Micah 4:9

Micah 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
• New International Version (NIV)Why do you now cry aloud— have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor.

Context of Micah 4:9

7And I will make the lame into a remnant, the outcast into a strong nation. Then the LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. 8And you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion— the former dominion will be restored to you; sovereignty will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.” Why do you now cry aloud? Is there no king among you? Has your counselor perished so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor? 10Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies! 11But now many nations have assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”

Micah 4:9 word by word

עַתָּ֕ה לָ֥מָּה תָרִ֖יעִי רֵ֑עַ הֲמֶ֣לֶךְ אֵֽין־בָּ֗ךְ אִֽם־יוֹעֲצֵךְ֙ אָבָ֔ד כִּֽי־הֶחֱזִיקֵ֥ךְ חִ֖יל כַּיּוֹלֵדָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• Whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• do you nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• cryרוּעַrûa‛ · to shoutH7321
• aloudרֵעַrêa‛ · shoutingH7452
• Is there noאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• Hasאִם'im · if: surely yesH518
• your counselorיָעַץyâ‛ats · to adviseH3289
• perishedאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• so thatכִּיkîy · forH3588
• anguishחִילchîyl chîylâh · agonyH2427
• grips youחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: holdH2388
• like a woman in laborיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205

Cross-references for Micah 4:9

• Jeremiah 4:21How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?
• Jeremiah 8:19Listen to the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?”
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see: Can a male give birth? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
• Isaiah 3:1For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
• Lamentations 4:20The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. We had said of him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.”
• Hosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
• Hosea 10:3Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”
• Hosea 13:10Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?
• Isaiah 13:8Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
• Isaiah 21:3Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.
• Isaiah 26:17As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
• Jeremiah 22:23O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
• Jeremiah 50:43The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

Commentaries on Micah 4:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Is there no King in thee? - None. And why? Because thou hast rejected Jehovah thy king. Is thy counsellor perished? - No: but thou hast rejected the words and advices of the prophets. Pangs have taken thee - He is speaking of the desolations that should take place when the Chaldeans should come against the city; and hence he says, "Thou shalt go to Babylon;" ye shall be cast out of your own land, and sent slaves to a foreign country, He represents the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Now - The prophet places himself in the midst of their deepest sorrows, and out of them he promises comfort. “Why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no King in thee? is thy Counsellor perished?”. Is then all lost, because thou hast no visible king, none to counsel thee or consult for thee?. Very remarkably he speaks of their “King and Counsellor” as one, as if to say, “When all beside is gone, there is One who abides. Though thou be a captive, God will not…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 Many nations would assemble against Zion to rejoice in her calamities. They would not understand that the Lord had collected them as sheaves are gathered to be threshed; and that Zion would be strengthened to beat them to pieces. Nothing has yet taken place in the history of the Jewish church agreeing with this prediction. When God has conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with strength and ability for it. Believers should…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Israel's king and wise people were meant to lead and live by the Lord's instructions and covenant (Deuteronomy 17:18–20). Now, however, the people would lack godly leadership (compare Judges 17:6; 18:1; 21:25).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Addressed to the daughter of Zion, in her consternation at the approach of the Chaldeans. is there no king in thee?--asked tauntingly. There is a king in her; but it is the same as if there were none, so helpless to devise means of escape are he and his counsellors [Maurer]. Or, Zion's pains are because her king is taken away from her (Jr 52:9; La 4:20; Eze 12:13) [Calvin]. The former is perhaps the preferable view (compare Jr 49:7). The latter…Read the comment

Topics related to Micah 4:9

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Micah (2)
• Take

Commentaries on Micah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings