Micah 6 · Verse 9

Micah 6:9

The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
Micah 6:9, King James Version

Micah 6:9 in other translations

BSBThe voice of the LORD calls out to the city (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name): “Heed the rod and the One who ordained it.
WEBThe LORD’s voice calls to the city— and wisdom fears your name— “Listen to the rod, and he who appointed it.
ASVThe voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
YLTA voice of Jehovah to the city calleth, And wisdom doth fear Thy name, Hear ye the rod, and Him who appointed it.
DARBYJehovah's voice crieth unto the city, and wisdom looketh on thy name. Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
BBEThe voice of the Lord is crying out to the town: Give ear, you tribes and the meeting of the town.
WebsterThe LORD'S voice crieth to the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

What does Micah 6:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. unto the city--Jerusalem. the man of wisdom--As in Pr 13:6, Hebrew, "sin" is used for "a man of sin," and in Psa 109:4, "prayer" for "a man of prayer"; so here "wisdom" for "the man of wisdom." shall see thy name--shall regard Thee, in Thy revelations of Thyself. Compare the end of Mi 2:7. God's "name" expresses the sum-total of His revealed attributes. Contrast with this Is 26:10, "will not behold the majesty of the Lord." Another reading is adopted by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, "there is deliverance for those who fear Thy name." English Version is better suited to the connection; and the rarity of the Hebrew expression, as compared with the frequency of that in the other reading, makes it less likely to be an interpolation. hear ... the rod, &c.--Hear what punishment (compare Mi 6:13, &c.; Is 9:3; 10:5, 24) awaits you, and from whom. I am but a man, and so ye may disregard me; but remember my message is not mine, but God's. Hear the rod when it is come, and you feel its smart. Hear what counsels, what cautions it speaks. appointed it--(Jr 47:7).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 The Lord's voice crieth unto the city - No man is found to hear; but the man of wisdom will hear, תושיה tushiyah; a word frequent in the writings of Solomon and Job, signifying wisdom, wealth, substance, reason, essence, happiness; any thing that is complete; or that which is substantial, in opposition to vanity, emptiness, mere show, unsubstantiality. When God speaks, the man of common sense, who has any knowledge of God or his own soul, will see thy name; but instead of יראה yireh, will see, the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and Arabic, with twelve of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., have read יראי yirey, they that Fear. The Vulgate reads: - Et salus erit timentibus nomen tuum. "And thou shalt be salvation to them that fear thy name." The Septuagint - Και σωσει φαβουμενους το ονομα αυτου. And he shall save those who fear his name. - This the Arabic copies. The Targum has, "And the teachers shall fear the name." That is, יהוה Yehovah. The French Bible is very strange: - Car ton nom volt comme il va de tout. "For thy name sees how every thing goes." The word תושיה tushiyah, mentioned above, which occasions all the difficulty, has been read with an ע ain by the Vulgate and Septuagint, as coming from the root ישע yasha, to be saved; and it is very likely that this was the original reading. The two last letters in the word, יה, might have been easily mistaken in the MS. for the letter ע where I may suppose the word stood thus, תושע, shall be saved; and as several MSS. read יראי yirey, they who fear, instead of יראה yireh, he shall see, the whole clause might have been just what it appears in the Vulgate and Septuagint. It is also necessary to remark that the word in dispute has various forms in some MSS., which is a strong presumption against its authenticity. See Kennicott and De Rossi.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Micah 6:9-16
God, having showed how necessary it was that they should do justly, here shows how plain it was that they had done unjustly. This voice of the Lord says to all, Hear the rod when it is coming, before you see it, and feel it. Hear the rod when it is come, and you are sensible of the smart; hear what counsels, what cautions it speaks. The voice of God is to be heard in the rod of God. Those who are dishonest in their dealings shall never be reckoned pure, whatever shows of devotion they may make. What is got by fraud and oppression, cannot be kept or enjoyed with satisfaction. What we hold closest we commonly lose soonest. Sin is a root of bitterness, soon planted, but not soon plucked up again. Their being the people of God in name and profession, while they kept themselves in his love, was an honour to them; but now, being backsliders, their having been once the people of God turns to their reproach.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Micah 6:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ק֤וֹלKol[the] voice ofH6963
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068
לָעִ֣ירla.'Irto the cityH5892
יִקְרָ֔אyik.Ra'it calls outH7121
וְתוּשִׁיָּ֖הve.tu.shi.Yahand successH8454
יִרְאֶ֣הyir.'Ehit will seeH7200
שְׁמֶ֑ךָshe.Me.khaname yourH8034
שִׁמְע֥וּshim.'UhearH8085
מַטֶּ֖הma.TehO tribeH4294
וּמִ֥יu.Miand whoeverH4310
יְעָדָֽהּ\׃ye.'a.Dahhe appointed itH3259

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Micah 6:9

  • Revelation 3:19

    As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

  • Hosea 14:9

    Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

  • Zephaniah 3:2

    She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.

  • Isaiah 30:27

    Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

  • Isaiah 9:13

    For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.

  • Isaiah 27:10

    Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.

  • Jeremiah 26:18

    Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

  • Jeremiah 37:8-10

    And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

  • Isaiah 26:11

    Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

  • Psalms 107:43

    Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

  • 2 Samuel 21:1

    Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

  • Amos 4:6-12

    And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lord's.
3:12; Isa 24:10-12; 27:10; 32:13,14; 40:6-8; 66:6; Jer 19:11-13
Jer 26:6,18; 37:8-10; Ho 13:16; Am 2:5; 3:8-15; 6:1; Jon 3:4; Zep 3:2
and.
2Ki 22:11-20; Ps 107:43; Pr 22:3; Isa 26:11; Ho 14:9
the man of wisdom shall see thy name. or, thy name shall seethat which is wisdom.
Ex 34:5-7; Ps 9:16; 48:10; 83:18; Isa 30:27
hear.
2Sa 21:1; Job 5:6-8,17; 10:2; Isa 9:13; 10:5,6; Jer 14:18-22
La 3:39-42; Joe 2:11-18; Am 4:6-12; Jon 3:5-10; Hag 1:5-7; Re 3:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Micah 6:8

    He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

  • Micah 6:9

    The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

  • Micah 6:10

    Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

Read all of Micah 6

Micah 6:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		La voz de Jehová clama á la ciudad, y el sabio mirará á tu nombre. Oid la vara, y á quien la establece.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		La voix de l’ Éternel crie à la ville, et la sagesse a l’œil sur ton nom. Écoutez la verge et celui qui l’a décrétée!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Die Stimme Jehovas ruft der Stadt, und dein Name hat Weisheit im Auge:Höret auf die Zuchtrute und auf den, der sie bestellt!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Vox Domini ad civitatem clamat, et salus erit timentibus nomen tuum: audite, tribus, et quis approbabit illud?