Micah 7:18
in Micah 7Who 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?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness.
KJV
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
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This verse in Micah 7
Commentary
12 notes on this verseWho is a God like unto thee, etc - Here is a challenge to all idol worshippers, and to all those who take false views of the true God, to show his like. See his characters; they are immediately subjoined. 1. He pardoneth iniquity. This is the prerogative of God alone; of that Being who alone has power to save or to destroy. 2. He passeth by transgression. He can heal backsliding, and restore them that are fallen.
This site's exposition
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity
on Micah 7:18-19
The book closes on its own name, Micah meaning who is like the Lord, and verse 18 turns that name into a question the whole prophecy has been answering, who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. Gill and the older commentators read the wordplay as deliberate, the prophet signing the book with the very syllables of its argument, anger not retained because mercy is delighted in. Verse 19 answers with the picture the church has returned to ever since, thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea, sin not merely forgiven but sent where it cannot be recovered. Henry reads the double verb, he will subdue our iniquities before he casts them away, as pardon that deals with sin's power first and only then with its record.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 18-20.) Who is God like you? You who take away iniquity and pass over the sin of the remnant of your inheritance. He will not continue to be angry, for he delights in showing mercy. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot and hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you swore to our fathers long ago. LXX: Who is like you, O God? You who removes iniquities and surpasses injustices for those who remain as your heritage? He did not retain his anger as testimony because he desires mercies. He will return and have mercy on us, he will submerge our sins, and all our sins will be cast into the deep sea. He will give Jacob truth and Abraham mercy, as you swore to our fathers in the days of old. The wise prophet, seeing the multitude of nations disturbed in its conclusion, is amazed and afraid of God, and therefore the Lord rages in order to take away sins and grant salvation. He praises and marvels at the Lord, saying: Who is like you, O God, taking away iniquities and surpassing injustices (Exodus 12): just as the exterminator passed over the people of Israel in Egypt and did not destroy them (hence the name Passover, which means passing over), so you spare the nations, not counting their iniquities against them. Furthermore, what follows is this: Those who remain of his inheritance have not held his wrath as a testimony. This is the meaning: If he spared the nations that did not want to believe in his Law, and those who were left from the people are abandoned, he did not want to impute their injustices to them nor did he inflict his wrath as a testimony of just punishment. What will he do with his flock, which grazes in the middle of Carmel, and in Bashan, and in Gilead? […]
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILY ON THE PARALYTIC LET DOWN THROUGH THE ROOF 6 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
For what was it Jesus' detractors said? "No man can forgive sins, but God alone." Inasmuch then as they themselves laid down this definition, they themselves introduced the rule, they themselves declared the law. He then proceeded to entangle them by means of their own words. "You have confessed," he says in effect, "that forgiveness of sins is an attribute of God alone; my equality therefore is unquestionable." And it is not these men only who declare this but also the prophet Micah, who said, "Who is a God like you?" and then indicating his special attribute he adds, "pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression."
Wherefore let us not listen to him when we are in any of the troubles of this world, be it bodily pain, or the loss of our children, or of other necessaries, let us not listen to his words, Where is the Lord thy God? It is under severe pain that his temptations are to be feared, it is then that he seeks to turn the sick soul astray.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
God having promised to bring back the captivity of his people, the prophet, on that occasion, admires pardoning mercy, as that which was at the bottom of it. As it was their sin that brought them into bondage, so it was God's pardoning their sin that brought them our of it;
1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first-ripe fruit. 2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v1-2
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Who is a God like unto thee,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3317: “A Sweet Bow” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
Sons of men, rejoice that such a God has revealed Himself to you! This should cause a universal Hallelujah, the whole world over, as soon as ever it is heard! "He delights in mercy." Clap your hands and rejoice before Him! Yes, exceedingly rejoice! The heathen did not find this out. Although they had many gods, differing one from another in character, none of them were ever gods of mercy! They were usually fierce demons—some of them only rejoicing in the exaction of human blood.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Contrast Am 7:8, and "mark iniquities," Ps 130:3. the remnant--who shall be permitted to survive the previous judgment: the elect remnant of grace (Mic 4:7; 5:3, 7, 8). retaineth not . . . anger-- (Ps 103:9). delighteth in mercy--God's forgiving is founded on His nature, which delights in loving-kindness, and is averse from wrath.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3317: “A Sweet Bow” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
