Micah 7:16

Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Micah describes a future moment when foreign nations will witness God's miraculous deliverance of Israel, echoing the Exodus wonders just promised in verse 15. The speaker is the prophet addressing Judah, but the scene focuses entirely on the reaction of hostile observers.

The words — The Hebrew יִרְא֤וּ (yir.'U) means "they will see" and גוֹיִם֙ (go.Yim) means "nations," establishing that foreign observers will witness the event. The verb וְ/יֵבֹ֔שׁוּ (ve./ye.Vo.shu) translates to "they will be ashamed," directly tied to the loss of their גְּבֽוּרָתָ֑/ם (ge.vu.ra.Ta/m), or "strength."

The thread — The motif of defeated nations witnessing divine action appears in Isaiah 26:11, where enemies see God's zeal and are put to shame, and Isaiah 52:15, where kings shut their mouths upon seeing what they never heard. The gesture of covering the mouth with a hand echoes Job 29:9, where princes refrain from speech in the presence of divine authority.

Why it lands — The text declares that hostile nations will lose their power and fall silent upon witnessing God's intervention, requiring the reader to acknowledge that human strength cannot withstand divine action. It demands a sober recognition that opposition to God's purposes ends in shame and speechlessness rather than victory.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

יִרְא֤וּyir.'Uthey will see גוֹיִם֙go.Yimnations וְיֵבֹ֔שׁוּve./ye.Vo.shuso/ they may be ashamed מִכֹּ֖לmi./Kolfrom/ all גְּבֽוּרָתָ֑םge.vu.ra.Ta/mstrength/ their יָשִׂ֤ימוּya.Si.muthey will put יָד֙yada hand עַל־'al-on פֶּ֔הPeha mouth אָזְנֵיהֶ֖ם'a.ze.nei./Hemears/ their תֶּחֱרַֽשְׁנָה׃te.che.Rash.nahthey will be deaf

King James Version

The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

Cross-references

Isaiah 26:11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
Isaiah 52:15 so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
Job 29:9 The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.
Job 40:4 “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
Job 21:5 Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
Psalms 126:2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
Isaiah 66:18 “And I, knowing their deeds and thoughts, am coming to gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory.
Ezekiel 38:23 I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and I will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 39:17 And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
Micah 5:8 Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.