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And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;
Micah 5:4 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.
  • KJV And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
  • BSB He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
  • NASB And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.
  • NLT And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

This ruler will shepherd His people in the LORD's strength, and His greatness will reach the ends of the earth. It portrays the Messiah as the great Shepherd-King.

Overview

Unlike the corrupt rulers Micah condemned, this one shepherds in the strength and majesty of Yahweh, giving His people security. His greatness extending 'to the ends of the earth' points to a worldwide reign. Christians see Jesus as this Shepherd-King, whose kingdom embraces all nations.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 33

  • Isa 40:10–11Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
  • Ps 23:1–2A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
  • Mic 7:14Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your heritage, who dwell by themselves in a forest, in the middle of fertile pasture land, let them feed; in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
  • Luke 1:32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
  • 1 Pet 1:5who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
  • John 10:27–30My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
  • Rev 11:15The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”
  • Isa 52:13Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.
  • Matt 25:31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
  • Matt 2:6‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
  • Ps 72:19Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.
  • Zech 9:10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations: and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
  • 1 Chr 29:11–12Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all.
  • Ezek 34:13–15I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
  • Ezek 34:22–24therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
  • Ps 45:3–6Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one: your splendor and your majesty.
  • Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
  • Ps 72:8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
  • Ps 93:1Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved.
  • Rev 1:13–18And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.
  • Ps 98:3He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
  • John 14:9–11Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
  • John 20:17Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
  • Isa 49:5Now Yahweh says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in Yahweh’s eyes, and my God has become my strength.
  • Ps 145:12to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.
  • Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
  • John 10:38But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
  • Matt 16:18I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
  • Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
  • Exod 23:21Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don’t provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.
  • Isa 52:10Yahweh has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
  • John 5:22–29For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,
  • Isa 49:9–10saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Micah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Micah 5:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MicahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Micah names the town — 'But you, Bethlehem... from you shall come forth one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old' — the birthplace of the eternal King.

How Micah 5:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.