Sons of men, rejoice that such a God has revealed Himself to you! This should cause a universal Hallelujah, the whole world over, as soon as ever it is heard! "He delights in mercy." Clap your hands and rejoice before Him! Yes, exceedingly rejoice! The heathen did not find this out. Although they had many gods, differing one from another in character, none of them were ever gods of mercy! They were usually fierce demons—some of them only rejoicing in the exaction of human blood. Go this very day to Hindustan and see what gods man makes unto himself—gods more beastly, more cruel, more devilish than himself! Such is not the living and true God! Far from taking pleasure in the sufferings of creatures, He tells us plainly that He delights in mercy. It is not enough that He is merciful, but He delightsin this high prerogative! While we may well suppose that every attribute of God gives Him pleasure in the exercise, mercy is supremely singled out as being especially His favorite! Mercy is the last attribute openly manifested—He exercised His power in making men before they sinned or needed mercy—and He displayed His wisdom in balancing the clouds and piling the hills before He needed to show mercy, for sin as yet had not come into the world. If I may say so, mercy is God's Benjamin and He delights most of all in it. It is the son of His right hand, though, alas, in bringing it forth, it might well have been called the son of sorrow, too, for mercy came into this world through the sorrows of the Only-Begotten Son of God! He delights in mercy, just as some men delight in trade, some in the arts, some in professions—and each man, according to his delight, becomes proficient in pursuing a work for the very love thereof. So God is proficient in mercy. He addicts Himself to it.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Who is a God - (and, as the word means, A Mighty God,) like unto Thee? He saith not, “Who hast made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is” Exo 20:11; nor, “Who telleth the number of the stars; and calleth them all by their names” Psa 147:4; nor, “Who by His strength setteth fast the mountains and is girded about with power” Psa 65:6; but who forgivest! For greater is the work of Redemption than the work of Creation. “That pardoneth”, and beareth and taketh away also, “and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage”, that is, His heritage, which is a remnant still when “the rest are blinded” Rom 11:7; and this, not of its merits but of His mercy; since it is not His nature to “retain His anger forever”; not for anything in them, but “because He delighteth in mercy”, as He saith, “I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever” Jer 3:12. “I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine oum sake, and will not remember thy sins” Isa 43:25. : “For although God for a time is angry with His elect, chastening them mercifully in this life, yet in the end He hath compassion on them, giving them everlasting consolations.” Moses, after the completion of his people’s deliverance at the Red Sea, used the like appeal to God, in unmingled joy. Then the thanksgiving ran, “glorious in holiness, awful in praises, doing wonders” Exo 15:11. Now, it ran in a more subdued, yet even deeper, tone, taken from God’s revelation of Himself after that great transgression on Mount Sinai “forgiving iniquity and trasgression and sin”. With this, Micah identified his own name . This was the one message which he loved above all to proclaim; of this, his own name was the herald to his people in his day. who is like the Lord, the Pardoner of sin, the Redeemer from its guilt, the Subduer of its power? For no false god was ever such a claim made. […]
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֵ֣ל | ʾel | [is] a God | H410 → | |
| כָּמ֗וֹךָ | kamokha | like you | H3644 → | |
| נֹשֵׂ֤א | nose' | [who] forgives | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עָוֹן֙ | ʾavon | iniquity | H5771 → | |
| וְעֹבֵ֣ר | veover | and [who] passes | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פֶּ֔שַׁע | pesha' | transgression | H6588 → | 93 times |
| לִשְׁאֵרִ֖ית | lisherit | to [the] remnant of | H7611 → | 66 times |
| נַחֲלָת֑וֹ | nachalato | inheritance his | H5159 → | 222 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶחֱזִ֤יק | hechezik | he keeps hold of | H2388 → | |
| לָעַד֙ | laad | for ever | H5703 → | |
| אַפּ֔וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָפֵ֥ץ | chafetz | [is one] desirous of | H2655 → | |
| חֶ֖סֶד | chesed | covenant loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
מִי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
אֵ֣ל[is] a God
ʾelH410 →
כָּמ֗וֹךָlike you
kamokhaH3644 →
נֹשֵׂ֤א[who] forgives
nose'H5375 →656 times
עָוֹן֙iniquity
ʾavonH5771 →
וְעֹבֵ֣רand [who] passes
veoverH5674 →556 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פֶּ֔שַׁעtransgression
pesha'H6588 →93 times
לִשְׁאֵרִ֖יתto [the] remnant of
lisheritH7611 →66 times
נַחֲלָת֑וֹinheritance his
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הֶחֱזִ֤יקhe keeps hold of
hechezikH2388 →
לָעַד֙for ever
laadH5703 →
אַפּ֔וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חָפֵ֥ץ[is one] desirous of
chafetzH2655 →
חֶ֖סֶדcovenant loyalty
chesedH2617 →247 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:34
No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 8:12
For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
- Micah 7:18–19
Who 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?
- Hebrews 10:17
Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
- Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Jeremiah 31:34
Through
Isaiah 44:22I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 43:25
I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 6:20
you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
- Acts 3:18–19
But in this way God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer.
- Isaiah 43:25
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Forgiveness35 verses
Mercy35 verses
On this page
Studies1
About Micah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Letters, Letter 70; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3317: “A Sweet Bow” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Chrysostom, HOMILY ON THE PARALYTIC LET DOWN THROUGH THE ROOF 6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.