Bible Strands
Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Micah addresses Bethlehem directly in the shadow of a siege laid against Jerusalem (v. 1), and the promise is bracketed by military threat and the abandonment that follows until the birth (v. 3).
The words — צָעִיר (tza.'ir) means "insignificant" or "small," and it is the word that does the heaviest work in the verse, setting up the contrast with what follows.
The thread — Matthew 2:6 cites the verse but renders "small among the clans" as "least among the rulers," shifting the comparison from obscurity to rank. John 7:42 and Isaiah 9:6 both pick up the Bethlehem-and-eternal-rule connection.
Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to hold two facts at once: the town is insignificant, and the one who comes from it has no beginning. It refuses to let either fact cancel the other.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Matthew 2:6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
- John 7:42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
- Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Luke 1:31 Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
- Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
- Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
- 1 Samuel 17:12 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons. And in the days of Saul, Jesse was old and well along in years.