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Micah
Wheel of Heaven Translation
Micah 5: the ruler from Bethlehem and the remnant of Jacob
Direct
Established or uncontested across mainstream sources, or a direct description of the project itself.
The MethodMicah prophesied in Judah in the eighth century BCE. This translation covers Micah 5, the chapter that the Raëlian canon cites:
- 5:1–5: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah", the ruler "whose goings forth are from of old", and "this one shall be peace"
- 5:6–14: the remnant of Jacob among the peoples, like dew from YHWH and like a lion among the beasts
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew, so the Bethlehem oracle is 5:1 (5:2 in English Bibles). Verses with a note end in a bracketed marker [ ]; select it to open the note.
About this translation
- Edition
- Pointed Hebrew Masoretic text of the Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain), via Sefaria. The English translation and notes are released CC0.
- Coverage
- Chapter 5 translated (14 verses): every chapter of the book cited in the Raëlian canon. The rest of the book is not translated.
- Review status
- Reviewed and signed off.
Micah 5 — The ruler from Bethlehem and the remnant of Jacob
2
Therefore he will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the children of Israel.
Hear, you peoples, all of you.
Listen, O earth, and all that is therein:
and let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
לָכֵ֣ן יִתְּנֵ֔ם עַד־עֵ֥ת יוֹלֵדָ֖ה יָלָ֑דָה וְיֶ֣תֶר אֶחָ֔יו יְשׁוּב֖וּן עַל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
3
And he shall stand and shepherd in the strength of YHWH, in the majesty of the name of YHWH his God; and they shall abide, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place,
and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
וְעָמַ֗ד וְרָעָה֙ בְּעֹ֣ז יְהוָ֔ה בִּגְא֕וֹן שֵׁ֖ם יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑יו וְיָשָׁ֕בוּ כִּֽי־עַתָּ֥ה יִגְדַּ֖ל עַד־אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃
4
And this one shall be peace. When Assyria comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.
The mountains melt under him,
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like waters that are poured down a steep place.
וְהָיָ֥ה זֶ֖ה שָׁל֑וֹם אַשּׁ֣וּר ׀ כִּֽי־יָב֣וֹא בְאַרְצֵ֗נוּ וְכִ֤י יִדְרֹךְ֙ בְּאַרְמְנֹתֵ֔ינוּ וַהֲקֵמֹ֤נוּ עָלָיו֙ שִׁבְעָ֣ה רֹעִ֔ים וּשְׁמֹנָ֖ה נְסִיכֵ֥י אָדָֽם׃
5
And they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in its entrances; and he shall deliver us from Assyria, when he comes into our land and when he treads within our border.
“All this is for the disobedience of Jacob,
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the disobedience of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Aren’t they Jerusalem?
וְרָע֞וּ אֶת־אֶ֤רֶץ אַשּׁוּר֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶב וְאֶת־אֶ֥רֶץ נִמְרֹ֖ד בִּפְתָחֶ֑יהָ וְהִצִּיל֙ מֵֽאַשּׁ֔וּר כִּֽי־יָב֣וֹא בְאַרְצֵ֔נוּ וְכִ֥י יִדְרֹ֖ךְ בִּגְבוּלֵֽנוּ׃ (ס)
6
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from YHWH, like showers upon the grass, which do not wait for man, nor tarry for the sons of human.
Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field,
like places for planting vineyards;
and I will pour down its stones into the valley,
and I will uncover its foundations.
וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֗ב בְּקֶ֙רֶב֙ עַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים כְּטַל֙ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה כִּרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵ֑שֶׂב אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יְקַוֶּה֙ לְאִ֔ישׁ וְלֹ֥א יְיַחֵ֖ל לִבְנֵ֥י אָדָֽם׃
7
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, if he passes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
All her idols will be beaten to pieces,
and all her temple gifts will be burned with fire,
and all her images I will destroy;
for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them,
and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return.”
וְהָיָה֩ שְׁאֵרִ֨ית יַעֲקֹ֜ב בַּגּוֹיִ֗ם בְּקֶ֙רֶב֙ עַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים כְּאַרְיֵה֙ בְּבַהֲמ֣וֹת יַ֔עַר כִּכְפִ֖יר בְּעֶדְרֵי צֹ֑אן אֲשֶׁ֧ר אִם עָבַ֛ר וְרָמַ֥ס וְטָרַ֖ף וְאֵ֥ין מַצִּֽיל׃
8
Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all your enemies be cut off.
For this I will lament and wail;
I will go stripped and naked;
I will howl like the jackals,
and moan like the daughters of owls.
תָּרֹ֥ם יָדְךָ֖ עַל־צָרֶ֑יךָ וְכָל־אֹיְבֶ֖יךָ יִכָּרֵֽתוּ׃ (פ)
9
And it shall come to pass in that day, declares YHWH, that I will cut off your horses from the midst of you, and will destroy your chariots;
For her wounds are incurable;
for it has come even to Judah.
It reaches to the gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
וְהָיָ֤ה בַיּוֹם־הַהוּא֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה וְהִכְרַתִּ֥י סוּסֶ֖יךָ מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ וְהַאֲבַדְתִּ֖י מַרְכְּבֹתֶֽיךָ׃
10
and I will cut off the cities of your land, and throw down all your strongholds;
Don’t tell it in Gath.
