Revised Literal Translation
Micah 5:2
2But 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.1
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
1Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 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. 3Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 4And he shall stand and feed in the strength of Yhwh, in the majesty of the name of Yhwh his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
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
- 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 2:6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
- John 7:42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
- Genesis 35:19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth–lehem.
- Genesis 48:7And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth–lehem.
- Ruth 4:11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Yhwh make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth–lehem:
- 1 Samuel 17:12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth–lehem–judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath–jearim,
- 1 Chronicles 4:4And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Beth–lehem.
- Psalms 132:6Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.
- 1 Samuel 10:19And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Yhwh by your tribes, and by your thousands.
- 1 Samuel 23:23See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
- Exodus 18:21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
- Deuteronomy 1:15So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
- 1 Samuel 8:12And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
- 1 Samuel 17:18And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
- Isaiah 11:1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
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
Notes
- 1. Micah 5:2 everlasting: Heb. the days of eternity. ↩
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries