Micah 5
Legacy Standard Bible
The Ruler Will Come from Bethlehem
5 “[a]Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
[b]They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will (A)strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.
2 [c]But as for (B)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From (C)you One will go forth for Me to be (D)ruler in Israel.
[d]His goings forth are (E)from everlasting,
From the ancient days.”
3 Therefore He will (F)give them up until the time
When she (G)who is in childbirth has borne a child.
Then the (H)remainder of His brothers
Will return to the sons of Israel.
4 And He will stand and (I)shepherd His flock
In the strength of Yahweh,
In the majesty of the name of Yahweh His God.
And they will [e]remain
Because [f]at that time He will be great
To the (J)ends of the earth.
5 And this One (K)will be peace.
When the (L)Assyrian enters our land,
When he treads on our [g]citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princes of men.
6 And they will (M)shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of (N)Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will (O)deliver us from the Assyrian
When he enters our land
And when he treads within our borders.
7 Then the (P)remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like (Q)dew from Yahweh,
Like (R)showers on vegetation
Which do not hope for man
Or wait for the sons of men.
8 Then the remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
(S)Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if it passes through,
(T)Tramples down and (U)tears,
And there is (V)none to deliver.
9 Your hand will be (W)raised up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be cut off.
10 “And it will be in that day,” declares Yahweh,
“(X)That I will cut off your (Y)horses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
11 And I will cut off the (Z)cities of your land
And pull down all your (AA)fortifications.
12 And I will cut off (AB)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have soothsaying no more.
13 (AC)And I will cut off your graven images
And your sacred pillars from among you
So that you will no longer worship
The work of your hands.
14 And I will uproot your [h](AD)Asherim from among you
And [i]eradicate your cities.
15 And I will (AE)execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not [j](AF)listened.”
Footnotes
- Micah 5:1 Ch 4:14 in Heb
- Micah 5:1 Lit He has
- Micah 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Heb
- Micah 5:2 Or His appearances are from long ago, from days of old
- Micah 5:4 Or live in safety
- Micah 5:4 Lit now
- Micah 5:5 Or palaces
- Micah 5:14 Wooden symbols of a female deity
- Micah 5:14 Or destroy
- Micah 5:15 Or heard
Micah 5
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Ruler From the Little Town of Bethlehem
5 Now, gather the troops, you daughter[a] of troops.
A siege is laid against us.
With a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.[b]
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel.
His goings forth[c] are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.[d]
3 Therefore the Lord[e] will give them up,
until the time when the woman who is in labor bears a child.[f]
Then the remaining survivors from his brothers will return to the people of Israel.
4 He will stand and shepherd with the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
They will dwell securely, for at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth.
5 This one will be their peace.
When Assyria invades our land
and tramples on our citadels,
we will raise against him seven shepherds
and eight leaders of men.
6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword
and the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade.[g]
He will save us from Assyria
when it invades our land
and tramples on our territory.
The Remnant Among the Nations
7 There will be a surviving remnant of Jacob in the midst of many peoples,
like dew from the Lord,
like spring showers on the grass,
which do not wait around for a man,
and do not delay for human beings.[h]
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among animals of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep.
As he passes through, he crushes and tears them.
There is no one who can save them from him.
9 Your hand will be high above your enemies.
All your enemies will be cut off.
God’s Judgment on His People
10 This is what will happen on that day, declares the Lord.
I will cut off your horses from your midst
and destroy your chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land,
and I will destroy all your fortified cities.
12 I will cut off every form of witchcraft from your hands,
and you will have no one to read omens anymore.
13 I will cut off your carved images
and your sacred memorial stones from your midst,
and you will not worship the work of your hands anymore.
14 I will uproot your Asherah poles from your midst,
and I will destroy your cities.
15 In anger and wrath I will inflict vengeance
on the nations that have not listened to me.
Footnotes
- Micah 5:1 The term daughter refers to the city.
- Micah 5:1 English verse 5:1 is verse 4:14 in Hebrew. In chapter 5, the English verse numbers are one higher than the Hebrew.
- Micah 5:2 The term goings forth, which is plural in Hebrew, has been understood in three ways: 1) as a reference to the eternal generation (begetting) of the Son, who goes out from the Father; 2) as a reference to the human origins of the Messiah, who descends from the patriarchs; 3) as a reference to the appearances of Christ as the Angel of the Lord, throughout the Old Testament.
- Micah 5:2 Or from days of old
- Micah 5:3 The Hebrew reads he, without specifying the antecedent.
- Micah 5:3 This is the same woman and child who appear in Isaiah 7:14.
- Micah 5:6 Or at its entrances
- Micah 5:7 The meaning of the last two lines is uncertain. They seem to mean that just as dew and rain come at God’s time without human initiative, so the return of God’s people will not depend on a human timetable.
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