The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; They shall put their hand over their mouth; Their ears shall be deaf.
Parallel translations
- WEB The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will lay their hand on their mouth. Their ears will be deaf.
- KJV The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
- BSB Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.
- NASB Nations will see and be ashamed Of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, Their ears will be deaf.
- NLT 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.
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
The nations will witness God's acts, be ashamed of their own strength, and fall silent. It foretells the humbling of proud nations before the LORD.
Overview
Seeing God's marvelous deeds, the nations will be ashamed of their boasted might, laying hands on their mouths in silence and rendered deaf. Human power is exposed as nothing before God's. Such humbling of the nations anticipates the day when every knee bows and every mouth confesses the lordship of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 26:11Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, yet they don’t see; but they will see your zeal for the people, and be disappointed. Yes, fire will consume your adversaries.
- Isa 52:15so he will cleanse many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him: for they will see that which had not been told them; and they will understand that which they had not heard.
- Job 29:9–10The princes refrained from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
- Job 40:4“Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
- Ezek 38:23I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Mic 5:8The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is no one to deliver.
- Zech 12:9It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- Zech 8:20–23Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come;
- Ps 126:2Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.”
- Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.
- Rev 11:18The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
- Isa 66:18“For I know their works and their thoughts. The time comes that I will gather all nations and languages, and they will come, and will see my glory.
- Job 21:5Look at me, and be astonished. Lay your hand on your mouth.
- Ezek 39:17–21You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Speak to the birds of every sort, and to every animal of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat meat and drink blood.
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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 7:16 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.