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Micah 5:2

KJV

But thou, Bethlehem 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.

Read it in context A Ruler from Bethlehem
Start reading at Micah 5:1 (Micah 5:1 to Micah 5:6). An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.

This opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Promises concerning Zion and the ruler from Bethlehem appear alongside conflict and purification, carrying hope beyond the announced judgment.

  1. 5:1 Now 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.
  2. 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem 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.
  3. 5:3 Therefore 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.
  4. 5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
  5. 5:5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
  6. 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

Who

What

When

Where

How

Cited: Micah 5:1, Micah 5:6, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:5, Matthew 2:6

Who wrote it, and how we know

Micah Named in Scripture
What Scripture saysThe book opens with the word of the LORD that came to Micah. Micah 1:1
Early traditionTradition names Micah.

Old Testament prophecy and New Testament fulfillment

The notes distinguish explicit fulfillment statements from other explicit New Testament applications. They do not assume every detail of the surrounding prophecy has already been fulfilled.

The ruler from Bethlehem

NT explicitly applies this passage

Matthew records the scriptural answer naming Bethlehem as the ruler's birthplace. The quoted wording also reflects shepherd-ruler language; this link does not claim all of Micah 5 is exhausted by the birth narrative.

Related passages

Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).

Macro-Structure

See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.

Macro-Structure of Micah 5

Micah's opening locates his vision concerning Samaria and Jerusalem in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The book alternates indictment and hope rather than presenting one undifferentiated promise. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.

Micah 1:1 Micah 3:1 Micah 6:8

A Ruler from Bethlehem
Micah 5:1–6 You are here · 5:2

FocusHope amid distress

Connection to the wholeThis opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Promises concerning Zion and the ruler from Bethlehem appear alongside conflict and purification, carrying hope beyond the announced judgment.
interpretation
The Remnant of Jacob
Micah 5:7–15

FocusHope amid distress

Connection to the wholeThis unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. Promises concerning Zion and the ruler from Bethlehem appear alongside conflict and purification, carrying hope beyond the announced judgment.
interpretation

Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.

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