The Meaning of Micah 7:14 Explained

Micah 7:14

KJV: 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.

YLT: Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.

Darby: Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine inheritance, dwelling alone in the forest, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

ASV: Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Micah 7:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Micah prayed that the Lord would again take an active role as the shepherd of His people Israel. Shepherding with His rod (Heb. shebet) implies kingly leadership. This is a request for the promised descendant of David to appear and lead Israel. Presently the Israelites, the flock that Yahweh possessed uniquely (cf. Deuteronomy 4:20), were isolated even though they inhabited the land that God had given them. Micah prayed that they might enjoy God"s blessings, as when their flocks fed on the lush, grassy hills of Bashan and Gilead earlier in their history.

Context Summary

Micah 7:1-20 - God's Compassion For An Erring People
Things had come to an awful pass in the favored city. Oppression, bribery, and bloodshed, were everywhere in the ascendant. Men wrought evil with both hands. Husbands could not trust their wives. At such a time there is no refuge for God's children save in God, Micah 7:7-13.
When we have learned our lesson we find God appearing for our help. He brings forth to the light and vindicates us. Then those that hated us, and suggested that He had forsaken, will be compelled to admit that He has completely vindicated us from their reproach. Be of good cheer, believer; wait for God. He will bring out thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday, Micah 7:10-12.
Next, the prophet pleads with Israel's Shepherd to repeat the marvels of the Exodus. He knows that God will not only pardon iniquities but subdue them, trampling them beneath His feet. This anticipates the Ascension, Ephesians 1:20-23. When a stone sinks into ocean depths, it cannot be recovered; and when sin is forgiven God never recalls it either here or hereafter. [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 7

1  The church, complaining of her small number,
3  and the general corruption,
5  puts her confidence not in man, but in God
8  She triumphs over her enemies
14  She prays to God
15  God comforts her by promises of confusion to her enemies;
18  and by his mercies

What do the individual words in Micah 7:14 mean?

Shepherd Your people with Your staff the flock of Your heritage who dwell solitarily [in] a woodland in the midst of Carmel let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days of old
רְעֵ֧ה עַמְּךָ֣ בְשִׁבְטֶ֗ךָ צֹ֚אן נַֽחֲלָתֶ֔ךָ שֹׁכְנִ֣י לְבָדָ֔ד יַ֖עַר בְּת֣וֹךְ כַּרְמֶ֑ל יִרְע֥וּ בָשָׁ֛ן וְגִלְעָ֖ד כִּימֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם

רְעֵ֧ה  Shepherd 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
עַמְּךָ֣  Your  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
בְשִׁבְטֶ֗ךָ  with  Your  staff 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁבֶט  
Sense: rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe.
צֹ֚אן  the  flock 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
נַֽחֲלָתֶ֔ךָ  of  Your  heritage 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נַחֲלָה  
Sense: possession, property, inheritance, heritage.
שֹׁכְנִ֣י  who  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: שָׁכַן  
Sense: to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside.
לְבָדָ֔ד  solitarily 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּדָד  
Sense: isolation, withdrawal, separation.
יַ֖עַר  [in]  a  woodland 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעַר 
Sense: forest, wood, thicket, wooded height.
בְּת֣וֹךְ  in  the  midst  of 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
כַּרְמֶ֑ל  Carmel 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כַּרְמֶל 
Sense: a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa.
יִרְע֥וּ  let  them  feed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
בָשָׁ֛ן  in  Bashan 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּשָׁן 
Sense: a district east of the Jordan known for its fertility which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh.
וְגִלְעָ֖ד  and  Gilead 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּלְעָד  
Sense: a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called ‘Mount Gilead’ or the ‘land of Gilead’ or just ‘Gilead’.
כִּימֵ֥י  as  in  days 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
עוֹלָֽם  of  old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.