Micah 5

New King James Version

The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem

5 Now gather yourself in troops,
O daughter of troops;
He has laid siege against us;
They will ^(A)strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

The Coming Messiah

²“But you, ^(B)Bethlehem ^(C)Ephrathah,
Though you are little ^(D)among the ^(E)thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be ^(F)Ruler in Israel,
^(G)Whose goings forth are from of old,
From ^[a]everlasting.”

³Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that ^(H)she who is in labor has given birth;
Then ^(I)the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
⁴And He shall stand and ^(J)feed^[b] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He ^(K)shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
⁵And this One ^(L)shall be peace.

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
⁶They shall ^[c]waste with the sword the land of Assyria,
And the land of ^(M)Nimrod at its entrances;
Thus He shall ^(N)deliver us from the Assyrian,
When he comes into our land
And when he treads within our borders.

⁷Then ^(O)the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
^(P)Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That ^[d]tarry for no man
Nor ^[e]wait for the sons of men.
⁸And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a ^(Q)lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.
⁹Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be ^[f]cut off.

¹⁰“And it shall be in that day,” says the Lord,
“That I will ^(R)cut^[g] off your ^(S)horses from your midst
And destroy your ^(T)chariots.
¹¹I will cut off the cities of your land
And throw down all your strongholds.
¹²I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no ^(U)soothsayers.
¹³^(V)Your carved images I will also cut off,
And your sacred pillars from your midst;
You shall ^(W)no more worship the work of your hands;
¹⁴I will pluck your ^[h]wooden images from your midst;
Thus I will destroy your cities.
¹⁵And I will ^(X)execute vengeance in anger and fury
On the nations that have not ^[i]heard.”

Footnotes

Micah 5:2 Lit. the days of eternity
Micah 5:4 shepherd
Micah 5:6 devastate
Micah 5:7 wait
Micah 5:7 delay
Micah 5:9 destroyed
Micah 5:10 destroy
Micah 5:14 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
Micah 5:15 obeyed

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.

^2-4But 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!

^5-6And 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.

⁷The 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.

^8-9Yes, 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 King James Version (NKJV)

The Message (MSG)

Micah 5 New King James Version