Micah 5:6

“And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, etc.] Or “feedf173 upon it” with the sword, destroy the inhabitants of it; either spiritually subdue the nations of the world to the obedience of Christ, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; the preaching of the Gospel, the ministry of the apostles, and others, in the Gentile world; (see <471003>2 Corinthians 10:3-5 <490617>Ephesians 6:17); or literally, meaning that the angels of the vials, the Christian princes, shall destroy the Ottoman empire with the sword: and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof; the same with Babylon, the empire of which was first set up by Nimrod, the beginning of whose kingdom was Babel,…”

“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.”

“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” Jeremiah 6:3. So Joshua and Caleb say, “They, (the inhabitants of Canaan,) are bread for us” Numbers 14:9. So it was said to Peter, “arise, Peter, kill and eat” Acts 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,…”

“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. Micah 5:7”

“5:6 the land of Nimrod: Nimrod laid the foundations of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations (Gen 10:8-11).”

“they: Isa 14:2, Isa 33:1; Nah 2:11-13, Nah 3:1-3 waste: Heb. eat up the land of Nimrod: Gen 10:9-11 \*marg. in the entrances thereof: or, with her own naked swords, thus. Isa 14:25; Luk 1:71, Luk 1:74 the Assyrian: Kg2 15:29, Kg2 17:3-5, Kg2 18:9-15, Kg2 19:32-35; Ch2 33:11; Isa 10:5-12 Micah 5:7”