The Meaning of Micah 7:20 Explained

Micah 7:20

KJV: Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

YLT: Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!

Darby: Thou wilt perform truth to Jacob, loving-kindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers, from the days of old.

ASV: Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou wilt perform  the truth  to Jacob,  [and] the mercy  to Abraham,  which thou hast sworn  unto our fathers  from the days  of old. 

What does Micah 7:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The basis of Micah"s confidence was that God would be faithful to His promises to Jacob and loyal to His commitment (Heb. hesed) to bless Abraham (cf. Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18-21; Genesis 17:7-8; Genesis 17:13; Genesis 17:19; Genesis 17:21; Genesis 28:13-14; Genesis 35:10-12; Genesis 48:4; et al.). These were ancient promises that God had sealed with His oath, vowing to fulfill them (e.g, Genesis 22:16-18; cf. Romans 4:13; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 4:1-10; Hebrews 8:10; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10; Revelation 21:3; Revelation 21:7).
"Like a day that begins with a dark, foreboding sky but ends in golden sunlight, this chapter begins in an atmosphere of gloom and ends in one of the greatest statements of hope in all the OT." [1]

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 7:20 mean?

You will give truth to Jacob [And] mercy to Abraham which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old
תִּתֵּ֤ן אֱמֶת֙ לְיַֽעֲקֹ֔ב חֶ֖סֶד לְאַבְרָהָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר־ נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתָּ לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ מִ֥ימֵי קֶֽדֶם

תִּתֵּ֤ן  You  will  give 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
אֱמֶת֙  truth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
לְיַֽעֲקֹ֔ב  to  Jacob 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
חֶ֖סֶד  [And]  mercy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
לְאַבְרָהָ֑ם  to  Abraham 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַבְרָהָם  
Sense: friend of God and founder of Hebrew nation via God’s elective covenant.
נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתָּ  You  have  sworn 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁבַע  
Sense: to swear, adjure.
לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ  to  our  fathers 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
מִ֥ימֵי  from  days 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
קֶֽדֶם  of  old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֶדֶם 
Sense: east, antiquity, front, that which is before, aforetime.