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Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Micah 7:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
  • BSB You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.
  • NKJV You will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old.
  • NASB You will give truth to Jacob And favor to Abraham, Which You swore to our forefathers From the days of old.
  • NLT You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

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

God will keep the faithfulness and mercy He swore to Abraham and Jacob long ago. The book closes by grounding salvation in God's unbreakable covenant promises.

Overview

Micah ends by anchoring all this mercy in the ancient covenant oaths to Jacob and Abraham, God's truth and steadfast love sworn "from the days of old." Israel's hope rests not on its own worth but on God's sworn faithfulness. These promises to Abraham find their fulfillment in Christ, the seed of Abraham through whom all nations are blessed (Galatians 3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Gen 28:13–14And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
  • Luke 1:72–74To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
  • Luke 1:54–55He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
  • Acts 3:25–26Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
  • Heb 6:13–18For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
  • Gen 17:7–8And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
  • Gen 12:2–3And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
  • Gen 26:3–4Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
  • Gen 22:16–18And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
  • Ps 105:8–10He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
  • Jer 33:25–26Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
  • Deut 7:8But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
  • Rom 11:26–31And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Micah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Micah 7:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MicahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 7:20 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.