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

From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King

Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge(A) of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.
Bethlehem Ephrathah,(B)
you are small among the clans of Judah;
one will come from you(C)
to be ruler over Israel for me.(D)
His origin[a] is from antiquity,(E)
from ancient times.
Therefore, Israel will be abandoned(F) until the time
when she who is in labour(G) has given birth;
then the rest of the ruler’s brothers(H) will return
to the people of Israel.(I)
He will stand and shepherd them(J)
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majestic name of the Lord his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.(K)
He will be their peace.(L)
When Assyria invades our land,(M)
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
They will shepherd(N) the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(O) with a drawn blade.[b]
So he will rescue us(P) from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.

The Glorious and Purified Remnant

Then the remnant of Jacob(Q)
will be among many peoples
like dew from the Lord,(R)
like showers on the grass,(S)
which do not wait for anyone
or linger for mankind.
Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among the nations, among many peoples,
like a lion among animals of the forest,(T)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples(U) and tears(V) as it passes through,
and there is no one to rescue them.(W)
Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,(X)
and all your enemies will be destroyed.

10 In that day –
this is the Lord’s declaration –
I will remove your horses from you(Y)
and wreck your chariots.
11 I will remove the cities of your land(Z)
and tear down all your fortresses.(AA)
12 I will remove sorceries from your hands,(AB)
and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.
13 I will remove your carved images(AC)
and sacred pillars from you
so that you will no longer worship
the work of your hands.
14 I will pull up the Asherah poles(AD) from among you(AE)
and demolish your cities.[c]
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath(AF)
against the nations that have not obeyed me.

Footnotes

  1. 5:2 Lit His going out
  2. 5:6 Aq, Vg; MT, Sym read Nimrod at its gateways
  3. 5:14 Or shrines

The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem

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

“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.”

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.
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;
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.
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.

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.
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.
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

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

Eternal Ruler from Bethlehem

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah[a]
least among the clans of Judah—
from you will come out to Me
    One to be ruler in Israel,
One whose goings forth are from of old,
    from days of eternity.
Therefore He will give them up
until the time when she who is in labor has given birth.
Then the remnant of His brothers
    will return to Bnei-Yisrael.
So He will arise and tend His flock
with the strength of Adonai
    in the majesty of the Name of Adonai His God.
And they will live securely,
    for then He will be great to the ends of the earth.
This One will be shalom.[b]
When Assyria invades our land
    when he treads on our citadels,
then we will raise up against him seven shepherds
    and eight human princes.
They will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword—
even Nimrod’s land with a drawn blade.[c]
He will deliver us from Assyria,
    when he invades our land,
    when he tramples on our territory.

The Remnant of Jacob

Now the remnant of Jacob will be
    in the midst of many peoples,
like dew from Adonai,
like abundant showers on grass
    that does not wait for a man,
    nor lingers for the sons of men.
For the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
    in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the forest beasts,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
who, if he passed through, would trample and tear to pieces,
    and there would be no deliverer.
May your hand be raised up against your adversaries,
and may all your foes be cut off.
“Now in that day”
—it is a declaration of Adonai
“I will cut off your horses among you,
and I will destroy your chariots.
10 I will cut off the cities of your land,
and throw down all your strongholds.
11 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you will have no more diviners.
12 I will cut off your carved images
and your sacred pillars from among you,
so you will no longer bow down
    to the work of your hands.
13 I will uproot your Asherah poles from among you,
and destroy your cities.
14 So I will execute vengeance in anger
and wrath on the nations that have not listened.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 5:1 cf. Matt. 2:6.
  2. Micah 5:4 cf. Luke 2:14; Col. 1:20.
  3. Micah 5:5 Or, at its entrances.