Don’t weep at all.
At Beth Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust.
וְהִכְרַתִּ֖י עָרֵ֣י אַרְצֶ֑ךָ וְהָרַסְתִּ֖י כָּל־מִבְצָרֶֽיךָ׃
11
and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no soothsayers;
Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame.
The inhabitant of Zaanan won’t come out.
The wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you his protection.
וְהִכְרַתִּ֥י כְשָׁפִ֖ים מִיָּדֶ֑ךָ וּֽמְעוֹנְנִ֖ים לֹ֥א יִֽהְיוּ־לָֽךְ׃
12
and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from the midst of you, and you shall no more bow down to the work of your hands;
For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good,
because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
וְהִכְרַתִּ֧י פְסִילֶ֛יךָ וּמַצֵּבוֹתֶ֖יךָ מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ וְלֹֽא־תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥ה ע֖וֹד לְמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָדֶֽיךָ׃
13
and I will uproot your Asherim from the midst of you, and I will destroy your cities.
Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish.
She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion;
For the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
וְנָתַשְׁתִּ֥י אֲשֵׁירֶ֖יךָ מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּ֖י עָרֶֽיךָ׃
14
And I will execute vengeance in anger and in wrath on the nations that did not listen.
Therefore you will give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath.
The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
וְעָשִׂ֜יתִי בְּאַ֧ף וּבְחֵמָ֛ה נָקָ֖ם אֶת־הַגּוֹיִ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֥א שָׁמֵֽעוּ׃ (ס)
Editorial history
Review record. The chapter file carries status: stable (v1.0.0) with a named human reviewer (zarazinsfuss), signed off on 2026-11-02 in wave MC of the canon-cited program. The editor report, the reviewer reports in the chapter files and the sign-off summary (data-library/canon-cited-mc-signoff-summary.md) record every decision.
Selection. Part of the program to translate, as whole chapters, every biblical chapter that the three Raëlian canon books (The Book Which Tells the Truth, Extra-Terrestrials Took Me to Their Planet, Let's Welcome the Extra-Terrestrials) cite. The program is complete: all 98 cited chapters are translated. The last eleven (Leviticus 17 and 25, Numbers 11, Joshua 3, Judges 7, 2 Samuel 6, Micah 5, Tobit 12, Wisdom 6, Revelation 5 and 1 Thessalonians 5) were signed off on 2026-11-02 in wave MC.
Conventions. The prophetic volumes follow the Isaiah conventions: ʾĕlōhîm is "God", ʾereṣ "earth" in cosmic contexts and "land" for territory, divine rûaḥ a lower-case "spirit", and nəʾum YHWH "declares YHWH". Proper names are in their English forms. The canon's readings appear only in notes headed "Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim)". Verse numbers follow the Hebrew: English 5:2 is Hebrew 5:1.
Production. Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 and taken through the Wheel of Heaven Translation Program pipeline (Translator → Editor → Reviewer → human sign-off). Central glossary 2.90.0–2.93.0; micah-woh overlay v1.0.0. Reference translation: ASV (1901), printed edition (the hosted Micah is the World English Bible). Methodology: Source-Text Translation.
This translation keeps the Hebrew numbering. The verse is 5:2 in English Bibles, and MIC-WOH-5:1-14 correspond to English 5:2-15. The Hebrew 4:14 ('Now gather yourself in troops ... they strike the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek') is English 5:1 and belongs to chapter 4 (overlay
mt-versification-micah-5). The canon cites the passage as 'Micah, V, 1-4' in the Hebrew numbering, so its reference matches these refIds directly.wəʾattâ bêṯ-leḥem ʾep̄rāṯâ ṣāʿîr lihyôṯ bəʾalp̄ê yəhûḏâ 'But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, little to be among the thousands of Judah': Ephrathah is the clan district of Bethlehem (Ruth 1:2; 1 Sam 17:12), and the oracle returns the Davidic line to its origin. ʾelep̄ is both 'thousand' and a clan unit (Judg 6:15; 1 Sam 10:19; NRSV 'the clans of Judah'), and 'thousands' (ASV) keeps both senses. mimməḵā lî yēṣēʾ lihyôṯ môšēl bəyiśrāʾēl 'out of you shall one come forth for me who is to be ruler in Israel': the subject of yēṣēʾ is unexpressed, and 'one' supplies the English subject. ûmôṣāʾōṯāyw miqqeḏem mîmê ʿôlām 'whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting' (ASV): literally 'from before, from days of old'. ʿôlām here denotes remote antiquity, the time of David, rather than timelessness (cf. Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14), as NRSV's 'from ancient days' and the canon's French « depuis les jours d'antan » render it. The ASV wording is kept (overlay
lexical-cruxes-micah-5). English names follow the Latter-Prophets house style (house-conventions-latter-prophets).Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes vv 1-4 ('(…) Bethlehem (…) out of thee shall... come forth he that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting! (…). And he shall stand and feed by the strength of Yahweh (…) unto the ends of the earth, and this man shall be the Peace', 'Micah, V, 1-4'). The book reads the passage as the creators' announcement of a Messiah, sent so that what only Israel knew would spread over the whole earth. The line renders the oracle as the Hebrew states it and does not encode that reading. Vv 3-4 are discussed in their own notes.