“Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.”
My Notes
What Does Micah 4:9 Mean?
"Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail." Micah asks Jerusalem three questions during her crisis: Why are you screaming? Is there no king? Has your counsellor died? The questions are rhetorical and biting — the crying out is because the KING has failed and the COUNSELLOR has perished. The leadership that should have prevented the crisis is the reason FOR the crisis. And the pangs — like a woman in labor — have seized the city.
The phrase "is there no king in thee?" (ha'melekh ein bakh — is there not a king in you?) asks whether Jerusalem has LEADERSHIP: the king was supposed to protect, guide, and govern. The question implies the king has FAILED — he's present but useless, or absent entirely. The city that has a king is behaving as though it doesn't. The leadership vacuum is the cause of the screaming.
The "pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail" (ki hecheziqekh chil kayoledah — for labor-pain has gripped you like a birthing woman) compares Jerusalem's crisis to childbirth: the pangs are involuntary, escalating, and inescapable. The city can't stop the contractions. The crisis has its own momentum. The labor-pain doesn't respond to willpower. It grips and intensifies until delivery.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What crisis has gripped you with unstoppable momentum — and has your leadership failed?
- 2.What does 'is there no king in thee' teach about present-but-useless leadership?
- 3.How does the counsellor PERISHING (not just failing) describe the total loss of wisdom?
- 4.What labor-pain in your life has its own momentum that willpower can't stop?
Devotional
Why are you screaming? Is your king useless? Has your counsellor died? Because labor pains have seized you — the kind that can't be stopped, can't be controlled, can't be escaped. The crisis has its own momentum and your leadership can't help.
The 'is there no king in thee' is the question that INDICTS the leadership: Jerusalem HAS a king. The question isn't about the king's existence. It's about the king's EFFECTIVENESS. The king exists. The king is useless. The city screams as though it has no king — because the king it has can't prevent what's happening. The leadership failure is the cause of the leaderless screaming.
The 'is thy counsellor perished' adds the wisdom failure to the leadership failure: the counsellor — the advisor, the strategist, the person who should know what to do — has PERISHED. Not just failed. Perished. The wisdom itself has died. The strategic thinking that should produce solutions has been eliminated. The screaming happens because nobody knows what to do AND nobody knows what to advise.
The 'pangs as a woman in travail' describes crisis that has its own MOMENTUM: labor can't be paused. Contractions can't be negotiated with. The birth process, once started, continues regardless of the mother's wishes. Jerusalem's crisis is THAT — a process that has started and cannot be stopped. The pangs grip. The contractions escalate. The delivery is coming whether the city is ready or not.
What crisis has gripped you with labor-like inevitability — and has your leadership or counsellor failed to help?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Now why dost thou cry out aloud?.... Or "cry a cry" (w); a vehement one, or set up a most lamentable cry, as if no help…
Now - The prophet places himself in the midst of their deepest sorrows, and out of them he promises comfort. “Why dost…
Is there no King in thee? - None. And why? Because thou hast rejected Jehovah thy king.
Is thy counsellor perished? -…
These verses relate to Zion and Jerusalem, here called the tower of the flock or the tower of Edor; we read of such a…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture