English Standard Version
Micah 4:9
9Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
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?
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But why are you now screaming in terror? Have you no king to lead you? Have your wise people all died? Pain has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.
Context of Micah 4:9
7and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. 8And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem. 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? 10Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. 11Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, "Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion."
Read all of Micah 4Micah 4:9 word by word
עַתָּ֕ה לָ֥מָּה תָרִ֖יעִי רֵ֑עַ הֲמֶ֣לֶךְ אֵֽין־בָּ֗ךְ אִֽם־יוֹעֲצֵךְ֙ אָבָ֔ד כִּֽי־הֶחֱזִיקֵ֥ךְ חִ֖יל כַּיּוֹלֵדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now why dost thou cryרוּעַrûa‛ · to shoutH7321
- out aloudרֵעַrêa‛ · shoutingH7452
- no kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- in thee? is thy counsellorיָעַץyâ‛ats · to adviseH3289
- perishedאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
- for pangsחִילchîyl chîylâh · agonyH2427
- have takenחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: holdH2388
- thee as a woman in travailיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
Cross-references for Micah 4:9
- Jeremiah 4:21How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
- Jeremiah 8:19Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?"
- Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?
- Isaiah 3:1For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water;
- Lamentations 4:20The breath of our nostrils, the Lord's anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, "Under his shadow we shall live among the nations."
- Hosea 3:4For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
- Hosea 10:3For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?"
- Hosea 13:10Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, "Give me a king and princes"?
- Isaiah 13:8They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
- Isaiah 21:3Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
- Isaiah 26:17Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O Lord;
- Jeremiah 22:23O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!"
- Jeremiah 50:43"The king of Babylon heard the report of them, and his hands fell helpless; anguish seized him, pain as 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries