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Selected Verse: Micah 5:6 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Mic 5:6 |
King James |
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
waste--literally, "eat up": following up the metaphor of "shepherds" (compare Num 22:4; Jer 6:3).
land of Nimrod--Babylon (Mic 4:10; Gen 10:10); or, including Assyria also, to which he extended his borders (Gen 10:11).
in the entrances--the passes into Assyria (Kg2 3:21). The Margin and JEROME, misled by a needless attention to the parallelism, "with the sword," translate, "with her own naked swords"; as in Psa 55:21 the Hebrew is translated. But "in the entrances" of Assyria, answers to, "within our borders." As the Assyrians invade our borders, so shall their own borders or "entrances" be invaded.
he . . . he--Messiah shall deliver us, when the Assyrian shall come. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
And they shall waste - Literally, feed on, and so eat up. They who were shepherds of their own people, should consume their enemies. Jeremiah uses the same image. "The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch tents against her round about; they shall feed, each his space" Jer 6:3. So Joshua and Caleb say, "They, (the inhabitants of Canaan,) are bread for us" Num 14:9. So it was said to Peter, "arise, Peter, kill and eat" Act 10:13; and what once was common, defiled and unclean, shall turn to the nourishment and growth of the Church, and be incorporated into Christ, being made part of His Body.
And the land of Nimrod - Babylon, which should displace Assyria, but should carry on its work of chastising God's people, is joined by Micah, as by Isaiah Isa. 10:5-34; 13-14:27, as an object of His judgment. In Isaiah, they are the actual Assyria Isa 10:12-15 and Babylon Isa 14:13-15 whose destruction is foretold, yet so as to shadow out rebellion against God in its intensest form, making itself independent of, or measuring itself against, God. Hence, probably, here alone in holy Scripture, Babylon is called "the land of Nimrod," as indeed he founded it Gen 10:10, but therewith was the author of the tower of Babel also, which was built in rebellion against God, whence his own name was derived . Assyria then, and the world-empire which should succeed it, stand as representing the God-opposed world.
In the entrances thereof - (Literally, in the gates thereof.) The shepherds of Israel shall not act on the defensive only, but shall have victory over the world and Satan, carrying back the battle into his own dominions, and overthrowing him there. Satan's malice, so far from hurting the Church, shall turn to its good. Wherein he hoped to waste it, he shall be wasted; wherein he seemed to triumph, he shall be foiled. So it has been ever seen, how, under every persecution, the Church grew. : "The more it was pressed down, the more it rose up and flourished;" , "Shivering the assault of the Pagans, and strengthened more and more, not by resisting, but by enduring." Yet all, by whomsoever done, shall be the work of Christ alone, enduring in martyrs, teaching in pastors, converting through the Apostles of pagan nations. Wherefore he adds:
Thus (And) He shall deliver us from the Assyrian - Not they, the subordinate shepherds, but He, the Chief Shepherd until the last enemy shall be destroyed and death shall be swallowed up in victory, shall deliver, whether by them or by Himself as He often so doth, - not us only (the saying is the larger because unlimited) but - He shall deliver, absolutely. Whosoever shall be delivered, He shall be their deliverer; all, whom He alone knoweth, who alone "knoweth them that are His" Ti2 2:19. "Neither is there salvation in any other" Act 4:12. "Whoso glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" Co2 10:17. Every member of Christ has part in this, who, through the grace of God, "has power and strength to have victory and to triumph against the devil, the world, and the flesh" - not he, but the grace of God which is with him; and much more, all, whether Apostles or Apostolic men, or Pastors, or Bishops and Overseers, who, by preaching or teaching or prayer, bring those to the knowledge of the truth, who "sat in darkness and the shadow of death" Psa 107:10, and by whom "God translates us into the kingdom of His dear Son" Col 1:13. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| They - The seven shepherds, and eight principal men, those great instruments of God's revenge, and his church's deliverance. Waste the land - So did Merodach Baladan, king of Babylon. The land of Nimrod - The same with the land of Assyria. The entrance - The fortified frontiers. In this manner shall he, the Messiah, deliver the Jews, his people. The Assyrian - The type of all other enemies, to the people of God. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
The land of Nimrod - Assyria, and Nineveh its capital; and Babylon, which was also built by Nimrod, who was its first king, Gen 10:11, Gen 10:12, in the margin.
In the entrances thereof - At its posts or watergates; for it was by rendering themselves masters of the Euphrates that the Medes and Persians took the city, according to the prediction of Jeremiah, Jer 51:32, Jer 51:36. Calmet thinks that this refers to the deliverance of the land from Cambyses by his death, and the insurrection of the eight princes mentioned above, who made themselves masters of the whole Babylonian empire, etc. Perhaps it is best to refer it to the invasion of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar; and the final destruction of the Babylonish empire by Cyrus, who took Babylon, slew Belshazzar, and possessed himself of the kingdom. |
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.
11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,