Micah 7:16 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Micah 7:14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

Micah 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

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

Micah 7:17 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.

Micah 7:18 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nations", "shall", "confounded", "might", "hand", "upon", and "mouth". 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 a...", 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.