Micah 7:9
in Micah 7Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
KJV
I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
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This verse in Micah 7
Commentary
13 notes on this verseWe sometimes bear illness as a punishment for sin intended for our conversion, "for whom the Lord loves," says the Scripture, "he chastises." Again Scripture teaches, "Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and some have died. But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged, we are chastised by the Lord that we be not condemned with the world."
This site's exposition
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy
on Micah 7:8-10
The enemy who gloats is answered by a confidence that owns its own guilt first, I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, before it claims any vindication, the fall confessed as deserved rather than excused. Verse 8's when I fall, I shall arise, and when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me states the whole logic of the passage in one line, judgment endured is not judgment final. Commentators differ on the enemy's identity, Barnes and others naming Edom or Babylon by turns, and the bench leaves the name open while reading the taunt, where is the Lord thy God, as the standing insult any conquered people hears. Verse 10 answers it in kind, the enemy herself trodden down as the mire of the streets, the reversal the whole chapter has been building toward.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 8 onwards) Do not rejoice, my enemy, over me, for I have fallen: I will rise again. When I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light: I will bear the anger of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he judges my cause and executes judgment for me, and brings me into the light, and I will see his righteousness, and my enemy will behold it, and she will be covered with shame, who says to me: Where is your God? My eyes will see her; now she will be trampled as the mud of the streets. The day will come when your walls will be rebuilt. On that day the law will go forth afar off: on that day it will come even to you from Assyria, and even to fortified cities, and from fortified cities even to the river, and from the river even to the sea, and from the sea even to the mountain. And the land will be a desolation because of its inhabitants, and because of the fruit of their thoughts. LXX: Do not insult me, my enemy: for I have fallen, and I will rise again: if I walk in darkness, the Lord will enlighten me. I will bear the anger of the Lord, for I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light, and I will see His righteousness. My enemy will see this and be covered with shame, the one who said to me, 'Where is your God?' My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled down like mud in the streets. The day of your punishment has come, O Assyria; the time has come for your destruction. The Lord will abolish your power and authority. Your cities will be laid waste, from Tyre to the river, from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. The land and its inhabitants will be scattered because of their wickedness. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
They said, Where is the Lord their God? As if because they were afflicted God had forsaken them, and they knew not where to find him with their prayers, and he knew not how to help them with his favours. This David's enemies said to him, and it was a sword in his bones, Ps. xlii.
God is angry with us, and justly, because we have sinned against him. " Note, It is our sin against God that provokes his indignation against us; and we must see it, and own it, whenever we are under divine rebukes, that we may justify God, and may study to answer his end in afflicting us, by repenting of sin and breaking off from it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
(5.) "He will bring me forth to the light, make me shine eminently out of obscurity, and become conspicuous, will make my righteousness shine evidently from under the dark cloud of calumny, Ps. xxxvii. The morning of comfort shall shine forth out of the long and dark night of trouble." (6.) " I shall behold his righteousness;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Plead - Against mine enemy, now he pleads his own cause against me. His righteousness - The truth and riches of his promised salvation.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I will bear the indignation of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him - This is the temper of all penitents, when stricken by God, or under chastisement from Him. “It is the Lord, let Him, do what seemeth Him good” 1Sa 3:18. “So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?” 2Sa 16:10. “He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope” Lam 3:
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3239: “Woe and Weal” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
Those who expect to find the road to Heaven smooth and unobstructed will discover little in the experience of the ancient saints to support the expectation. The Lord's people have, in all ages, been tried people. Cowper well says— "Thepath of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown." Though, perhaps, to the youthful mind this may sound rather harsh, yet there is a large amount of comfort in it to the more advanced saint, for he says to himself, "Then my difficulties, my distresses, my tribulations, are no new thing.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God's people plead guilty before God; but, in respect to their human foes, they are innocent and undeserving of their foes' injuries. bring me forth to the light--to the temporal and spiritual redemption. I shall behold his righteousness--His gracious faithfulness to His promises (Ps 103:17).
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3239: “Woe and Weal” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
Those who expect to find the road to Heaven smooth and unobstructed will discover little in the experience of the ancient saints to support the expectation. The Lord's people have, in all ages, been tried people. Cowper well says— "Thepath of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown." Though, perhaps, to the youthful mind this may sound rather harsh, yet there is a large amount of comfort in it to the more advanced saint, for he says to himself, "Then my difficulties, my distresses, my tribulations, are no new thing. I am in the footsteps of the flock. I can see that I am travelling in the good old way that leads to God— 'The way the holy Prophets went, The road that leads from banishment.' Did I meet with no chastisement, I might fear that I was not a child of God, but inasmuch as I am made to smart under the rod, I may hopefully infer from it, if I feel the Spirit of Adoption within, that my Father has not forgotten me." All sorts of trials have beset the saints of God. Rough winds have blown upon them from all points of the compass and they have had bad weather in all seasons of the year. They have been plagued from within and assailed from without. The arrows of temptation have come upwards from the Pit and often the blows of the rod have came downward from the Throne. There is no form of sorrow, I suppose, which has not been experienced by the chosen of the Lord, though, blessed be His name, the Lord has delivered them out of it all! Micah appears to have been troubled by a combination of difficulties and afflictions. He was grieved at the low estate of the Church—a combination which ought to affect some of us a great deal more than it does.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord - The words of the penitent captives, acknowledging their sins and praying for mercy. Until he plead my cause - And wo to the slanderers, when God undertakes to plead for the fallen who have returned to him with deep compunction of heart, seeking redemption in the blood of the cross.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זַ֤עַף | zaaf | [the] indignation of | H2197 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶשָּׂ֔א | ʾesa' | I will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָטָ֖אתִי | chatati | I have sinned | H2398 → | |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| עַד֩ | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָרִ֤יב | yariv | he will conduct | H7378 → | |
| רִיבִי֙ | rivi | case my | H7379 → | 61 times |
| וְעָשָׂ֣ה | veasah | and he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטִ֔י | mishpati | justice my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| יוֹצִיאֵ֣נִי | yotzieni | he will bring out me | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| לָא֔וֹר | laor | to the light | H216 → | 121 times |
| אֶרְאֶ֖ה | ʾereh | I will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְּצִדְקָתֽוֹ׃ | betzidkato | on righteousness his | H6666 → |
זַ֤עַף[the] indignation of
zaafH2197 →
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶשָּׂ֔אI will bear
ʾesa'H5375 →656 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
חָטָ֖אתִיI have sinned
chatatiH2398 →
ל֑וֹto him
lo
עַד֩until
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָרִ֤יבhe will conduct
yarivH7378 →
רִיבִי֙case my
riviH7379 →61 times
וְעָשָׂ֣הand he will do
veasahH6213 →2628 times
מִשְׁפָּטִ֔יjustice my
mishpatiH4941 →422 times
יוֹצִיאֵ֣נִיhe will bring out me
yotzieniH3318 →1067 times
לָא֔וֹרto the light
laorH216 →121 times
אֶרְאֶ֖הI will look
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
בְּצִדְקָתֽוֹ׃on righteousness his
betzidkatoH6666 →
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
Psalms 37:6He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.
it leads to
- Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…
- Job 11:17
Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
- Isaiah 58:8
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
- Isaiah 54:17
Through
1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each…
it leads to
- James 5:7
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- 1 Corinthians 3:13
his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
- Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
- 2 Corinthians 10:18
For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
- James 5:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Micah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Basil of Caesarea, THE LONG RULES 55; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3239: “Woe and Weal” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.