The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem
1
Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod p they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.
2
q But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of r Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be s ruler in Israel,
t whose coming forth is u from of old,
from ancient days.
3
Therefore he shall give them up v until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then w the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4
And he shall stand x and shepherd his flock y in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now z he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5
And he shall be a their peace.
b When the Assyrian comes into our land
and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven c shepherds
and eight princes of men;
6
they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of d Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
b when he comes into our land
and treads within our border.
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Cross References
1 Kings 22:24
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?
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Cross References
Matthew 2:6
"'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
John 7:42
Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?
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Cross References
Hebrews 7:14
For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
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Cross References
Genesis 49:10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Isaiah 9:6 - 7
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jeremiah 30:21
Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the Lord.
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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Cross References
Hosea 6:3
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord ; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.
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Cross References
Psalms 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Proverbs 8:22 - 23
The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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Cross References
Micah 4:9 - 10
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?
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Cross References
Micah 4:7
And the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.
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Cross References
Isaiah 40:11
He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
Micah 7:14
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.
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Cross References
Isaiah 11:3 - 5
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear.
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Cross References
Psalms 72:8
May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
Isaiah 52:13
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.
Luke 1:32
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
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Cross References
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Zechariah 9:10
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
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Cross References
2 Kings 18:13
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
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Cross References
Isaiah 3:2 - 3
The mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder.
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Cross References
Genesis 10:8
Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.
Genesis 10:10 - 11
The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
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Cross References
Micah 5:5
And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.