The Meaning of Micah 3:6 Explained

Micah 3:6

KJV: Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.

YLT: Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.

Darby: therefore ye shall have night without a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, without divination; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.

ASV: Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore night  [shall be] unto you, that ye shall not have a vision;  and it shall be dark  unto you, that ye shall not divine;  and the sun  shall go down  over the prophets,  and the day  shall be dark  over them. 

What does Micah 3:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Because of this type of treatment, the Lord would withhold prophetic revelations from them. Rather than seeing the light, they would grope in the darkness. The sun, a symbol of God who bestows blessings and favor, would set on their day, and they would have to live in the darkness of His disfavor.

Context Summary

Micah 3:1-12 - The Punishment Of Avarice
The princes who as magistrates should have administered justice to others sat around the caldron, casting in the very flesh and skin of the people whom they were set to rule. Their perversion of justice would lead to their inability to distinguish between evil and good. Sin not only sears the conscience but darkens the understanding, Ephesians 4:18. Their punishment would be like their guilt. As they had refused the cry of the oppressed, so would God refuse theirs. The false prophets had wilfully misled the people. Their one desire was to get food. For those who provided it, they uttered peace; for those who opposed them, war. Therefore they would be left without a vision; God's Spirit would cease to strive. How great the contrast between them and Micah, who spoke with the consciousness of spiritual power! Oh, that every minister and teacher of God's holy gospel were able to utter Micah 3:8! It may be ours through the Holy Spirit. [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 3

1  The cruelty of the princes
5  The falsehood of the prophets
8  The false security of them both

What do the individual words in Micah 3:6 mean?

Therefore night you shall have without vision and darkness you shall have without divination and shall go down the sun on the prophets and shall be dark for them the day
לָכֵ֞ן לַ֤יְלָה לָכֶם֙ מֵֽחָז֔וֹן וְחָשְׁכָ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם מִקְּסֹ֑ם וּבָ֤אָה הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ עַל־ הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים וְקָדַ֥ר עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם

לַ֤יְלָה  night 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
לָכֶם֙  you  shall  have 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
מֵֽחָז֔וֹן  without  vision 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָזׄון  
Sense: vision.
וְחָשְׁכָ֥ה  and  darkness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: חָשַׁךְ 
Sense: to be or become dark, grow dim, be darkened, be black, be hidden.
לָכֶ֖ם  you  shall  have 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
מִקְּסֹ֑ם  without  divination 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: קָסַם  
Sense: (Qal) to practice divination, divine.
וּבָ֤אָה  and  shall  go  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙  the  sun 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים  the  prophets 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
וְקָדַ֥ר  and  shall  be  dark 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָדַר  
Sense: to mourn, be dark.
עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם  for  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הַיּֽוֹם  the  day 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.