Micah 6:14 · Bible study
Micah 6:14 Commentary: Eating Without Satisfaction as Divine Retribution
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore how the curse of eating without satisfaction in Micah 6:14 matches the sins of dishonest gain with an exact divine retribution.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God reverses sinful gain into futile labor: eating without satisfaction and saving without success.
- Key words: yeshach (emptiness/hollowness), nasag (to remove, carry away), palat (to bring to safety).
- Main debate: The meaning of 'your yeshach', emptiness of stomach (Keil) or casting down/humiliation (Calvin, KJV).
- Theological theme: Retributive justice: punishment corresponds precisely to the nature of the sin.
- Best use: As a warning against building life on dishonest wealth, paired with the cure of humility and justice (Micah 6:8).
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You shall eat, but not be satisfied. Your hunger will be within you. You will store up, but not save, and that which you save I will give up to the sword.
KJV King James Version 1769
Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy humiliation shall be in the midst of thee: and thou shalt put away, but shalt not save; and that which thou savest will I give up to the sword.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Thou--thou eatest, and thou art not satisfied, And thy pit is in thy midst, And thou removest, and dost not deliver, And that which thou deliverest, to a sword I give.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Thou shalt eat, and not be satisfied, and thine emptiness [shall remain] in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take away, and not save; and what thou savest will I give up to the sword.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Thou shalt eat, but shalt not be filled: and thy humiliation shall be in the midst of thee: and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not save: and those whom thou shalt save, I will give up to the sword.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Tú comerás, y no te hartarás; y tu abatimiento será en medio de ti: tú cogerás, mas no salvarás; y lo que salvares, lo entregaré yo á la espada.
Tu comerás, mas não te saciarás; e fome haverá no meio de ti; tu pegarás, mas não levarás contigo ; e o que levares, eu o entregarei à espada.
Tu mangeras sans te rassasier,
Du sollst nicht genug zu essen haben und sollst verschmachten. Und was du beiseite schaffst, soll doch nicht davonkommen; und was davonkommt, will ich doch dem Schwert überantworten.
Gij zult eten, maar niet verzadigd worden, en uw nederdrukking zal in het midden van u zijn; en gij zult aangrijpen, maar niet wegbrengen, en wat gij zult wegbrengen, zal Ik aan het zwaard overgeven.
Tu mangerai, ma non sarai saziato, e l’inanizione rimarrà dentro di te; porterai via, ma non salverai, e ciò che avrai salvato, lo darò in balìa della spada.
Jeść będziesz, a nie nasycisz się, i poniżenie twoje będzie w pośrodku ciebie: pochwycisz ale nie wyniesiesz; a co wyniesiesz, na miecz podam.
Ты будешь есть, и не будешь сыт; пустота будет внутри тебя; будешь хранить, но не убережешь, а что сбережешь, то предам мечу.
你 要吃，卻吃不 飽；你的虛弱 必顯在你中間。你必挪去，卻不得 救護；所 救護的，我必交 給刀劍。
You will have food, but not enough; your shame will be ever with you: you will get your goods moved, but you will not take them away safely; and what you do take away I will give to the sword.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Micah 6:14
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse describes a curse precisely crafted to match the sins of dishonest gain. Calvin notes that God can break the staff of bread, leaving food without nourishing power. Barnes and Gill connect the thwarted satisfaction to the covenant curses of Leviticus 26:26: 'You shall eat, and not be satisfied.' The hapax legomenon yeshach (emptiness or sinking feeling) is taken by Keil and Delitzsch as hollowness of stomach. The second half of the verse repeats the pattern: attempts to carry away possessions will fail, and even what is briefly saved is given to the sword. The repetition of 'thou' in the Hebrew, as Barnes observes, personalizes the judgment: the same people who plundered others will find their own efforts futile. No commentator disputes that the punishment is retributive, matching the injustice of dishonest gain with frustration of every attempt to enjoy or preserve wealth.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Emptiness of stomach (Keil, Darby): The Arabic cognate and the context of eating/unhunger point to hollowness; the Septuagint supports this.
