Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Micah 3:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4Then 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse announces that predatory rulers will cry without answer as the LORD hides his face in correspondence to their deeds.
Read It With
- Micah 3:1-4
Read Micah 3:4 with 3:1-4. This verse announces that predatory rulers will cry without answer as the LORD hides his face in correspondence to their deeds. The complete unit establishes this movement: Officials charged to know justice instead hate good, love evil, and consume the people; their later unanswered cry mirrors their refusal to hear those they harmed.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Placed after shepherd leadership, the grotesque meal metaphor shows what anti-shepherd rule looks like from the people's side. Within that movement, this verse announces that predatory rulers will cry without answer as the LORD hides his face in correspondence to their deeds.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“hide his face”
In plain language: withhold favorable response or presence
announces that predatory rulers will cry without answer as the LORD hides his face in correspondence to their deeds. Religious appeal is not automatic immunity for leaders who refused justice.
Why it matters: The wording identifies this verse's distinct contribution to the complete unit.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Religious appeal is not automatic immunity for leaders who refused justice.
How It Can Shape Life
- Build habits of hearing harmed people before crisis exposes leadership hypocrisy.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Micah 3:1-4 — Rulers Who Should Know Justice Consume the PeopleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Micah 3:1-4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Micah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Mic.xml, 3:1-4
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Micah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Micah PDF, printed pp. 1744, translation and notes on 3:1-4
Open source ↗