Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, small to be among the thousands of Judah, from you one will come out for me to be ruler in Israel, and his goings out are from of old, from the days of long ago.”
Micah 5:2 · direct translation from the Hebrew

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Bethlehem, a small town, will be where the future ruler comes fromWho Jesus Is

With the Hebrew beneath

But you,וְאַתָּהBethlehemבֵּית לֶחֶםEphrathah,אֶפְרָתָהsmallצָעִירto beלִהְיוֹתamong the thousandsבְּאַלְפֵיof Judah,יְהוּדָהfrom youמִמְּךָone will come outיֵצֵאfor meלִיto beלִהְיוֹתrulerמוֹשֵׁלin Israel,בְּיִשְׂרָאֵלand his goings outוּמוֹצָאֹתָיוare from of old,מִקֶּדֶםfrom the daysמִימֵיof long ago.עוֹלָם

Quotation · Matthew 2:6

Go to Matthew 2:6

The high priests and the scribes answer Herod with Micah. Micah calls Bethlehem “small to be among the thousands of Judah”; in Matthew it reads “you are by no means least.”

Formula: οὕτως γὰρ γέγραπται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου “for so it is written through the prophet” (Matthew 2:5)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: Καὶ σύ Βηθλέεμ γῆ Ἰούδα οὐδαμῶς ἐλαχίστη εἶ ἐν τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν Ἰούδα ἐκ σοῦ γὰρ ἐξελεύσεται ἡγούμενος ὅστις ποιμανεῖ τὸν λαόν μου τὸν Ἰσραήλ

Hebrew (Masoretic text): וְאַתָּה בֵּית לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה צָעִיר לִהְיוֹת בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא לִהְיוֹת מוֹשֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמוֹצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם מִימֵי עוֹלָם

Septuagint (Micah 5:2-3 in the Septuagint numbering): Καὶ σύ, Βηθλέεμ οἶκος Ἐφράθα, ὀλιγοστὸς εἶ τοῦ εἶναι ἐν χιλιάσιν Ἰούδα· ἐξ οὗ μοι ἐξελεύσεται τοῦ εἶναι εἰς ἄρχοντα τοῦ διὰ τοῦτο δώσει αὐτοὺς ἕως καιροῦ τικτούσης τέξεται, καὶ οἱ ἐπίλοιποι τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιστρέψουσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραήλ.

In the Septuagint verse that most resembles it, at most 3 consecutive words match the Greek of the NT. The transcription has reading errors, so a match may not show.

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Micah 5:2, word by word

Bethlehemבֵּיתbet

Bethlehem

See it on the map Where else “bet” appears

Ephrathahאֶפְרָתָהefrata

Ephrath

Ephrath, an old name of Bethlehem and its district.

Where else “efrata” appears

smallצָעִירtsair

small

Of little importance.

Where else “tsair” appears

to beהְיוֹתheot

To be: "I will be their Elohim".

Where else “heot” appears

among the thousandsאַלְפֵיalfe

division

A large unit of the army or a tribe, led by a chief.

Where else “alfe” appears

of Judahיְהוּדָהyehuda

Judah

Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah; also the tribe that came from him and its land, and later the southern kingdom; King David came from it. The name sounds like "give thanks". Borne also by other Israelites.

Where else “yehuda” appears

one will come outיֵצֵאyetse

go out

To go out of a place.

Where else “yetse” appears

rulerמוֹשֵׁלmoshel

ruler

A person with authority who commands a people, good or bad.

Where else “moshel” appears

in Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael

Israel

Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.

Where else “yisrael” appears

and his goings outמוֹצָאֹתָיmotsaotay

origin

Origin: where someone comes from, from of old.

Where else “motsaotay” appears

are from of oldקֶּדֶםkedem

of old

Times long ago, from far back.

Where else “kedem” appears

from the daysימֵיyme

time

Literally "the days": a period, an age, or the span of someone's life.

Where else “yme” appears

of long agoעוֹלָםolam

of old

The times of the forefathers, far back in the past.

Where else “olam” appears

Translation note

עוֹלָם can indicate a very distant past or eternity. Matthew 2:6 quotes this verse and applies it to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Matthew 2:6

The high priests and the scribes answer Herod with Micah. Micah calls Bethlehem “small to be among the thousands of Judah”; in Matthew it reads “you are by no means least.”

See them side by side

Micah 5:2

²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, small to be among the thousands of Judah, from you one will come out for me to be ruler in Israel, and his goings out are from of old, from the days of long ago.

Matthew 2:6

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Places in this verse

Approximate location. A “?” means it is not known for sure where it was.

Bethlehem
Today: Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm), West Bank
A town in Judea, about 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Jerusalem.
Rachel died near it (Gen 35:19), Naomi and Ruth lived there (Ruth 1:1), and David was born there. Micah said a ruler would come from it, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2; Matt 2:1).
Genesis 35:19 Ruth 1:1 Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:1

The context

1Now gather yourself in bands, daughter of bands; a siege he has laid against us; with the rod they will strike on the cheek the judge of Israel.

2 · This verse (above)

3Therefore he will give them up until the time when she who is to give birth has given birth; and the rest of his brothers will return to the sons of Israel.

Read all of Micah 5

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