- Casting down/humiliation (Calvin, KJV, Gill): The parallelism with 'thou shalt eat but not be satisfied' may be better served by a term meaning 'dejection' within you, referring to internal collapse.
What is clear: The curse involves futility: every human effort to gain, keep, or enjoy will be blocked by God's action, and the cause is the dishonesty and violence detailed in verses 10–12.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'yeshach' (emptiness/casting down) | It denotes a negative condition caused by sin, either inner hollowness or public humiliation. | Some (Keil, Darby) take it as physical stomach emptiness; others (Calvin, KJV) read it as 'dejection' or 'sinking.' The Hebrew root is a hapax, so both readings rely on cognate evidence. |
| Nature of the curse: literal famine or spiritual withdrawal | Both are present: food is present but fails to nourish; this mirrors spiritual estrangement from God. | Calvin emphasizes God's withdrawal from the staff of bread; Barnes stresses inward decay. Some apply it directly to the Assyrian siege; others see a broader moral principle. |
| The sword as agent of divine judgment | The sword represents military defeat, most likely by Assyria or Babylon. | Whether the 'sword' is a literal enemy invasion or a symbol of divine wrath across history. Both views affirm God's sovereignty over the outcome. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Micah prophesied during the 8th century BC, addressing both Israel and Judah. The surrounding passage (Micah 6:10, 12) indicts the wealthy for dishonest practices: treasures gotten by wickedness, short ephahs, deceitful weights, violence and lies. These are not abstract crimes. They form the daily economy of the city. The prophet frames God's judgment as a covenant lawsuit, drawing directly from the sanctions of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Leviticus 26:26 threatens that even when bread is present, it will not satisfy. Deuteronomy 28:39, 40 warns that sowing and treading olives will yield no fruit for the farmer. Micah weaves these ancient curses into a contemporary verdict.
The phrase 'your emptiness shall be in the midst of you' carries a double edge. On one level, it is hunger itself. On another, as Barnes develops, it describes an inward collapse. The people had boasted, 'Is not the Lord in the midst of us?' (Micah 3:11). Now their internal corruption, the lies, violence, and dishonest gain, becomes a sickness that cannot be escaped. The 'empty stomach' is both physical and moral. The siege that will bring starvation is not an accident of history; it is the direct consequence of a society built on theft. Calvin observes that God can produce famine in two ways, by withholding harvest or by withholding nourishment from the food itself. Here the curse ensures that even abundance fails to satisfy.
Textual Notes
The word yeshach (your emptiness) is a hapax legomenon and has drawn textual conjecture. Clarke notes that Newcome, following the Septuagint and Arabic, transposes letters to read veyechshach ('it shall be dark'), but Calvin rejects this as lacking manuscript support. The Cambridge Bible calls the Hebrew 'very uncertain' and suggests a possible restoration to 'thy leanness.' Despite these proposals, the majority of English versions (WEB, KJV, ASV) retain 'casting down' or 'emptiness,' and the overall thrust of the verse is not affected. The consulted sources note no other significant textual variants.
Reception History
This verse entered Christian tradition through reflection on the covenant curses of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Early and medieval interpreters read the physical emptiness as a sign of spiritual desolation. Barnes quotes the fifth-century writer Dionysius applying it to those who 'have a name that they live and are dead' (Revelation 3:1), finding in the verse a warning against religious forms without substance. Reformation commentators such as Calvin and the Geneva Bible used it to expose economic injustice among the powerful, while later Wesleyan interpreters stressed the personal experience of being unsatisfied despite material plenty. In liturgical settings, the verse has been read during penitential seasons as a call to examine the integrity of one's gain.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The sin: dishonest gain and social injustice (vv. 10, 12). The people's wealth comes from cheating and violence.
- The sentence: every blessing reversed. Eating without satisfaction, storing without saving.
- The source: a broken relationship. The punishment is not random; it is the withdrawal of God's sustaining hand.
Five-point outline
- The accusation: God holds court against a city built on fraud.
- The reversal of provision: what you eat will not feed you.
- The reversal of security: what you try to save will be lost.
