Micah 5
New American Standard Bible 1995
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)smite 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 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 borne a child.
Then the (H)remainder of His brethren
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 [e]remain,
Because [f]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 [g]citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6 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 attacks 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
Which do not wait for man
Or delay for the sons of men.
8 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 he passes through,
(T)Tramples down and (U)tears,
And there is (V)none to rescue.
9 Your hand will be (W)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be cut off.
10 “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,
“(X)That I will cut off your (Y)horses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
11 “I will also cut off the (Z)cities of your land
And tear down all your (AA)fortifications.
12 “I will cut off (AB)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
13 “(AC)I will cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
14 “I will root out 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 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.”
3 Therefore 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.
4 And 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;
5 And 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.
6 They 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.
7 Then (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.
8 And 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.
9 Your 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.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land
And throw down all your strongholds.
12 I 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;
14 I will pluck your [h]wooden images from your midst;
Thus I will destroy your cities.
15 And 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
International Standard Version
5 [a]“Now marshal yourselves as troops.[b]
He has laid siege to us.
They will strike the judge[c] of Israel on the cheek with a rod.”
The Ruler from Bethlehem
2 [d]“As for you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
even though you remain least among the clans[e] of Judah,
nevertheless, the one who rules in Israel for me
will emerge from you.
His existence has been[f] from antiquity,
even from eternity.
3 Therefore that ruler[g] will abandon them
until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of his countrymen will return to the Israelis.”
4 “Then he will take his stand,
shepherding by means of the strength of the Lord,
by the power[h] of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will be firmly[i] established;
indeed, from then on he will become great—
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace.”
God’s Judgment on Assyria
“When the Assyrian invades our land,
trampling through our palaces,
we will raise up seven shepherds against him,
even eight significant men.
6 The shepherds[j] will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword,
along with the entrances to the land of Nimrod.
“This is how he will vanquish[k] Assyria
when he invades our land,
trampling within our borders:
7 The survivors of Jacob will live among many nations,
as dew from the Lord,
as showers upon the grass.
They will look to no one,
and will place no hope in human beings.
8 The survivors of Jacob will live among the nations;
they will live among many nations,
like a lion among flocks of sheep,
who, if he passes through,
will trample and tear down
with no one to deliver.
9 You will turn your power[l] against your adversaries,
and all of your enemies will be cut down.”
God Removes Idolatry
10 “It will come about at that time,” declares the Lord,
“I will tear away your horses from you,
and I will destroy your chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land,
and I will tear down all of your fortifications.
12 I will render your witchcraft powerless,[m]
and mediums will no longer exist among you.
13 I will separate you from your carved images and sacred pillars,
and you no longer will worship
what you’ve made with your hands.
14 I will uproot your cultic gods[n] from you,
and I will tear down your cities.
15 I will execute vengeance, anger, and fury
on the nations who do not obey.”
Footnotes
- Micah 5:1 5:1 is 4:14 in MT
- Micah 5:1 Lit. yourselves, you daughter of mobs
- Micah 5:1 Or ruler
- Micah 5:2 5:2 is 5:1 in MT, 5:3 is 5:2 in MT, and so throughout the chapter
- Micah 5:2 Or thousands
- Micah 5:2 The Heb. lacks has been
- Micah 5:3 Lit. Therefore he
- Micah 5:4 Or majesty
- Micah 5:4 The Heb. lacks firmly
- Micah 5:6 Lit. And they
- Micah 5:6 Lit. will deliver from
- Micah 5:9 Lit. hand
- Micah 5:12 Lit. will cut witchcraft out of your hands
- Micah 5:14 Heb. Asherim
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
