[Verse I]
Gather the troops, O daughter surrounded,
The judge of Israel is struck and confounded.
Yet from a small town overlooked by the strong,
A ruler comes forth whose beginnings are long.
[Pre-Chorus]
Not from the palace, not from the throne,
Out of Bethlehem, little and known.
[Chorus]
Out of Bethlehem shall the Shepherd arise,
Standing in strength beneath heaven's eyes.
He feeds in the name of the LORD, and his peace
Reaches the borders where war must cease.
Out of Bethlehem, humble and small,
The ancient purpose will answer the call.
[Verse II]
The travail continues until she has borne,
Then brethren return like the light after storm.
They dwell in security, no longer displaced,
For greatness extends to the ends of the earth.
[Battle Refrain]
When Assyria enters and treads in the land,
Seven shepherds rise, eight princes withstand.
The sword reaches Nimrod, deliverance comes,
The Shepherd redeems from the invader's drums.
[Bridge]
The remnant of Jacob falls gentle as dew,
A blessing no human permission can do.
The remnant among nations is fierce as a lion,
No hand can deliver the prey from its power.
[Purging Movement]
Horses are cut off, chariots undone,
Strongholds collapse where false safety had run.
Sorcery, images, pillars, and groves,
All trusts that compete with the Holy One go.
[Final Chorus]
Out of Bethlehem shall the Shepherd arise,
Standing in strength beneath heaven's eyes.
He feeds in the name of the LORD, and his peace
Reaches the borders where war must cease.
Out of Bethlehem, humble and small,
The Ruler stands firm, and the scattered stand tall.
[Outro]
A small place held the promise,
A Shepherd held the field.
Named in this songBethlehemNimrod
About the passage
Micah 5: A small town and a shepherd to the ends of the earth
A ruler under siege is struck on the cheek, and then little Bethlehem becomes the unexpected center of the promise. From there comes the ruler whose goings forth are “from of old,” a passage Matthew later cites in connection with the Messiah's birth. He stands and feeds the people in the Lord's strength, a direct reversal of chapter 3's rulers who consumed them. His greatness reaches outward, but the immediate effect is that the flock can abide. The remnant is then given two deliberately different images: dew from the Lord among many peoples, and a lion whose strength cannot be resisted. The chapter closes by turning the knife inward as well as outward. Horses, chariots, strongholds, magical practices, and manufactured objects of worship are all cut off. The promised future dismantles false securities along with enemies.
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