Micah 7:16–20
16 hThe nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
ithey shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 jthey shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
kthey shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
lthey shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 mWho is a God like you, npardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
nfor the remnant of his inheritance?
oHe does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will pagain have compassion on us;
qhe will tread our iniquities underfoot.
into the depths of the sea.
20 sYou will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
tas you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — The New International Version (NIV)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.
17 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.
18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago.
Micah 7:16–20 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might:
They shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 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.
18 Who 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.
19 He 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.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham,
Which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — New Living Translation (NLT)
16 All the nations of the world will stand amazed
at what the Lord will do for you.
They will be embarrassed
at their feeble power.
They will cover their mouths in silent awe,
deaf to everything around them.
17 Like snakes crawling from their holes,
they will come out to meet the Lord our God.
They will fear him greatly,
trembling in terror at his presence.
18 Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
20 You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.
Micah 7:16–20 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
17 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.
18 Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give truth to Jacob
And mercy to Abraham,
Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — New Century Version (NCV)
16 When the nations see those miracles,
they will no longer brag about their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
refusing to listen.
17 They will crawl in the dust like a snake,
like insects crawling on the ground.
They will come trembling from their holes to the Lord our God
and will turn in fear before you.
18 There is no God like you.
You forgive those who are guilty of sin;
you don’t look at the sins of your people
who are left alive.
You will not stay angry forever,
because you enjoy being kind.
19 You will have mercy on us again;
you will conquer our sins.
You will throw away all our sins
into the deepest part of the sea.
20 You will be true to the people of Jacob,
and you will be kind to the people of Abraham
as you promised to our ancestors long ago.
Micah 7:16–20 — American Standard Version (ASV)
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto Jehovah our God, and shall be afraid because of thee.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness. 19 He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
16 —The nations shall see, and be ashamed for all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick dust like the serpent; like crawling things of the earth, they shall come trembling forth from their close places. They shall turn with fear to Jehovah our God, and shall be afraid because of thee. 18 Who is a •God like unto thee, that forgiveth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in loving-kindness. 19 He will yet again have compassion on us, he will tread under foot our iniquities: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform truth to Jacob, loving-kindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers, from the days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
16 Nations will see this and be ashamed in spite of all their strength.
They will put their hands over their mouths.
Their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like snakes,
like animals that crawl on the ground.
They will come out of their hiding places trembling.
They will turn away from your presence in fear, O Lord our God.
They will be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God like you?
You forgive sin
and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people.
You will not be angry forever,
because you would rather show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us.
You will overcome our wrongdoing.
You will throw all our sins into the deep sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob.
You will have mercy on Abraham
as you swore by an oath to our ancestors long ago.
Micah 7:16–20 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed
of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake;
they will come trembling out of their hiding places
like reptiles slithering on the ground.
They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God;
they will stand in awe of You.
18 Who is a God like You,
removing iniquity and passing over rebellion
for the remnant of His inheritance?
He does not hold on to His anger forever,
because He delights in faithful love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob
and faithful love to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers
from days long ago.
Micah 7:16–20 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed
of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick dust like a snake,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall stand in fear of you.
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over the transgression
of the remnant of your possession?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in showing clemency.
19 He will again have compassion upon us;
he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
from the days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
16 The nations will see and be ashamed
because of all their might.
They will lay the hand on the mouth;
their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like the serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth.
They will come trembling from their strongholds
to Yahweh our God.
Let them fear and be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God like you, forgiving sin
and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
for he delights in loyal love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will trample our iniquities.
And you will hurl all their sins
in the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and loyal love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
from the days of old.
Micah 7:16–20 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
16 When the nations see those wonders,
they will be put to shame.
All of their power will be taken away from them.
They will be so amazed
that they won’t be able to speak or hear.
17 They’ll be forced to eat dust like a snake.
They’ll be like creatures
that have to crawl on the ground.
They’ll come out of their dens
trembling with fear.
They’ll show respect for the Lord our God.
They will also have respect for his people.
18 Lord, who is a God like you?
You forgive sin.
You forgive your people
when they do what is wrong.
You don’t stay angry forever.
Instead, you take delight in showing
your faithful love to them.
19 Once again you will show loving concern for us.
You will completely wipe out
the evil things we’ve done.
You will throw all of our sins
into the bottom of the sea.
20 You will be true to Jacob’s people.
You will show your faithful love
to Abraham’s children.
You will do what you promised to do for our people
when you took an oath long ago.
Micah 7:16–20 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed
Of all their might.
They will put their hand on their mouth,
Their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a serpent,
Like reptiles of the earth.
They will come trembling out of their fortresses;
To the Lord our God they will come in dread
And they will be afraid before You.
18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in unchanging love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, You will cast all their sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give truth to Jacob
And unchanging love to Abraham,
Which You swore to our forefathers
From the days of old.