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

7I will make her who was limping into a remnant, and her who was banished a mighty nation. Adonai will reign over them on Mount Zion from that time and forever.” 8But you, watchtower of the flock, are the hill of the Daughter of Zion. To you she will come. Even the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the Daughter of Jerusalem. Why are you crying out aloud now? Is there no King within you? Has your counselor perished, so that agony has gripped you like birth pangs? 10Writhe and give birth, Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will go forth from a city. You will dwell in the field, and you will come as far as Babylon. There you will be rescued. There will Adonai redeem you from the hand of your enemies. 11But now many nations have assembled against you, those who are saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze 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

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 battle standard and hear the sound of the shofar?
• Jeremiah 8:19Listen, the sound of the cry of the daughter of my people —a voice from a distant land— “Is Adonai no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer in her?” “Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?”
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see whether a man can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman giving birth? Why have all faces turned pale?
• Isaiah 3:1For behold! The Lord, Adonai-Tzva’ot, takes from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, every supply of bread and every supply of water,
• Lamentations 4:20The anointed of Adonai, the breath of our nostrils, was captured in their pits, of whom we have said, “Under His shadow we will live among the nations.”
• Hosea 3:4For Bnei-Yisrael will remain for many days without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without sacred pillar, and without ephod or teraphim.
• Hosea 10:3Surely now they will say: “We have no king, for we have not feared Adonai. The king—what can he do for us?”
• Hosea 13:10Where then is your king? So, will he save you in all your cities? Or your judges, to whom you said: ‘Give me a king and princes!’
• Isaiah 13:8They will be terrified; pain and anguish will take hold of them; they will writhe as a woman in labor; they will look aghast at one another— their faces aflame!
• Isaiah 21:3Therefore my body is filled with pain. Pangs have taken hold of me like the pangs of a woman in labor. I am bewildered by what I hear, terrified by what I see.
• Isaiah 26:17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so we were before You, Adonai.
• Jeremiah 22:23O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs come on you, pain like a woman in travail!
• Jeremiah 50:43Babylon’s king heard news of them. His hands droop; anguish grabs him, agony like 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