弥迦书 5
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
耶和华的应许
5 耶路撒冷的居民[a]啊，
现在你们要调集军队！
敌人正四面围攻我们，
要用杖击打以色列首领的脸颊。
2 以法他的伯利恒啊，
你在犹大各城中毫不起眼，
但将有一位从你那里出来，
为我统治以色列；
祂的根源自亘古，来自太初。
3 耶和华要将以色列人交给他们的敌人，
直到那临盆的妇人生下儿子。
那时，祂流亡的弟兄将重返他们的以色列同胞那里。
4 祂要挺身而起，
倚靠耶和华的能力，
奉祂上帝耶和华的威名牧养祂的群羊。
他们将安然居住，
因为那时祂必受尊崇，直达地极。
5 祂必给他们带来平安！
亚述人侵略我们的国土、践踏我们的宫殿时，
我们将选立七位牧者和八位首领抗击他们。
6 他们要用刀剑统治亚述，统治宁录地区。
亚述人侵入我们国境、践踏我们疆土时，
祂必拯救我们。
7 雅各余剩的子孙将在万民中像从耶和华那里降下的雨露，
又像洒在草上的甘霖。
他们不依靠人，
不冀望于世人。
8 在各国各民中，
雅各余剩的子孙犹如林间百兽中的狮子，
又像闯入羊群的猛狮，
将猎物扑倒撕碎，
无人能搭救。
9 愿你们伸手战胜仇敌！
愿你们的仇敌都被铲除！
10 耶和华说：
“到那日，
我要消灭你们的战马，
毁坏你们的战车。
11 我要摧毁你们境内的城邑，
拆除你们所有的堡垒。
12 我要除掉你们手中的巫术，
使你们那里不再有占卜的。
13 我要从你们中间除去雕刻的神像和神柱，
使你们不再跪拜自己所造的。
14 我要从你们中间铲除亚舍拉神像，
毁灭你们的偶像。
15 我要在烈怒中报应那些不听从我的国家。”
Footnotes
- 5:1 “耶路撒冷的居民”希伯来文是“被围攻的女子”。
Micah 5
Contemporary English Version
A Promised Ruler
5 Jerusalem, enemy troops
have surrounded you;[a]
they have struck Israel's ruler
in the face with a stick.
2 (A) Bethlehem Ephrath,
you are one of the smallest towns
in the nation of Judah.
But the Lord will choose
one of your people
to rule the nation—
someone whose family
goes back to ancient times.[b]
3 The Lord will abandon Israel
only until this ruler is born,
and the rest of his family[c]
returns to Israel.
4 Like a shepherd
taking care of his sheep,
this ruler will lead
and care for his people
by the power and glorious name
of the Lord his God.
His people will live securely,
and the whole earth will know
his true greatness,
5 because he will bring peace.
Assyria Will Be Defeated
Let Assyria attack our country
and our palaces.
We will counterattack,
led by a number of rulers
6 (B) whose strong army will defeat
the nation of Assyria.[d]
Yes, our leaders will rescue us,
if those Assyrians
dare to invade our land.
The Survivors Will Be Safe
7 A few of Jacob's descendants
survived and are scattered
among the nations.
But the Lord will let them
cover the earth like dew and rain
that refreshes the soil.
8 At present they are scattered,
but later they will attack,
as though they were fierce lions
pouncing on sheep.
Their enemies will be torn
to shreds,
with no one to save them;
9 they will be helpless,
completely destroyed.
Idols Will Be Destroyed in Israel
10 The Lord said:
At that time I will wipe out
your cavalry and chariots,
11 as well as your cities
and your fortresses.
12 I will stop you
from telling fortunes
and practicing witchcraft.
13 You will no longer worship
the idols or stone images
you have made—
I will destroy them,
14 together with the sacred poles[e]
and even your towns.
15 I will become furious
and take revenge on the nations
that refuse to obey me.
Footnotes
- 5.1 Jerusalem … you: Or “Jerusalem, you are slashing yourself in sorrow, because of the enemy troops.”
- 5.2 family … times: Or “kingdom is eternal.”
- 5.3 family: Or “people.”
- 5.6 the nation of Assyria: The Hebrew text uses both “land of Assyria” and “land of Nimrod,” which was a poetic name for Assyria.
- 5.14 sacred poles: Used in the worship of Asherah, the fertility goddess.
Micah 5
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 5
1 But from you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,[a]
among the tiniest of the clans of Judah,
from you will come forth for me
one who is to be a ruler in Israel,
one whose origins are from the distant past,
from ancient times.
2 Therefore, the Lord will abandon them
only until she who is in labor has given birth.
Then those of the people who survive
will be reunited with the Israelites.
3 He will rise up to shepherd his flock
by the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name
of the Lord his God.
And they will live in security,
for then his greatness will be renowned
to the ends of the earth.
4 He will ensure their peace.
If Assyria Invades Our Country . . .
If the Assyrians invade our country
and set foot upon our land,
we shall raise against them seven shepherds
and appoint eight[b] men to serve as rulers.
5 They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod with drawn swords.
And we will be delivered from Assyria
if it invades our country
or treads upon our borders.
The Remnant of Jacob
6 Then the remnant of Jacob,
surrounded by many peoples,
will be like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not depend upon man
or wait for any man’s bidding.
7 And among the nations the remnant of Jacob
will be surrounded by many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
trampling and tearing to pieces as it goes,
with no one able to stop the carnage.
8 Your hand will be lifted up over your foes,
and all your adversaries will be destroyed.
9 On that day, says the Lord,
I will slaughter your horses
and destroy your chariots.
10 I will demolish the cities of your land
and raze all your fortresses to the ground.
11 I will eliminate your sorcerers,
and there will be no more soothsayers among you.
12 I will cut down your images
and the sacred pillars in your midst;
you will no longer worship
the work of your hands.
13 I will uproot your sacred poles[c]
and destroy your cities.
14 In anger and fury, I will wreak vengeance
on the nations that have disobeyed me.
Footnotes
- Micah 5:1 Bethlehem Ephrathah: the second name distinguishes this Bethlehem from a Bethlehem in Galilee. Ephrathah was the name of the family group that settled there; it then came to signify the city.
- Micah 5:4 Seven . . . eight: a way of signifying a sizeable number; here it indicates the superiority of Israel.
- Micah 5:13 Sacred poles: sacred poles symbolizing the female Canaanite divinity of the vegetation.
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