Micah 7:16
“The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will lay their hand on their mouth. Their ears will be deaf.”
What does Micah 7:16 mean?
When God acts decisively in history, the opposing nations will finally understand their own powerlessness and have nothing left to say in defense of their actions. This image of laying a hand on one's mouth and becoming deaf is how ancient people expressed humiliation, silence, and the shock of witnessing something that overturns everything they believed about themselves. Micah is offering comfort to his struggling people by reminding them that the proud powers arrayed against them won't have the last word, and that God's faithfulness will eventually become undeniably visible to everyone.