But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah
1 But you, Bethlehem Ephra thah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, from the ancient times.
2 Yahweh, therefore, will abandon Is rael until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of his deported brothers will return to the peo ple of Israel.
3 He will stand and shepherd his flock with the strength of Yahweh, in the glorious Name of Yahweh, his God. They will live safely while he wins renown to the ends of the earth.
4 He shall be peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land
and sets foot on our territory,
we will raise against him
not one but seven shepherds,
eight warlords.
5 They will rule Assyria with the sword,
and Babylonia with the bared blade.
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they come into our land,
when they set foot within our borders.
6 Then the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples,
like dew dropping down from Yahweh,
like showers falling upon the grass.
For they do not put their hope in man
or expect anything from mortals.
7 The remnant of Jacob will then be
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion in a flock of sheep,
trampling down as it goes,
mangling its prey, and no rescuer in sight.
8 May your hand be raised high over your foes,
and all your enemies perish.
9 “On that day – Yahweh speaks –
I will drive away your horses;
I will wreck your chariots,
10 I will demolish your cities
and tear down your strongholds.
11 I will do away with your witchcraft
and rid you of soothsayers.
12 I will abolish your carved images,
the sacred stones from your midst,
so that you no longer worship the work of your hands.
13 I will pull down your sacred poles
and destroy all your idols.
14 In raging fury I will take vengeance
upon the nations that have not obeyed me.”
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Comments Micah, Chapter 5
• 5.1 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. That is to say that the Messiah will come from the line of David whose roots are in Bethlehem. It is not clear if the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem, in spite of the fact that Micah seems to contrast this peaceful king, born in a rural area, with the useless kings of the capital. Later, many believed that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem: see John 7:42. Mat thew’s Gospel shows how this pro phecy was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus (Mt 2:6).