Micah 5:1-10

1 Mobilize! Marshal your troops! The enemy is laying siege to Jerusalem. They will strike Israel’s leader in the face with a rod.

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.

3 The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land.

4 And he will stand to lead his flock with the LORD ’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.

5 And he will be the source of peace. When the Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses, we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.

6 They will rule Assyria with drawn swords and enter the gates of the land of Nimrod. He will rescue us from the Assyrians when they pour over the borders to invade our land.

7 Then the remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like dew sent by the LORD or like rain falling on the grass, which no one can hold back and no one can restrain.

8 The remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a strong young lion among flocks of sheep and goats, pouncing and tearing as they go with no rescuer in sight.

9 The people of Israel will stand up to their foes, and all their enemies will be wiped out.

10 “In that day,” says the LORD, “I will slaughter your horses and destroy your chariots.

Micah 5:1-10 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]. Verse 5:1 is numbered 4:14 in Hebrew text.
• [b]. Verses 5:2-15 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.
• [c]. Hebrew in Jacob; also in 5:8 . See note on 1:5a .