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Micah 5
New American Standard Bible
Micah 5
New American Standard Bible
Birth of the King in 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 come forth for Me to be (D)ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are (E)from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
3 Therefore He will (F)give them up until the time
When she (G)who is in labor has given birth.
Then the (H)remainder of His kinsmen
Will return to the sons of Israel.
4 And He will arise and (I)shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will [d]remain,
Because [e]at that time He will be great
To the (J)ends of the earth.
5 This One (K)will be our peace.
When the (L)Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our [f]citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of people.
6 They will (M)shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of (N)Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will (O)rescue us from the Assyrian
When he invades our land,
And when he tramples our territory.
7 Then the (P)remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like (Q)dew from the Lord,
Like (R)showers on vegetation
That do not wait for man,
Or delay for [g]mankind.
8 The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
(S)Like a lion among the animals of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
(T)Tramples and (U)tears,
And there is (V)no one who can rescue.
9 Your hand will be (W)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be eliminated.
10 “And it will be on that day,” declares the Lord,
“(X)That I will eliminate your (Y)horses from among you,
And destroy your chariots.
11 I will also eliminate the (Z)cities of your land,
And tear down all your (AA)fortifications.
12 I will eliminate (AB)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have no fortune-tellers.
13 (AC)I will eliminate your carved images
And your memorial stones from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot your [h](AD)Asherim from among you,
And destroy your cities.
15 And I will (AE)execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed.”
Micah 5
New International Version
Micah 5
New International Version
A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
5 [a]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek(A) with a rod.
2 “But you, Bethlehem(B) Ephrathah,(C)
though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler(D) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,(E)
from ancient times.”(F)
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned(G)
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock(H)
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness(I)
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace(J)
when the Assyrians invade(K) our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,(L)
6 who will rule[c] the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(M) with drawn sword.[d](N)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they invade our land
and march across our borders.(O)
7 The remnant(P) of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew(Q) from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,(R)
which do not wait for anyone
or depend on man.
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,(S)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles(T) as it goes,
and no one can rescue.(U)
9 Your hand will be lifted up(V) in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed.
10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses from among you
and demolish your chariots.(W)
11 I will destroy the cities(X) of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.(Y)
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.(Z)
13 I will destroy your idols(AA)
and your sacred stones from among you;(AB)
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.(AC)
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[e](AD)
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance(AE) in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me.”
Footnotes
- Micah 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:14, and 5:2-15 is numbered 5:1-14.
- Micah 5:2 Or rulers
- Micah 5:6 Or crush
- Micah 5:6 Or Nimrod in its gates
- Micah 5:14 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
Micah 5
The Message
Micah 5
The Message
The Leader Who Will Shepherd-Rule Israel
5 But for now, prepare for the worst, victim daughter!
The siege is set against us.
They humiliate Israel’s king,
slapping him around like a rag doll.
2-4 But you, Bethlehem, David’s country,
the runt of the litter—
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He’ll be no upstart, no pretender.
His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes
until the birth pangs are over and the child is born,
And the scattered brothers come back
home to the family of Israel.
He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God’s strength,
centered in the majesty of God-Revealed.
And the people will have a good and safe home,
for the whole world will hold him in respect—
Peacemaker of the world!
5-6 And if some bullying Assyrian shows up,
invades and violates our land, don’t worry.
We’ll put him in his place, send him packing,
and watch his every move.
Shepherd-rule will extend as far as needed,
to Assyria and all other Nimrod-bullies.
Our shepherd-ruler will save us from old or new enemies,
from anyone who invades or violates our land.
7 The purged and select company of Jacob will be
like an island in the sea of peoples.
They’ll be like dew from God,
like summer showers
Not mentioned in the weather forecast,
not subject to calculation or control.
8-9 Yes, the purged and select company of Jacob will be
like an island in the sea of peoples,
Like the king of beasts among wild beasts,
like a young lion loose in a flock of sheep,
Killing and devouring the lambs
and no one able to stop him.
With your arms raised in triumph over your foes,
your enemies will be no more!
* * *
10-15 “The day is coming”
—God’s Decree—
“When there will be no more war. None.
I’ll slaughter your war horses and demolish your chariots.
I’ll dismantle military posts
and level your fortifications.
I’ll abolish your religious black markets,
your underworld traffic in black magic.
I will smash your carved and cast gods
and chop down your phallic posts.
No more taking control of the world,
worshiping what you do or make.
I’ll root out your sacred sex-and-power centers
and destroy the God-defiant.
In raging anger, I’ll make a clean sweep
of godless nations who haven’t listened.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson