Micah 5

1Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

2But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.footnote a

3Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

4And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.footnote b

5And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.footnote c

6And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.footnote dfootnote e

7And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

8And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.footnote f

9Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

10And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:

11And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:

12And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

13Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.footnote g

14And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.footnote h

15And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

A Ruler from Bethlehem

1Now, O daughter of troops,mobilize your troops;for a siege is laid against us!With a rod they will strike the cheekof the judge of Israel. 2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,who are small among the clansfootnote aof Judah,out of you will come forth for MeOne to be ruler over Israelfootnote b—One whose origins are of old,from the days of eternity. 3Therefore Israel will be abandoneduntil she who is in labor has given birth;then the rest of His brothers will returnto the children of Israel.

4He will stand and shepherd His flockin the strength of the LORD,in the majestic name of the LORD His God.And they will dwell securely,for then His greatness will extendto the ends of the earth. 5And He will be our peacefootnote cwhen Assyria invades our landand tramples our citadels.We will raise against it seven shepherds,even eight leaders of men. 6And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn.So He will deliver uswhen Assyria invades our landand marches into our borders.

The Remnant of Jacob

7Then the remnant of Jacob will bein the midst of many peopleslike dew from the LORD,like showers on the grass,which do not wait for manor linger for mankind. 8Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,in the midst of many peoples,like a lion among the beasts of the forest,like a young lion among flocks of sheep,which tramples and tears as it passes through,with no one to rescue them. 9Your hand will be lifted over your foes,and all your enemies will be cut off.

10“In that day,”declares the LORD,“I will remove your horses from among youand wreck your chariots. 11I will remove the cities of your landand tear down all your strongholds. 12I will cut the sorceries from your hand,and you will have no fortune-tellers. 13I will also cut off the carved imagesand sacred pillars from among you,so that you will no longer bow downto the work of your own hands. 14I will root out the Asherah poles from your midstand demolish your cities. 15I will take vengeance in anger and wrathupon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”