Micah 5

Amplified Bible

Birth of the King in Bethlehem

5 “Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops;
A state of siege has been placed against us.
They shall strike the ruler of Israel on the cheek with a rod (scepter).
²
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah;
From you One shall come forth for Me [who is] to be Ruler in Israel,
His goings forth (appearances) are from long ago,
From ^[a]ancient days.”^(A)
³
Therefore, He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has given birth to a child.
Then what is left of His kinsmen
Shall return to the children of Israel.
⁴
And He shall stand and shepherd and guide His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall dwell [secure in undisturbed peace],
Because at that time He shall be great [extending His authority]
[Even] to the ends of the earth.^(B)
⁵
This One [the Messiah] shall be our peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land
And tramples on our citadels and in our palaces,
Then shall we raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princes [an overpowering force] among men.^(C)
⁶
They shall devastate the land of Assyria with the sword and
The land of Nimrod within her [own] gates.
And He (the Messiah) shall rescue us from the Assyrian (all enemy nations)
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.

⁷
Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among many peoples
Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass [a source of blessing]
Which [come suddenly and] do not wait for man
Nor delay for the sons of men.^(D)
⁸
The remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the nations,
In the midst of many peoples
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion [suddenly appearing] among the flocks of sheep
Which, if he passes through,
Tramples down and tears into pieces [the nations in judgment],
And there is no one to rescue.
⁹
Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be cut off and destroyed.

¹⁰
“And in that day,” says the Lord,
“I will cut off your horses from among you
And destroy your chariots [on which you depend].^(E)
¹¹
“I will cut off the cities of your land
And tear down all your fortifications.
¹²
“I will cut off witchcrafts and sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no more fortune-tellers.
¹³
“I will also cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer worship and bow down
To the work of your hands.
¹⁴
“I will root out your Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) from among you
And destroy your cities [which are the centers of pagan worship].^(F)
¹⁵
“And in anger and wrath I shall execute vengeance
On the nations which have not obeyed [such vengeance as they have not known before].”