You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Parallel translations
- KJV Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto 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 28:13–14Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your offspring.
- Luke 1:72–74to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
- Luke 1:54–55He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
- Acts 3:25–26You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘In your offspring will all the families of the earth be blessed.’
- Heb 6:13–18For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,
- Gen 17:7–8I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
- Gen 12:2–3I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Gen 26:3–4Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
- Gen 22:16–18and said, “I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
- Ps 105:8–10He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
- Jer 33:25–26Yahweh says: “If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
- Deut 7:8but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
- Rom 11:26–31and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 7:20 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.