EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Micah 5:2
2But God tells us this: ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah is only a little town, among all the many towns in Judah,’ God says. ‘But I will choose someone who is born there. He will rule Israel for me. Long, long ago, I prepared for him to come.’
Micah 5:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
- New International Version (NIV)“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Context of Micah 5:2
1Soldiers in Jerusalem, come together! Get ready, because your enemies are attacking you. They are all round the city, ready to fight. They will hit Israel's ruler on his face with a stick. But God tells us this: ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah is only a little town, among all the many towns in Judah,’ God says. ‘But I will choose someone who is born there. He will rule Israel for me. Long, long ago, I prepared for him to come.’ 3So God will turn away from his people, until the time that the woman gives birth to this baby in Bethlehem. Then this ruler's own people who are still alive will return to Israel. 4And this ruler will stay strong because the Lord will make him strong. He will supply what his people need. He will be like a man who supplies everything for his sheep. He will rule with authority from the Lord his God, and his people will be safe. So then, all over the world, people will know that he is great.
Read all of Micah 5Micah 5:2 word by word
וְאַתָּ֞ה בֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם אֶפְרָ֗תָה צָעִיר֙ לִֽהְיוֹת֙ בְּאַלְפֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה מִמְּךָ֙ לִ֣י יֵצֵ֔א לִֽהְי֥וֹת מוֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמוֹצָאֹתָ֥יו מִקֶּ֖דֶם מִימֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But thou, Beth–lehemבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
- Ephratahאֶפְרָ֫תָה'ephrâth 'ephrâthâh · EphrathahH672
- thou be littleצָעִירtsâ‛îyr tsâ‛ôr · littleH6810
- among the thousandsאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousand: clanH505
- of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- out of thee shall he come forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
- to be rulerמָשַׁלmâshal · to ruleH4910
- in Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- whose goings forthמוֹצָאָהmôtsâ'âh · going forthH4163
- from of oldקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: oldH6924
- from everlastingעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: antiquityH5769
- from everlastingיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
Cross-references for Micah 5:2
- Matthew 2:6“People who live in Bethlehem, your town is a very important town in Judea. A person born in your town will become a leader of my people Israel. He will lead my people like a shepherd leads his sheep.” ’
- John 7:42The Bible says that the Messiah will come from King David's family. He will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.’
- Genesis 35:19After Rachel died, they buried near the road that goes to Ephrath.
- Genesis 48:7As for me, I was very sad when your mother Rachel died on our journey from Paddan. She died near to Ephrath. So I buried her there, next to the road to Ephrath (that is now called Bethlehem).’
- Ruth 4:11Then all the leaders and the other people at the gate said, ‘We have seen that this is true. We pray that the Lord will bless the woman who is coming into your home as your wife. We pray that he will bless her as he blessed Rachel and Leah. They gave birth to many children for the family of Israel. We pray that you will become a rich man in Ephrathah's clan. And we pray that you will become famous in Bethlehem town.
- 1 Samuel 17:12At this time, David's father Jesse was a very old man. Jesse belonged to the clan of Ephrathah. He came from Bethlehem town in Judah. He had e ight sons.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50Those people were Caleb's descendants. The sons of Ephrath's firstborn son, Hur, were: Shobal, Salma and Hareph. Shobal became the ancestor of Kiriath-Jearim. Salma became the ancestor of Bethlehem. Hareph became the ancestor of Beth-Gader.
- Psalms 132:6Listen! We heard the news at Ephrathah. We found God's Covenant Box in the fields of Jaar.
- 1 Samuel 10:19I am the one who saves you from all your pain and troubles. But now you have turned against me, your God. You have said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us instead.’ So now come and stand in front of the Lord. Stand together in your tribes and in your clans.” ’
- 1 Samuel 23:23Find all the places where he hides. When you know all about him, come back and tell me. Then I will come with you. If he is still in that region, I will surely find him. I will look through all the land of Judah and I will catch him.’
- Exodus 18:21But you must also choose some other clever men to help you. They must be honest men who respect God. They must not want to take money from people. Choose these men to be officers with authority over groups of the people. They will be leaders of 1,000 people, or 100 people, or 50 people, or 10 people.
- Deuteronomy 1:15So I chose men that you knew were wise to be the leaders in your tribes. I gave them authority to rule over you. Some were leaders of groups of 1,000 men. Some led groups of 100 men, or 50 men, or ten men. I also chose other officers for each tribe.
- 1 Samuel 8:12The king will choose some of your sons to be officers in his army. Some will be leaders of 1,000 soldiers. Others will be leaders of 50 soldiers. Some of your sons will have to plough the king's fields. They will have to cut his crops at harvest time. They will have to make weapons for the king to fight wars. They will have to fix his chariots.
- 1 Samuel 17:18Also take these ten pieces of cheese to the officer who leads their group of soldiers. Find out whether your brothers are well. Bring something back to me to show how they are.
- Isaiah 11:1A descendant of Jesse will appear, like a new branch that grows from a tree stump. The roots of the tree will give new fruit!
Commentaries on Micah 5:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah - I have considered this subject in great detail in the notes on Matthew 2:6, to which the reader will be pleased to refer. This verse should begin this chapter; the first verse belongs to the preceding chapter. Bethlehem Ephratah, to distinguish it from another Beth-lehem, which was in the tribe of Zebulun, Joshua 19:15. Thousands of Judah - The tribes were divided into small portions called thousands; as in our country…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2But - (And) thou, Bethlehem Ephratah With us, the chequered events of time stand in strong contrast, painful or gladdening. Good seems to efface evil, or evil blots out the memory of the good. God orders all in the continuous course of His Wisdom. All lies in perfect harmony in the Divine Mind. Each event is the sequel of what went before. So here the prophet joins on, what to us stands in such contrast, with that simple, And. Yet he describes the two…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Ephrathah was the ancient name of Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16; Ruth 4:11), where David was born. In the future, a ruler greater than David would come from there (Matthew 2:5–6; John 7:42). This future king's influence would span from the distant past (Hebrew qedem; compare Deuteronomy 33:27; Proverbs 8:22–23; Isaiah 37:26) to a time yet to come, suggesting a divine-human being.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Beth-lehem Ephratah--(Ge 48:7), or, Beth-lehem Judah; so called to distinguish it from Beth-lehem in Zebulun. It is a few miles southwest of Jerusalem. Beth-lehem means "the house of bread"; Ephratah means "fruitful": both names referring to the fertility of the region. though thou be little among--though thou be scarcely large enough to be reckoned among, &c. It was insignificant in size and population; so that in Jos 15:21, &c., it is not enumerated…Read the comment
Topics related to Micah 5:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Micah 5
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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