Micah 7:17
New International Version
They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you.

New Living Translation
Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the LORD our God. They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence.

English Standard Version
they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall be in fear of you.

Berean Standard Bible
They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the LORD our God, And shall fear because of You.

New American Standard Bible
They will lick up dust like a snake, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the LORD our God they will come in trepidation, And they will be afraid of You.

NASB 1995
They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the LORD our God they will come in dread And they will be afraid before You.

NASB 1977
They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the LORD our God they will come in dread, And they will be afraid before Thee.

Legacy Standard Bible
They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like crawling things of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To Yahweh our God they will come in dread, And they will be afraid before You.

Amplified Bible
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; Like crawling things of the earth They shall come trembling out of their fortresses and hiding places. They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the LORD our God And they shall be afraid and stand in awe before You [O LORD].

Christian Standard Bible
They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of the LORD our God; they will stand in awe of you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God; they will stand in awe of You.

American Standard Version
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto Jehovah our God, and shall be afraid because of thee.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they shall lick the dust like a serpent and like worms of the Earth they shall be provoked from their paths, and by LORD JEHOVAH our God they shall be shaken and they shall be afraid

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They shall lick the dust as serpents crawling on the earth, they shall be confounded in their holes; they shall be amazed at the Lord our God, and will be afraid of thee.

Contemporary English Version
because of their fear of me, your LORD and God. Then they will come trembling, crawling out of their fortresses like insects or snakes, lapping up the dust.

Douay-Rheims Bible
They shall lick the dust like serpents, as the creeping things of the earth, they shall be disturbed in their houses: they shall dread the Lord our God, and shall fear thee.

English Revised Version
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places: they shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, and shall be afraid because of thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They will lick dust like snakes, like animals that crawl on the ground. They will come out of their hiding places trembling. They will turn away from your presence in fear, O LORD our God. They will be afraid of you.

Good News Translation
They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the LORD our God.

International Standard Version
They will lick the dust like a serpent; they will crawl from their strongholds like snakes. They will fear the LORD our God. They will be terrified because of you.

JPS Tanakh 1917
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; Like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; They shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, And shall be afraid because of Thee.

Literal Standard Version
They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, | They tremble from their enclosures, | They are afraid of our God YHWH, | Indeed, they are afraid of You.

Majority Standard Bible
They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.

New American Bible
They will lick the dust like a snake, like crawling things on the ground; They will come quaking from their strongholds; they will tremble in fear of you, the LORD, our God.

NET Bible
They will lick the dust like a snake, like serpents crawling on the ground. They will come trembling from their strongholds to the LORD our God; they will be terrified of you.

New Revised Standard Version
they shall lick dust like a snake, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their fortresses; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall stand in fear of you.

New Heart English Bible
They will lick the dust like a serpent. Like crawling creatures of the earth they shall come trembling out of their dens. They will come with fear to the LORD our God, and will be afraid because of you.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
They will lick the dust like a serpent. Like crawling things of the earth, they will come trembling out of their dens. They will come with fear to Yahweh our God, and will be afraid because of you.

Young's Literal Translation
They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Compassion on Israel
16Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf. 17They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You. 18Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?…

Cross References
Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.

Deuteronomy 32:24
They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.

2 Samuel 22:46
Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

Psalm 18:45
Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

Psalm 72:9
May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

Isaiah 25:3
Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame."


Treasury of Scripture

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 you.

lick.

Genesis 3:14,15
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: …

Psalm 72:9
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

Isaiah 49:23
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

move.

1 Samuel 14:11
And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.

Psalm 18:45
The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

Jeremiah 16:16
Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

worms.

Exodus 15:14-16
The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina…

Joshua 2:9-11
And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you…

Joshua 9:24
And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

Jump to Previous
Afraid Close Crawl Crawling Creatures Dens Dread Dust Earth Fear Food Fortresses Full Holes Lick Move Places Reptiles Serpent Snake Strongholds Trembling Turn Worms
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Afraid Close Crawl Crawling Creatures Dens Dread Dust Earth Fear Food Fortresses Full Holes Lick Move Places Reptiles Serpent Snake Strongholds Trembling Turn Worms
Micah 7
1. The church, complaining of her small number,
3. and the general corruption,
5. puts her confidence not in man, but in God.
8. She triumphs over her enemies.
14. She prays to God.
15. God comforts her by promises of confusion to her enemies;
18. and by his mercies.














(17) They shall lick the dust like a serpent.--The doom of the determined enemies of the Lord and His people recalls that of Satan, the great enemy, as personified by the serpent. "Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:14).

Verse 17. - They shall lick the dust like a serpent (Genesis 3:14; Isaiah 65:25). The enemies of God's people "shall lick the dust" (Psalm 72:9), shall be reduced to the utmost degradation (Isaiah 49:23). They shall move out of their holes, etc.; rather, they come trembling out of their close places (or, fastnesses, Psalm 18:46), like crawling things of the earth. They who prided themselves on their security shall come forth from their strongholds in utter fear, driven out like snakes from their lairs (comp. Psalm 2:11; Hosea 11:10, etc.). They shall be afraid of (whine with fear unto) the Lord our God. They shall be driven by terror to acknowledge the God of Israel. The expression is ambiguous, and may mean servile fear, which makes a man shrink from God. or that fear. which is one step towards repentance; the latter seems intended here, as in Hosea 3:5, where, as Pusey says, the words, "and his goodness," determine the character of the fear. Because of (or, before) thee. It is the heathen who are still the subject, not the Israelites (Jeremiah 10:7). The sudden change of persons is quite in the prophet's style.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They will lick
יְלַחֲכ֤וּ (yə·la·ḥă·ḵū)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3897: To lick

the dust
עָפָר֙ (‘ā·p̄ār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud

like a snake,
כַּנָּחָ֔שׁ (kan·nā·ḥāš)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5175: A serpent

like reptiles slithering
כְּזֹחֲלֵ֣י (kə·zō·ḥă·lê)
Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2119: To shrink back, crawl away

on the ground.
אֶ֔רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

They will crawl
יִרְגְּז֖וּ (yir·gə·zū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7264: To be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited, perturbed

from their holes
מִמִּסְגְּרֹֽתֵיהֶ֑ם (mim·mis·gə·rō·ṯê·hem)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4526: Something enclosing, a margin, a stronghold

in the presence of
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the LORD
יְהוָ֤ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

our God;
אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ (’ĕ·lō·hê·nū)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

they will tremble
יִפְחָ֔דוּ (yip̄·ḥā·ḏū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6342: To dread, be in dread or in awe

in fear
וְיִֽרְא֖וּ (wə·yir·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

of you.
מִמֶּֽךָּ׃ (mim·me·kā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of


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OT Prophets: Micah 7:17 They will lick the dust like (Mc Mic. Mi)
Micah 7:16
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