- The reversal of strength: inward emptiness, not outward threat, becomes the enemy.
- The reversal of identity: those who claimed God was in their midst now find only a sword.
Illustration hooks
- A person inherits a house built on a business that exploited workers. Even when the house is beautiful, the blessing is absent, the owner feels no peace.
- A farmer works all season to grow a crop. Just before harvest, a storm destroys it. The effort yields nothing.
- Someone loses sleep worrying about savings they hid from taxes. The money is there, but so is constant fear.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God still use material curses to punish sin today? How do we tell the difference between a consequence and a punishment?
- If I have food and money but feel empty, is that a sign of God's judgment on hidden sin?
- How do I break a pattern of dishonesty when it is used to survive?
Leading a Discussion
This verse shows the flip side of the covenant: the same God who promised abundance also withholds satisfaction when his people reject justice. The passage invites us to examine not just our actions but the hidden systems we depend on.
Discussion questions
- Read Micah 6:10, 12 aloud. What specific sins are mentioned? How would these look in modern business or family life?
- Verse 14 uses the word 'emptiness' (yeshach). Why is it significant that this emptiness is located 'in your midst'?
- Calvin says God can make food pointless: 'they shall eat and not be satisfied.' Have you ever experienced a blessing that felt hollow? What does that teach us about the source of true satisfaction?
- The second half of the verse describes efforts to save that fail. What does this say about human attempts to secure the future without God's blessing?
- How does this passage connect to Jesus' teaching in Luke 12:15 about life not consisting in abundance?
- What is one area where you might be trusting in dishonest gain or security apart from God? Share only as you feel safe.
- How can we pray for a church or community that has built its wealth on injustice?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 26:26 | When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight. You shall eat, and not be satisfied. |
| Deuteronomy 32:22 | For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire. |
| Deuteronomy 32:25 | Outside the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man. |
| Isaiah 3:6 | Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this ruin be under your hand.” |
| Isaiah 3:8 | For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Yahweh, to provoke the eyes of his glory. |
| Isaiah 9:20 | One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm: |
| Isaiah 24:17 | Fear, the pit, and the snare are on you who inhabit the earth. |
| Isaiah 24:20 | The earth will stagger like a drunken man, and will sway back and forth like a hammock. Its disobedience will be heavy on it, and it will fall and not rise again. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the word for casting down is likely a different form meaning darkness will come. He says calamity will have its place among those people.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the repeated use of the word you shows the punishment targets the person who committed the sin directly. He also says that extreme wealth always leads to extreme poverty because human strength fails without God.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes God can cause famine in two ways (fields producing no fruit or food losing its nourishing power). He also says people will suffer deep inner sorrow even when no outside threat exists.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that Christians who hold this view understand the phrase emptiness to mean hunger in the stomach. They also see removing property as impossible because the enemy will attack so quickly.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Bible Notes sees this verse describing a time when people eat enough food yet still lack true fulfillment. They try to protect what they have but cannot keep it safe and will lose everything to violence.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill interprets the casting down as a secret judgment like a disease in the bowels, brought on by civil discord or an enemy's incursion. He explains that taking hold but not delivering means people will desperately try to save their wives and children, yet even those they temporarily rescue will ultimately be given to the sword.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
The commentary notes that even without an enemy present the city will suffer hunger and internal ruin. Those who try to save their families or property will fail and lose whatever they manage to rescue.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see the repeated words וגם־אני as showing punishment follows directly from the people’s sins. They explain החליתי הך means the smiting makes them suffer an incurable condition.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this passage as a universal lawsuit between God and Israel, not tied to a specific historical moment. He highlights its lyrical, psalm-like style, which sets it apart from more directly prophetic or eschatological chapters. For Lange, this closing address serves a role much like Habakkuk 3 or Isaiah 60-66.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the Lord’s voice cries out against the city because the people’s sins have reached such a high level that wisdom itself cannot hide them. This cry shows God is already taking action on their injustice.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the utter hopelessness of every attempt to escape judgment. Whether one clutches family or treasure, or flees to another land, the enemy follows. Any deliverance is only brief and temporary.