Micah and Bethlehem Ephratah

The words

1. Assyrian

   The prophecy anticipates an Assyrian invasion and deliverance; its response includes laying waste Assyria and Nimrod’s land with the sword.

   Micah 5:5–6 (opens a new tab)

2. Bethlehem

   Micah addresses Bethlehem Ephratah as small among Judah’s groups, yet says a ruler in Israel will come from it.

   Did you know?

   Matthew 2:4–6 later quotes the prophecy in the reply to Herod’s question about where Christ should be born.

   Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 2:4–6 (opens a new tab)

3. Do Justly

   Carry out justice, in the NET.

   After questions about offerings, including a firstborn child for sin, Micah’s answer names doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly.

   Micah 6:6–8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 6:8 (opens a new tab)

4. Ephratah

   Ephrathah, the NET’s spelling.

   The NET note treats Ephratah as either another name for Bethlehem or the district in which Bethlehem was located.

   Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab)

5. Love Mercy

   Micah places loving mercy between doing justly and walking humbly with God; the NET expresses it as “love faithfulness.”

   Did you know?

   The NET note offers “love faithfully” as another rendering, making faithfulness describe the act of loving.

   Micah 6:8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 6:8 (opens a new tab)

6. Micah

   The opening places Micah’s message about Samaria and Jerusalem in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

   Micah 1:1 (opens a new tab)

7. Peace

   The KJV calls the coming figure “the peace,” then describes the Assyrian entering the land; the NET renders it “He will give us peace.”

   Micah 5:5 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:5 (opens a new tab)

8. Principal Men

   Commanders, in the NET.

   The eight principal men are raised alongside seven shepherds when the Assyrian enters the land and treads within its palaces.

   Micah 5:5 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:5 (opens a new tab)

9. Remnant

   Survivors from Jacob, in the NET.

   Jacob’s remnant receives two comparisons in successive verses: dew and showers among many peoples, then a lion among the nations.

   Micah 5:7–8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:7-8 (opens a new tab)

10. Ruler

    The ruler from Bethlehem has goings forth “from everlasting” in the KJV; the NET renders his origins “in the distant past.”

    Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab)

11. Shepherds

    Shepherd-rulers, in the NET.

    The response to the Assyrian calls for seven shepherds and eight principal men, followed by a promise of deliverance from the invasion.

    Did you know?

    The NET note explains the seven/eight pair as a way to express completeness and more than enough strength against the invader.

    Micah 5:5–6 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:5 (opens a new tab)

12. Showers

    Micah compares the remnant to dew and showers on grass, describing rain that does not wait for human beings.

    Micah 5:7 (opens a new tab)

13. Thousands

    Clans, in the NET’s wording.

    The promised ruler comes from Bethlehem despite its small standing among Judah’s groups; the KJV names those groups “thousands.”

    Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 5:2 (opens a new tab)

14. Walk Humbly

    The KJV closes the reply with “walk humbly with thy God”; the NET reads “live obediently before your God.”

    Micah 6:8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Micah 6:8 (opens a new tab)

15. Young Lion

    The remnant is pictured as a young lion among sheep, trampling and tearing; the next verse says its enemies will be cut off.

    Micah 5:8–9 (opens a new tab)