A thoughtful guide for your walk of faith Read with context, practice with grace.
Minor Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Micah 5

Judgment on corrupt power is joined to hope for a shepherd-king and restored remnant.

Old Testament

Micah 5

1Now you shall gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.

3Therefore he will abandon them until the time that she who is in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel.

4He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. They will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.

5He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land and when he marches through our fortresses, then we will raise against him seven shepherds, and eight leaders of men.

6They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in its gates. He will deliver us from the Assyrian, when he invades our land, and when he marches within our border.

7The remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, that don’t wait for man nor wait for the sons of men.

8The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is no one to deliver.

9Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all of your enemies be cut off.

10“It will happen in that day”, says the LORD, “that I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots.

11I will cut off the cities of your land and will tear down all your strongholds.

12I will destroy witchcraft from your hand. You shall have no soothsayers.

13I will cut off your engraved images and your pillars from among you; and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.

14I will uproot your Asherah poles from among you; and I will destroy your cities.

15I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that didn’t listen.”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment on corrupt power is joined to hope for a shepherd-king and restored remnant. Read Micah 5 within the complete Micah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Micah 5

Micah 5 contains 15 verses and about 392 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Now you shall gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 15 closes: “I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that didn’t listen.”” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, land, like, israel, destroy, troops. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Micah 5

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Micah 5:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer