Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them. Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they made their deeds evil.”
- KJV Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
- NKJV Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.
- NASB Then they will cry out to the Lord, But He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time Because they have practiced evil deeds.
- NLT Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done, he won’t even look at you!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When disaster comes, these leaders will cry to the LORD, but He will hide His face and not answer. It warns that unrepentant oppressors lose access to God's help.
Overview
Having shown no mercy, the rulers will find no mercy when judgment falls and they cry out. God's hiding His face is the withdrawal of His favor in response to their evil deeds. The verse teaches that persistent injustice severs the very relationship the wicked presume upon in crisis.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Prov 1:28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
- Ps 18:41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
- Matt 7:22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
- Deut 32:19–20When the LORD saw this, He rejected them, provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.
- Deut 31:17–18On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’
- Jas 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Isa 3:11Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- Isa 59:1–15Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
- John 9:31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
- Mic 2:3–4Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.
- Zech 7:13And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Rom 2:8–9But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- Prov 28:9Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Jer 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Luke 13:25After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
- Jer 33:5The Chaldeans are coming to fight and to fill those places with the corpses of the men I will strike down in My anger and in My wrath. I have hidden My face from this city because of all its wickedness.
- Jer 2:27–28say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces, yet in the time of trouble they beg, ‘Rise up and save us!’
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Micah names the town — 'But you, Bethlehem... from you shall come forth one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old' — the birthplace of the eternal King.
How Micah 3:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.