Micah 5

From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King

¹Now, 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.

²Bethlehem 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 ^e is from antiquity, ^f

from ancient times.

³Therefore, Israel will be abandoned ^g until the time

when she who is in labor ^h has given birth;

then the rest of the ruler’s brothers ⁱ will return

to the people of Israel. ^j

⁴He will stand and shepherd them ^k

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. ^l

⁵He will be their peace. ^m

When Assyria invades our land, ⁿ

when it marches against our fortresses,

we will raise against it seven shepherds,

even eight leaders of men.

⁶They will shepherd ^o the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod ^p with a drawn blade. ^q

So he will rescue us ^r from Assyria

when it invades our land,

when it marches against our territory.

The Glorious and Purified Remnant

⁷Then the remnant of Jacob ^s

will be among many peoples

like dew from the Lord, ^t

like showers on the grass, ^u

which do not wait for anyone

or linger for mankind.

⁸Then the remnant of Jacob

will be among the nations, among many peoples,

like a lion among animals of the forest, ^v

like a young lion among flocks of sheep,

which tramples ^w and tears ^x as it passes through,

and there is no one to rescue them. ^y

⁹Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, ^z

and all your enemies will be destroyed.

¹⁰In that day —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

I will remove your horses from you ^aa

and wreck your chariots.

¹¹I will remove the cities of your land ^ab

and tear down all your fortresses. ^ac

¹²I will remove sorceries from your hands, ^ad

and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.

¹³I will remove your carved images ^ae

and sacred pillars from you

so that you will no longer worship

the work of your hands.

¹⁴I will pull up the Asherah poles ^af from among you ^ag

and demolish your cities. ^ah

¹⁵I will take vengeance in anger and wrath ^ai

against the nations that have not obeyed me.