Micah 7:16 (DRB)

Passage

The nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their strength: they shall put the hand upon the mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

Nearby Context

Micah 7:14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy inheritance, them that dwell alone in the forest, in the midst of Carmel: they shall feed in Basan and Galaad, according to the days of old.

Micah 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, I will shew him wonders.

Micah 7:16 The nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their strength: they shall put the hand upon the mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

Micah 7:17 They shall lick the dust like serpents, as the creeping things of the earth, they shall be disturbed in their houses: they shall dread the Lord, our God, and shall fear thee.

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like to thee, who takest away iniquity, and passest by the sin of the remnant of thy inheritance? he will send his fury in no more, because he delighteth in mercy.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nations", "shall", "confounded", "strength", "hand", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nations" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "According to the days of thy coming..." into verse 17's "They shall lick the dust like serpents...", so "nations" and "shall" 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 "nations" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.