The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

MICAH 2:9KJV
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Micah 2:9 (KJV)

What does Micah 2:9 mean?

Micah 2:9 accuses people in Israel of driving women from homes where they belonged and depriving their children of what God calls his glory. God speaks of the women as “my people,” making their mistreatment an offense against people who belong to him.

The words follow an accusation against people who treat their neighbors like enemies in verse 8. The loss reaches beyond the women to their children: “my glory” points to a precious gift or dignity associated with God, taken away for a lasting time.

The Hebrew behind Micah 2:9

  • “pleasant” — תַּעֲנֻג (taʿanug): The word carries the sense of delight or pleasure. It makes the houses more than mere buildings: they were places the women could enjoy.
  • “glory” — הָדָר (hadar): This word can suggest splendor or honor. God calls the lost glory “my” glory, linking the children’s loss to something precious that came from him.
  • “for ever” — עוֹלָם (ʿolam): This word can describe an age or a very long time. Here it stresses the lasting nature of the children’s loss.

Why Micah 2:9 matters

  • The accusation includes people who may not have been the direct targets of the eviction. The phrase “from their children” shows that the harm carries into the next generation.
  • The passage connects the loss of homes with the seizure of property. Earlier, Micah 2:2 describes people taking fields and houses they desire, helping explain the wrongs addressed in verse 9.
  • God speaks to the wrongdoers directly. The KJV’s “ye” means “you” in the plural, so the accusation addresses more than one person.

Where else these words appear

“pleasant” Hebrew H8588 · used in 5 verses

  • Proverbs 19:10 Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
  • Ecclesiastes 2:8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
  • Song of Solomon 7:6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

“children” Hebrew H5768 · used in 20 verses

  • 1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
  • Psalms 137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
  • Lamentations 2:11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

“glory” Hebrew H1926 · used in 29 verses

  • Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
  • Psalms 90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
  • Proverbs 31:25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

“out” Hebrew H1644 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
  • Leviticus 21:7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
  • 1 Kings 2:27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.