The Meaning of Micah 7:8 Explained

Micah 7:8

KJV: Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

YLT: Thou dost not rejoice over me, O mine enemy, When I have fallen, I have risen, When I sit in darkness Jehovah is a light to me.

Darby: Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: though I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah shall be a light unto me.

ASV: Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Rejoice  not against me, O mine enemy:  when I fall,  I shall arise;  when I sit  in darkness,  the LORD  [shall be] a light  unto me. 

What does Micah 7:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

When Micah"s enemies saw him experience some discouraging situation, they rejoiced. He told them not to rejoice, because though he fell, God would raise him up. Though he appeared to be groping in the darkness (cf. Lamentations 3:6), the Lord would be a light to him and illuminate the right path for him to take.

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 7:8 mean?

Not do rejoice my enemy over me when I fall I will arise when I sit in darkness Yahweh [will be] a light to me -
אַֽל־ תִּשְׂמְחִ֤י אֹיַ֙בְתִּי֙ לִ֔י כִּ֥י נָפַ֖לְתִּי קָ֑מְתִּי כִּֽי־ אֵשֵׁ֣ב בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ יְהוָ֖ה א֥וֹר לִֽי ס

תִּשְׂמְחִ֤י  do  rejoice 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: שָׂמֵחַ  
Sense: joyful, merry, glad.
אֹיַ֙בְתִּי֙  my  enemy 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
לִ֔י  over  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
נָפַ֖לְתִּי  I  fall 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
קָ֑מְתִּי  I  will  arise 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
אֵשֵׁ֣ב  I  sit 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ  in  darkness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹשֶׁךְ  
Sense: darkness, obscurity.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh  [will  be] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
א֥וֹר  a  light 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
לִֽי  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation