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Now strong city,[a] gather your soldiers!
    They are surrounding us for the attack!
They will hit the Judge of Israel
    on the cheek with a stick.

The Messiah to Be Born in Bethlehem

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are the smallest town in Judah.
Your family is almost too small to count,
    but the “Ruler of Israel” will come from you to rule for me.
His beginnings[b] are from ancient times,
    from long, long ago.
The Lord will let his people be defeated
    until the woman gives birth to her child, the promised king.
Then the rest of his brothers will come back
    to join the people of Israel.
He will begin to rule Israel in the power of the Lord.
    Like a shepherd, he will lead his people in the wonderful name of the Lord his God.
And they will live in safety
    because then his greatness will be known all over the world.
    He will bring a time of peace.

Yes, the Assyrian army will come into our country
    and march through our land.[c]
But we have plenty of leaders[d]
    we can send against them.
With swords in hand our leaders will defeat the Assyrians
    and rule the land of Nimrod.[e]
They[f] will save us from the Assyrians
    when they come into our land and march through our territory.
But those from Jacob who are still living and scattered among the nations
    will be like dew from the Lord that does not depend on anyone.
They will be like rain on the grass
    that does not wait for anyone.
Those from Jacob who are still living
    are scattered among the nations.
But they will be like a lion among the animals in the forest.
    They will be like a young lion among flocks of sheep.
If the lion passes through,
    he goes where he wants to go.
If he attacks an animal,
    no one can save it.
    The survivors will be like that.
You will lift your hand against your enemies,
    and you will destroy them.

People Will Depend on God

10 The Lord says,
“At that time I will take away your horses,
    and I will destroy your chariots.
11 I will destroy the cities in your country.
    I will pull down all your fortresses.
12 You will no longer try to do magic.
    You will have no more fortunetellers.
13 I will destroy your statues of false gods.
    I will pull down your memorial stones.
    You will not worship what your hands have made.
14 I will destroy the Asherah poles
    and your false gods.[g]
15 Some nations will not listen to me,
    but I will show my anger and get my revenge.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 5:1 strong city Literally, “daughter of troops.”
  2. Micah 5:2 beginnings Or “family origins.”
  3. Micah 5:5 march … land Or “trample our palaces.”
  4. Micah 5:5 plenty of leaders Literally, “seven shepherds, no eight leaders.”
  5. Micah 5:6 land of Nimrod Another name for Assyria.
  6. Micah 5:6 They Literally, “He.”
  7. Micah 5:14 false gods Or “cities.”

Restauración de la dinastía de David

(4.14) «Pero ahora, Jerusalén, prepara tu defensa,
porque has sido sitiada
y van a castigar duramente al jefe de Israel.
(1) En cuanto a ti, Belén Efrata,
pequeña entre los clanes de Judá,
de ti saldrá un gobernante de Israel
que desciende de una antigua familia.»
(2) Ahora el Señor deja a los suyos,
pero sólo hasta que dé a luz
la mujer que está esperando un hijo.
Entonces se reunirán con sus compatriotas
los israelitas que están en el destierro.
(3) El rey se levantará para pastorear a su pueblo
con el poder y la majestad del Señor su Dios,
y ellos podrán vivir en paz,
porque el Señor será engrandecido
hasta el último rincón de la tierra.
(4) Él traerá la paz.
Cuando los asirios invadan nuestro país
y entren en nuestros palacios,
enviaremos contra ellos
siete jefes y ocho hombres importantes.
(5) Ellos gobernarán Asiria,
el país de Nimrod, a filo de espada,
y nos librarán de los asirios
que hayan cruzado nuestras fronteras
e invadido nuestra tierra.

Destrucción de los enemigos

(6) Entonces, en medio de muchos pueblos,
los que queden del pueblo de Jacob
serán como el rocío que envía el Señor, como las lluvias que caen sobre la hierba,
que no dependen de la voluntad del hombre.
(7) Entonces, en medio de muchas naciones,
lo que quede del pueblo de Jacob
será como un león entre los animales salvajes,
como un león en un rebaño de ovejas,
que al pasar las desgarra y destroza,
y no deja que ninguna escape con vida.
(8) Así atacarás tú, Señor, y destruirás
a todos tus enemigos.

Fin de la guerra y la idolatría

10 (9) Esto afirma el Señor:

«En aquel día mataré tus caballos
y destruiré tus carros de guerra;
11 (10) convertiré en ruinas tus ciudades
y derribaré todas tus fortalezas;
12 (11) acabaré con tus hechicerías
y te dejaré sin adivinos;
13 (12) destruiré tus ídolos y piedras sagradas,
para que no vuelvas a adorar jamás
a los dioses que tú mismo hiciste.
14 (13) Arrancaré tus árboles sagrados
y destruiré por completo tus ciudades.
15 (14) En mi furor, tomaré venganza
de las naciones que no quisieron obedecerme.»

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

[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.

“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)

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.

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.

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)
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)

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.
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)
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

  1. Micah 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:14, and 5:2-15 is numbered 5:1-14.
  2. Micah 5:2 Or rulers
  3. Micah 5:6 Or crush
  4. Micah 5:6 Or Nimrod in its gates
  5. Micah 5:14 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah