Micah 7:14-17, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Micah 7:14-17
The Shepherd Prayer Seeks New-Exodus Care
The flock asks to be fed in old pasture
Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. The rod here is a shepherd's staff for guiding and feeding, not a warrant for beating, coercive discipline, or abusive pastoral control.
According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. The request is new-exodus care. Wonders recall liberation. They do not promise spectacles on demand, and they do not prove that present sufferers lack faith. Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead evoke remembered pasture, not a modern territorial entitlement.
Nations lose their swagger before the LORD
The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might. They shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf. 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.
Imperial self-confidence is reversed. The humiliating animal images are poetry about power meeting God, not a license for ethnic contempt, terror, or forced conversion. The next verses will turn from defeated enemies to pardoned sin; that close should govern triumphalist reading. Nation oracles in this book are not warrants for modern war.
How this should shape us
Lead by feeding, sheltering, and accompanying displaced people. Do not sell guaranteed miracles or corporal 'rod' discipline. Do not use the nations' fear to baptize humiliation of any people.
Teach it back
Explain Micah 7:14-17 in your own words. Include its place in Micah's judgment-restoration movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Place references, date, speaker, response, and the precise animal imagery remain debated. The preferred reading centers pastoral provision and new-exodus deliverance.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Micah 7:14-17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Mic.xml, 7:14-17
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Micah PDF, printed pp. 1751, translation and notes on 7:14-17
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century and later horizons, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Williamson, 'Micah,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 599, discussion of 7:14-17
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
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 7:14-17, 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, 7:14-17
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. 1751, translation and notes on 7:14-17
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Micah
H. G. M. Williamson
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century and later horizons, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Exact location: Williamson, 'Micah,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 599, discussion of 7:14-17
Open source ↗