Mihej 5:1

Croatian Bible

A ti, Betleheme Efrato, najmanji među kneževstvima Judinim, iz tebe će mi izaći onaj koji će vladati Izraelom; njegov je iskon od davnina, od vječnih vremena.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

gather: Deuteronomy 28:49, 2 Kings 24:2, Isaiah 8:9, Isaiah 10:6, Jeremiah 4:7, Jeremiah 25:9, Joel 3:9, Habakkuk 1:6, Habakkuk 3:16

he hath: Deuteronomy 28:51-57, 2 Kings 25:1-3, Ezekiel 21:21, Ezekiel 21:22, Ezekiel 24:2, Luke 19:43, Luke 19:44

they: Job 16:10, Lamentations 3:30, Matthew 5:39, Matthew 26:67, Matthew 27:30, John 18:22, John 19:3, Acts 23:2, 2 Corinthians 11:20

judge: 1 Samuel 8:5, 1 Samuel 8:6, Isaiah 33:22, Amos 2:3

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 22:24 - smote Micaiah 2 Chronicles 18:23 - Zedekiah Proverbs 17:26 - to strike Isaiah 50:6 - gave Isaiah 53:3 - despised Mark 14:65 - General Mark 15:19 - they smote Luke 6:29 - smiteth Luke 18:32 - mocked Luke 22:63 - mocked Luke 24:44 - in the prophets

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops,.... Not Jerusalem, full of people, called to draw out their forces, and fall upon the enemy besieging them, whether Chaldeans or Romans; but rather the Babylonians, whose armies were large, and their troops numerous; who are called upon by the people of God, encouraged by the foregoing prophecies, as well as by what follows, to come forth with all their forces, and muster up all their armies, and exert all the power and strength they had, thus suiting them; being assured, by the above promises, that in the issue they should prevail over all their enemies: unless the Romans should be intended, to whom this character of "daughter of troops" well agrees, of whose legions all have heard; and since the Babylonish attempt on Jerusalem, and the carrying the Jews captive into Babylon, are before predicted, with their deliverance from it, and what they should do in the times of the Maccabees; a prophecy of the Romans, or a representation of them, a gathering their troops and legions together to besiege Jerusalem, very naturally comes in here;

he hath laid siege against us; either Nebuchadnezzar, and the Chaldean army; or Vespasian with the Romans: this, according to the prophetic style, is spoken of as if actually done, because of the certainty of it;

they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek; that is, either they, the besiegers, the king of Babylon and his army, when they shall have taken Jerusalem, besieged by them, shall use Zedekiah the king of Judah, and judge of Israel, and his princes and nobles, very ill, signified by this phrase; yea, in a very cruel and barbarous manner; first slaying his sons and his princes before his eyes, then putting his eyes out, binding him in chains, and carrying him to Babylon, and there laying him in a prison, Jeremiah 52:10; or else they, the besieged, would use the Messiah, the King, Judge, and Ruler in Israel, in such a spiteful and scandalous manner; and so the Messiah was to be used by them, who according to prophecy gave his cheek to them that plucked off the hair, and hid not his face from shame and spitting; and so Jesus, the true Messiah, was smitten, both with rods, and with the palms of men's hands, and buffeted and spit upon,

Isaiah 50:6; and this is mentioned as a reason why Jerusalem would be encompassed with the Roman armies, and besieged by their troops and legions, and become desolate, even for their rejection and ill usage of the Messiah. Aben Ezra says, it is right in my eyes that the judge of Israel is the Messiah, or Zerubbabel; not the latter, who never was so used, but the former.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 (Micah 2:8; Micah 3:2; etc. Hosea 5:10), as Jeremiah says, “Is this house which is called by My Name become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (Jeremiah 7:11, compare Matthew 21:13). She then who had spoiled Isaiah 33:1 should now be spoiled; she who had formed herself in bands to lay waste, shall now be gathered thick together, in small bands, unable to resist in the open field; yet in vain should she so gather herself; for the enemy was upon her, in her last retreat.

This description has obviously no fulfillment, except in the infliction by the Romans. For there was no event, before the invasion by Sennacherib and accordingly in the prophet’s own time, in which there is any seeming fulfillment of it. But then, the second deliverance must be that by the Maccabees; and this siege, which lies, in order of time, beyond it, must be a siege by the Romans. With this it agrees, that whereas, in the two former visitations, God promised, in the first, deliverance, in the second, victory, here the prophet dwells on the Person of the Redeemer, and foretells that the strength of the Church should not lie in any human means Micah 5:8-15. Here too Israel had no king, but a judge only. Then the “gathering in robber-bands” strikingly describes their internal state in the siege of Jerusalem; and although this was subsequent to and consequent upon the rejection of our Lord, yet there is no reason why the end should be separated from the beginning since the capture by Titus was but the sequel of the capture by Pompey, the result of that same temper, in which they crucified Jesus, because He would not be their earthly king. It was the close of the organic existence of the former people; after which the remnant from among them with the Gentiles, not Israel after the flesh, were the true people of God.

He hath laid siege against us - The prophet, being born of them, and for the great love he bore them, counts himself among them, as Paul mourns over his brethren after the flesh. “They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” So Paul said to him who had made himself high priest, “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall; for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law” Acts 23:3. It is no longer “the king” (for they had said, “We have no King but Caesar John 19:15) but the “judge of Israel,” they who against Christ and His Apostles gave wrong judgment. As they had smitten contrary to the law, so were the chief men smitten by Titus, when the city was taken. As they had done it, was done unto them. To be smitten on the thee, betokens shame; to smite with the red, betokens destruction. Now both shall meet in one; as, in the Great Day, the wicked “shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt, and shall perish forever” Daniel 12:2.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER V

This chapter begins, according to the opinion of some

commentators, with a prophecy concerning the siege of

Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the great indignities which

Zedekiah should suffer from the Babylonians, 1.

We have next a most famous prediction concerning the birthplace

of the Messiah, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from

EVERLASTING," 2.

See Matthew 2:6.

The Jews obstinately persisting in their opposition to the

Messiah, God will therefore give them up into the hands of

their enemies till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled: and

then all the posterity of Jacob, both Israel and Judah, shall

be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, along

with the Gentiles, be brought into the large and peaceful

pastures of this Great Shepherd of the sheep, 3, 4.

After this illustrious prophecy, the prophet goes on to

foretell the downfall of the Assyrians, by whom are meant the

enemies of the Church in general, the type being probably put

for the antitype; the miraculous discomfiture of the great

Assyrian army in the reign of Sennacherib strongly shadowing

forth the glorious and no less miraculous triumphs of

Christianity in the latter times, 5, 6.

See Isaiah 11:16.

Some understand this prophecy of Antiochus and the seven famous

Maccabees, with their eight royal successors, from Aristobulus

to Antigonus; and it is not impossible that these people may

be also intended, for we have often had occasion to remark that

a prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures has frequently more

than one aspect. The seventh verse was fulfilled by the Jews

spreading the knowledge of the true God during their captivity,

and so paving the way for the gospel; but will be more signally

fulfilled after their conversion and restoration.

See Romans 11:12-15.

The remaining verses contain a prophecy of the final overthrow

of all the enemies of pure and undefiled religion, and of the

thorough purification of the Church of God from the corruptions

of Antichrist, 9-15.

NOTES ON CHAP. V

Verse Micah 5:1. 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.