Micah 4:12 (ASV)

Passage

But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor.

Nearby Context

Micah 4:10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will Jehovah redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

Micah 4:11 And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see [our desire] upon Zion.

Micah 4:12 But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor.

Micah 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto Jehovah, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thoughts", "jehovah", "neither", "understand", "counsel", "hath", "gathered", and "sheaves". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thoughts" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And now many nations are assembled against..." into verse 13's "Arise and thresh O daughter of Zion...", so "thoughts" and "jehovah" belong inside that flow. In Micah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thoughts" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.