Micah 5:11
in Micah 5I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will cut off the cities of thy land, and will throw down all thy strongholds.
KJV
And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:
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This verse in Micah 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I will cut off the cities of thy land - So God promised by Zechariah, “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls; for I will be unto her a wall of fire round about” Zec 2:4-5. The Church shall not need the temptation of human defense; for God shall fence her in on every side. Great cities too, as the abode of luxury and sin, of power and pride, and, mostly, of cruelty, are chiefly denounced as the objects of God’s anger.
This site's exposition
Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries
on Micah 5:9-11
Victory over every adversary opens directly into a catalog of purging, the Lord promising in that day to cut off the horses out of Israel's own midst and destroy her chariots, stripping away the very military hardware a nation trusts in place of God. The cities and strongholds follow the horses and chariots, political security built on walls and garrisons cut down along with the mounted force. The bench reads triumph and purging as one act rather than two, the Lord winning the battle for Israel precisely by removing what Israel had been tempted to win it with herself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 7 onwards) And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Abasement and Distress of Zion; Birth of the Messiah Predicted; 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:82%@v1-3
And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
cut off . . . cities . . . strongholds--such as are fortified for war. In that time of peace, men shall live in unwalled villages (Eze 38:11; compare Jer 23:6;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
I will - throw down all thy strongholds - Thou shalt have no need of fortified cities; I will be thy defense.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And I will destroy your cities —And you will no longer need fortified cities.
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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִכְרַתִּ֖י | vehikhrati | and I will cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| עָרֵ֣י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אַרְצֶ֑ךָ | ʾartzekha | land your | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְהָרַסְתִּ֖י | veharasti | and I will tear down | H2040 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִבְצָרֶֽיךָ׃ | mivtzareikha | fortresses your | H4013 → |
וְהִכְרַתִּ֖יand I will cut off
vehikhratiH3772 →288 times
עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
אַרְצֶ֑ךָland your
ʾartzekhaH776 →2504 times
וְהָרַסְתִּ֖יand I will tear down
veharastiH2040 →
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מִבְצָרֶֽיךָ׃fortresses your
mivtzareikhaH4013 →
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
Zechariah 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- Psalms 33:16
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- Isaiah 11:2–4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
Through
Hosea 10:14the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with…
it leads to
- Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- 2 Kings 18:9–10
In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.
- Hosea 13:16
Through
Ezekiel 38:11You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:4–5
and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.
- Zechariah 2:4–5
Where this verse is studied
About Micah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.