But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah
1 ① But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, from the ancient times.
2Yahweh, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of his deported brothers will return to the people of Israel.
3He will stand and shepherd his flock with the strength of Yahweh, in the glorious Name of Yahweh, his God. They will live safely while he wins renown to the ends of the earth. 4He shall be peace.
5They will rule Assyria with the sword, and Babylonia with the bared blade. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they come into our land, when they set foot within our borders. 6Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples,
like dew dropping down from Yahweh, like showers falling upon the grass. For they do not put their hope in man or expect anything from mortals.
7The remnant of Jacob will then be in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion in a flock of sheep, trampling down as it goes,
mangling its prey, and no rescuer in sight.
8May your hand be raised high over your foes,
and all your enemies perish.
9“On that day – Yahweh speaks – I will drive away your horses;
I will wreck your chariots,
10I will demolish your cities and tear down your strongholds.
11I will do away with your witchcraft and rid you of soothsayers.
12I will abolish your carved images, the sacred stones from your midst, so that you no longer worship the work of your hands.
13I will pull down your sacred poles and destroy all your idols.
14In raging fury I will take vengeance upon the nations that have not obeyed me.”
- Mic 5,1 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. That is to say that the Messiah will come from the line of David whose roots are in Bethlehem. It is not clear if the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem, in spite of the fact that Micah seems to contrast this peaceful king, born in a rural area, with the useless kings of the capital. Later, many believed that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem: see John 7:42. Matthew's Gospel shows how this prophecy was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus (Mt 2:6).
