5 1 The destruction of Jerusalem. 2 The excellency of Bethlehem.
1 Now assemble thy garrisons, O daughter [a]of garrisons: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 And thou Bethlehem Ephrathah art [b]little to be among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that shall be the ruler in Israel: whose [c]goings forth have been from the beginning and from everlasting.
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that [d]she which shall bear, shall travail: then the remnant of their brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall [e]stand, and feed in the strength of the Lord, and in the majesty of the Name of the Lord his God, and they shall dwell still: for now shall he be magnified unto the ends of the world.
5 And he [f]shall be our peace when Assyria shall come into our land: when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
6 And they shall destroy [g]Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with their swords: thus shall he [h]deliver us from Assyria, when he cometh into our land, and when he shall tread within our borders.
7 And the [i]remnant of Jacob shall be among many people, as a dew from the Lord, and as the showers upon the grass, that waiteth not for man, nor hopeth in the sons of Adam.
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people, as the Lion among the beasts of the forest, and as the Lion whelp among the flocks of sheep, who when he goeth through, treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thine [j]horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots.
11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and overthrow all thy strongholds.
12 And I will cut off thine enchanters out of thine hand: and thou shalt have no more soothsayers.
13 Thine idols also will I cut off, and thine images out of the midst of thee: and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thine enemies.
15 And I will execute a vengeance in my wrath and indignation upon the heathen, [k]which they have not heard.
Footnotes
- Micah 5:1 He forewarneth them of the dangers that shall come before they enjoy these comforts, showing that forasmuch as Jerusalem was accustomed with her garrisons to trouble others, the Lord would now cause other garrisons to vex her, and that her rulers should be smitten on the face most contemptuously.
- Micah 5:2 For so the Jews divided their country that for every thousand there was a chief captain: and because Bethlehem was not able to make a thousand, he calleth it little, but yet God will raise up his captain and governor therein: and thus it is not the least by reason of this benefit, as Matt. 2:6.
- Micah 5:2 He showeth that the coming of Christ and all his ways were appointed of God from all eternity.
- Micah 5:3 He compareth the Jews to women with child, who for a time should have great sorrows, but at length they should have a comfortable deliverance, John 16:21.
- Micah 5:4 That is, Christ’s kingdom shall be stable and everlasting, and his people as well the Gentiles as the Jews shall dwell in safety.
- Micah 5:5 This Messiah shall be a sufficient safeguard for us, and though the enemy invade us for a time, yet shall God stir up many which shall be able to deliver us.
- Micah 5:6 These whom God shall raise up for the deliverance of his Church, shall destroy all the enemies thereof, which are meant here by the Assyrians and Babylonians which were the chief at that time.
- Micah 5:6 By these governors will God deliver us when the enemy cometh into our land.
- Micah 5:7 This remnant or Church which God shall deliver shall only depend on God’s power and defense, as doth the grass of the field, and not on the hope of man.
- Micah 5:10 I will destroy all things wherein thou puttest thy confidence, as thy vain confidence and idolatry, and so will help thee.
- Micah 5:15 It shall be so terrible that the like hath not been heard of.