Micah 5:1-6

From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King

1 ^[a] Now daughter [who is] under attack, you slash yourself [in grief]; a siege is set against us! They are striking the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod.

2 ^[b] Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me.^[c] His origin^[d] is from antiquity, from eternity.^[e]

3 Therefore, He will abandon them until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the people of Israel.^[f]

4 He will stand and shepherd [them]^[g] in the strength of Yahweh, in the majestic name of Yahweh His God. They will live securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.

5 There^[h] will be peace.^[i] When Assyria invades our land, when it marches against our fortresses, we will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.

6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod^[j] with a drawn blade.^[k] So He will rescue us from Assyria when it invades our land, when it marches against our territory.

Micah 5:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 5

This chapter begins with a prophecy of the siege of Jerusalem, Mic 5:1; and then follows another concerning the place of the Messiah's birth, Mic 5:2; and of the case of the Jews, either before or after it, Mic 5:3; and of Christ's office as a shepherd, and of his grandeur in the world, Mic 5:4; and of his being a peacemaker, and protector of his people from their enemies, Mic 5:5,6; and of his people, the great increase of them, and their usefulness, and also of their courage, strength, and prowess, Mic 5:7-9; likewise that the Lord will remove from them their vain confidence, and all occasion of it, and whatsoever illicit arts and practices were found among them; and all idolatry, and the instruments of it, Mic 5:10-14; and the chapter is concluded with a threatening of vengeance to the Heathens, Mic 5:15.

Footnotes

• [a] Mc 4:14 in Hb
• [b] Mc 5:1 in Hb
• [c] 2 Ch 7:18; Isa 11:1; Mt 2:6
• [d] Lit His going out
• [e] Or from ancient times
• [f] Mc 4:6-7
• [g] Isa 40:11
• [h] Or He
• [i] Isa 9:6
• [j] Gn 10:8-12
• [k] Aq, Vg; MT, Sym read Nimrod at its gateways