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: “You false prophets are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you. 6Now the night will close around you, cutting off all your visions. Darkness will cover you, putting an end to your predictions. The sun will set for you prophets, and your day will come to an end. Then you seers will be put to shame, and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced. And you will cover your faces because there is no answer from God.” 8But as for me, I am filled with power— with the Spirit of the Lord. I am filled with justice and strength to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion. 9Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all 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 8:18Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.
• Exodus 9:11Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.
• 1 Samuel 9:9(In those days if people wanted a message from God, they would say, “Let’s go and ask the seer,” for prophets used to be called seers.)
• Isaiah 44:25I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.
• Isaiah 47:12“Now use your magical charms! Use the spells you have worked at all these years! Maybe they will do you some good. Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
• Daniel 2:9‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”
• Zechariah 13:4“On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.
• 2 Timothy 3:8These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.
• Leviticus 13:45“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
• Ezekiel 24:17Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.”
• 1 Samuel 14:37So Saul asked God, “Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But God made no reply that day.
• 1 Samuel 28:6He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets.
• Psalms 74:9We no longer see your miraculous signs. All the prophets are gone, and no one can tell us when it will end.
• Amos 8:11“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but 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