Micah 5:1
in Micah 5Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now shalt thou 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Micah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Chapter 5, Verse 1) Now you will be devastated, daughter of a robber: sieges have been placed upon us; they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod. LXX: Now the daughter will be obstructed with an obstruction; distress has been placed upon us; they will strike the tribes of Israel on the cheek with a rod. Not that one tribe strikes the cheek of another, but that others strike the tribes of Israel on the cheek.
This site's exposition
smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek
The chapter opens mid-siege, Jerusalem gathered in troops against an enemy already at her gates, and the judge of Israel struck with a rod upon the cheek, the public humiliation of the nation's own ruler. Several of the older commentators, Henry among them, hear an echo forward to the smiting the true King himself would receive at his trial (Matthew 27:30), a reading offered without turning the verse into a formal prediction. The immediate reference stands in Micah's own day, the judge brought low just before the promise of a very different ruler in the next verse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
So he says that Samaria will be surrounded and encompassed by the hostile peoples. Not only will they strike her cheek with their hand, which is more bearable, but they will crush her with rods, which is especially cruel. This signifies the shameful and miserable distress of captivity, for it is unquestionable that to strike the cheek is a special dishonor. Considering that they also struck her with rods, they have caused extreme hardship and debasement. Governed by the tribe of Ephrem, Samaria is dishonored. She is in shame and suffering. However, the striking hand will stop, and we will not taste misery if only we do our best to refrain from provoking the wrath of the Lord of all by trespassing or eagerly committing sins, which are hateful to him. If we honor him with virtuousness instead, then we will enjoy prosperity and will live a joyous and commendable life.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
38, 39 ), he adds an illustrious prediction of the Messiah and his kingdom, in whom that covenant should be established, and the honours of that house should be revived, advanced, and perpetuated. How the Messiah is here described. It is he that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, from the days of eternity, as the word is.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
They - The proud, oppressive enemy. Of Israel - Not the ten tribes, though they are actually called by this name, but the two tribes that adhered to David's family. A rod - This is a proverbial speech, expressing the most contemptuous usage.
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops,....
A promise of the Messiah, and of his kingdom, to support the people of God in the day of these troubles. Of the birth of the Messiah,
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops - The “daughter of troops” is still the same who was before addressed, Judah. The word is almost always . used of “bands of men employed in irregular, marauding, in-roads.” Judah is entitled “daughter of troops,” on account of her violence, the robbery and bloodshed within her (Mic 2:8; Mic 3:2; etc. Hos 5:10), as Jeremiah says, “Is this house which is called by My Name become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (Jer 7:11, compare Mat 21:13).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Lest the faithful should fall into carnal security because of the previous promises, he reminds them of the calamities which are to precede the prosperity. daughter of troops--Jerusalem is so called on account of her numerous troops. he hath laid siege--the enemy hath. they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek--the greatest of insults to an Oriental.
O daughter of troops - The Chaldeans, whose armies were composed of troops from various nations. He (Nebuchadnezzar) hath laid siege against us; (Jerusalem ); they shall smite the judge of Israel (Zedekiah) with a rod upon the cheek - They shall offer him the greatest indignity. They slew his sons before his face; and then put out his eyes, loaded him with chains, and carried him captive to Babylon.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah —whence David emanated, as it is stated (I Sam.:58): “The son of your bondsman, Jesse the Bethlehemite.” And Bethlehem is called Ephrath, as it is said (Gen.: 7): “On the road to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| תִּתְגֹּדְדִ֣י | titgodedi | you will cut yourself | H1413 → | |
| בַת־ | vat- | O daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| גְּד֔וּד | gedud | troop[s] | H1416 → | |
| מָצ֖וֹר | matzor | a siege | H4692 → | |
| שָׂ֣ם | sam | someone has set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עָלֵ֑ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בַּשֵּׁ֙בֶט֙ | bashevet | with <the> rod | H7626 → | |
| יַכּ֣וּ | yaku | they will strike | H5221 → | |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַלְּחִ֔י | halechi | the cheek | H3895 → | |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֹׁפֵ֥ט | shofet | [the] judge of | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
עַתָּה֙now
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
תִּתְגֹּדְדִ֣יyou will cut yourself
titgodediH1413 →
בַת־O daughter of
vat-H1323 →588 times
גְּד֔וּדtroop[s]
gedudH1416 →
מָצ֖וֹרa siege
matzorH4692 →
שָׂ֣םsomeone has set
samH7760 →584 times
עָלֵ֑ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
בַּשֵּׁ֙בֶט֙with <the> rod
bashevetH7626 →
יַכּ֣וּthey will strike
yakuH5221 →
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַלְּחִ֔יthe cheek
halechiH3895 →
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
שֹׁפֵ֥ט[the] judge of
shofetH8199 →202 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 26:67Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
it leads to
- Isaiah 50:6
I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 50:6
Through
Isaiah 33:22For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
it leads to
- Acts 5:31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Zephaniah 3:15–17
The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm.
- Isaiah 35:4
Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
- Psalms 89:18
Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
- Acts 5:31
Through
Job 16:10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:15
But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
- Psalms 22:13
They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
- Psalms 35:15
Where this verse is studied
About Micah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MICAH 5:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.