Micah 5

KJV · Chapter 5/7

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Micah prophesies that a ruler would come out of Bethlehem, a small town, to shepherd Israel in the strength of the Lord, and that this leader would bring peace and security against Israel's enemies.

Explanation

This is one of the most frequently quoted messianic chapters in the Old Testament: the prophecy that the promised ruler would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah, a small town of little political importance, defying expectations that a glorious king would come from a major capital. The phrase 'whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting' suggests an origin that transcends ordinary human time. The chapter also promises deliverance from the Assyrian threat through 'seven shepherds, and eight principal men,' a Hebrew expression indicating a more-than-sufficient number of capable leaders, not a literal count. The application today: God often chooses humble origins to accomplish His greatest purposes, challenging human standards of greatness.

Fun facts

Matthew 2:6 directly quotes Micah 5:2 when the wise men ask Herod where the Messiah was to be born, and the priests and scribes answer by citing this very prophecy — directly linking this text to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
'Bethlehem Ephrathah' distinguishes this Bethlehem (the one in Judah, south of Jerusalem) from another town of the same name in the region of Galilee, showing the prophecy's care in specifying exactly which location was in view.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Micah 5:1"They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek" describes a gesture of public humiliation against the ruler, typical of a siege won by the enemy.
Micah 5:2This is the book's most famous prophecy: Bethlehem, a small town among the clans of Judah, singled out as the origin of a future ruler — the Gospel of Matthew quotes this verse directly when telling of Jesus' birth.
Micah 5:3Israel will go through a period of waiting and suffering, like labor pains, until the ruler promised in Bethlehem (previous verse) is born — only then will the exiles be able to return.
Micah 5:4Describes the promised ruler as a shepherd who will care for the people with the very strength of God, with fame that will spread to the ends of the earth.
Micah 5:5"Seven shepherds, and eight principal men" is not an exact count, it is a Hebrew expression meaning "leaders to spare" — enough and more than enough to face the Assyrian threat.
Micah 5:6Continuing the promise of peace: those leaders ("seven shepherds, and eight principal men," that is, leaders to spare) will defeat Assyria itself within enemy territory.
Micah 5:7The remnant of Jacob will be like dew and rain coming straight from God, a blessing that arrives without depending on any human action, scattered among the nations.
Micah 5:8In the same breath, the remnant of Jacob is also compared to a lion among other animals — at once gentle like dew and strong like a predator, depending on how the nations treat it.
Micah 5:9A direct promise of military victory: the people's hand will be lifted up over their adversaries, and all their enemies will be cut off.
Micah 5:10Part of a future purification: God will eliminate even the people's own military resources — horses and war chariots — removing their trust in military strength.
Micah 5:11The purification continues: even the fortified cities and strongholds the people trusted in will be torn down, leaving only trust in God.
Micah 5:12Eliminating witchcraft, soothsayers, and carved images describes a religious purification: the future the prophet announces has no room for the pagan practices the people had mixed into worship of the Lord.
Micah 5:13God promises to remove all the carved idols and standing images, putting a final end to the idolatry the people had practiced for generations.
Micah 5:14The "groves" were sacred poles or trees used in pagan fertility worship; God promises to pull them up along with the destruction of the very cities that housed them.
Micah 5:15The chapter closes with a warning: while Israel is purified, the nations that refuse to listen to God will still suffer His vengeance, full of anger and fury.

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