Micah 5:2-4

The Voice

This difficult passage recalls the judges who ruled God’s people in Canaan as it looks forward to the Redeemer from the insignificant town of Bethlehem.

²    But you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
        of the clans of Judah, are no poor relation—
    From your people will come a Ruler
        who will be the shepherd of My people, Israel,^[a]
    Whose origins date back to the distant past,
        to the ancient days.

³So God will abandon Israel
    only until the now-laboring mother gives birth,
And then those of His people who survive
    will be gathered back together with the rest of Israel.
⁴And he will stand and feed his flock in the power of the Eternal One,
    with the majesty of the name of the Eternal, his True God.
And they will live in safety, for his greatness will extend to the farthest parts of the earth.