Micah 5

1 ‘Now cut yourself in bitter grief, daughter besieged by soldiers. They have set a wall around you. They strike the ruler of Israel, in the face with a rod.

Now shall the daughter [of Sion] be completely hedged in: he has laid siege against us: they shall smite the tribes of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

2 ‘Bethlehem in Ephrathah, small among the tribes of Judah, from you will come a king who will rule for me over Israel, whose family line goes back to the distant past.’

And thou, Bethleem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be [reckoned] among the thousands of Juda; [yet] out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, [even] from eternity.

3 So the Lord will only abandon Israel to its enemies until the woman in labour gives birth. Then the survivors will be reunited with their own people.

Therefore shall he appoint them [to wait] till the time of her that travails: she shall bring forth, and [then] the remnant of their brethren shall return to the children of Israel.

4 And he will stand and shepherd by the strength of the Lord, In the exalted name of the Lord his God; And they will live in security, for now he will be great, even to the ends of the earth.

And the Lord shall stand, and see, and feed his flock with power, and they shall dwell in the glory of the name of the Lord their God: for now shall they be magnified to the ends of the earth.

5 This will be our peace: when Assyria comes into our land and treads on our soil, we will raise up against him seven shepherds, eight leaders of men.

And she shall have peace when Assur shall come into your land, and when he shall come up upon your country; and there shall be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight attacks of men.

6 They will shepherd Assyria with a sword, and the land of Nimrod with bared blades. They will deliver us from Assyria, when they come into our land, and tread within our borders.

And they shall tend the Assyrian with a sword, and the land of Nebrod with her trench: and he shall deliver [you] from the Assyrian, when he shall come upon your land, and when he shall invade your coasts.

7 And the survivors of Jacob will be disbursed among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which don’t wait for people to come or linger for mortals.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples, as dew falling from the Lord, and as lambs on the grass; that none may assemble nor resist among the sons of men.

8 And the survivors of Jacob will be disbursed among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the sheep-folds, who, when he passes through, pounces. He savages his prey. There is no rescuer.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many nations, as a lion in the forest among cattle, and as a [lion's] whelp among the flocks of sheep, even as when he goes through, and selects, and carries off [his prey], and there is none to deliver.

9 Let your hand triumph over your adversaries, let all your enemies be cut off.

Thine hand shall be lifted up against them that afflict thee, and all thine enemies shall be utterly destroyed.

10 On that day, says the Lord: ‘I will slaughter your horses from your midst, and destroy your chariots.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, [that] I will utterly destroy the horses out of the midst of thee, and destroy thy chariots;

11 I will devastate the cities in your land, and tear down your fortresses.

and I will utterly destroy the cities of thy land, and demolish all thy strong-holds:

12 I will destroy your magic charms, and you will have no soothsayers.

and I will utterly destroy thy sorceries out of thine hands; and there shall be no soothsayers in thee.

13 I will cut down your idols and sacred pillars, and you will not worship any more the work of your hands.

And I will utterly destroy thy graven images, and thy statues out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt never any more worship the works of thine hands.

14 I will uproot your sacred poles, and destroy your idols.

And I will cut off the groves out of the midst of thee, and I will abolish thy cities.

15 In my wrath and my anger I will seek vengeance on the nations that ignore me.’

and I will execute vengeance on the heathen in anger and wrath, because they hearkened not.