Micah 7:17

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Micah 7:17

15According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. 16The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 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 Yhwh our God, and shall fear because of thee. 18Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:17 word by word

יְלַחֲכ֤וּ עָפָר֙ כַּנָּחָ֔שׁ כְּזֹחֲלֵ֣י אֶ֔רֶץ יִרְגְּז֖וּ מִמִּסְגְּרֹֽתֵיהֶ֑ם אֶל־יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ יִפְחָ֔דוּ וְיִֽרְא֖וּ מִמֶּֽךָּ׃Read the interlinear

• 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 Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and shall fearיָרֵאyârê' · to fear: revereH3372

Cross-references for Micah 7:17

• Genesis 3:14And Yhwh God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
• Psalms 72:9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
• Isaiah 49:23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am Yhwh: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
• Isaiah 60:14The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of Yhwh, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
• Isaiah 65:25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Yhwh.
• Lamentations 3:29He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
• Revelation 3:9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
• 1 Samuel 14:11And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
• Psalms 18:45The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
• Jeremiah 16:16Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Yhwh, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
• Exodus 15:14The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
• Joshua 2:9And she said unto the men, I know that Yhwh hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
• Joshua 9:24And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that Yhwh thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
• Psalms 9:20Put them in fear, O Yhwh: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
• Isaiah 2:19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of Yhwh, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
• Isaiah 64:2As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy 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

• Conviction
• Fear of God
• Serpent

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Light
• Mouth
• Net
• Worm
• Dust
• Micah (2)
• Reptile
• Serpent

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