the Lord, their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.
Read all of Micah 4Micah 4:12 word by word
וְהֵ֗מָּה לֹ֤א יָֽדְעוּ֙ מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א הֵבִ֖ינוּ עֲצָת֑וֹ כִּ֥י קִבְּצָ֖ם כֶּעָמִ֥יר גֹּֽרְנָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not the thoughtsמַחֲשָׁבָהmachăshâbâh machăshebeth · plotH4284
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- neither understandבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
- they his counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
- for he shall gatherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- them as the sheavesעָמִיר‛âmîyr · sheafH5995
- into the floorגֹּ֫רֶןgôren · threshing floorH1637
Cross-references for Micah 4:12
- Isaiah 55:8“My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 29:11I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
- Romans 11:33God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep that it is impossible to explain his decisions or to understand his ways.
- Isaiah 21:10You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel.
- Joel 3:12Wake up, you nations. Come to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
- Zechariah 14:1A day is going to come for the Lord when the loot you have taken will be divided among you.
- Luke 3:17His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”
- Revelation 14:14Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and on the cloud sat someone who was like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Commentaries on Micah 4:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12But they know not the thoughts of the Lord - These think that God has utterly rejected his people, and they shall have a troublesome neighbor no more: but this is not his design; he will afflict them for a time; but these, the enemies of his people, he will gather as sheaves into the threshing-floor, there to be trodden, and the wheel to go over them. This is the counsel, the purpose of God, which these do not understand. The persons here referred to are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel - The pagan did, for their own ends, what God willed for His. The first step was the same; God willed that His people should be punished; they willed to punish them. But all which lay beyond, they saw not; that God willed (on their repentance) to pardon His own people, but to punish themselves for their pride Isaiah 10:7, Isaiah 10:12 and cruelty Zechariah 1:15, Zechariah…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 Many nations would assemble against Zion to rejoice in her calamities. They would not understand that the Lord had collected them as sheaves are gathered to be threshed; and that Zion would be strengthened to beat them to pieces. Nothing has yet taken place in the history of the Jewish church agreeing with this prediction. When God has conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with strength and ability for it. Believers should…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12God reveals his plans to his servants (Daniel 2:19–23; Amos 3:7), but the nations do not know. They are not aware of God's great plans or his actions behind the scenes for his people. The hopes and plans of the nations around Israel were in vain. The Lord's plans for his unique people will succeed, and he will rule the nations (Genesis 12:1–3; 15:12–21; Exodus 19:4–6; Isaiah 45:23; 66:23). At the threshing floor, people beat and trampled grain to separate…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. thoughts of the Lord--Their unsearchable wisdom, overruling seeming disaster to the final good of His people, is the very ground on which the restoration of Israel hereafter (of which the restoration from Babylon is a type) is based in Is 55:8; compare with Mi 4:3, 12, 13, which prove that Israel, not merely the Christian Church, is the ultimate subject of the prophecy; also in Ro 11:13. God's counsel is to discipline His people for a time with the…Read the comment
Topics related to Micah 4:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Micah 4
- 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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