A Ruler from Bethlehem
1 Now muster your troops,
daughter of troops.
He has laid siege against us.
They will strike the ruler of Israel
with a rod on the cheek.
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
being small among the clans of Judah,
from you will come one who will be ruler in Israel for me,
whose origin is from ancient times.
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time that she who is in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of his brothers will return to the Israelites.
4 He shall stand and shall shepherd them
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God;
and they will live securely,
for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.
5 He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land
and when he marches through our fortresses,
then we will raise against it seven shepherds
and eight leaders of men.
6 They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod in its gates.
He will deliver us from the Assyrian,
when he invades our land,
and when he marches within our border.
The Remnant of Jacob
7 The remnant of Jacob
will be among many nations,
like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass
that do not depend on man
nor wait for any mortal.
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
among many peoples,
like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
who crushes and tears as he passes through,
and there is no one who can rescue them.
9 Your hand will be lifted against your adversaries,
and all of your enemies will be cut off.
10 “It will happen in that day,” says the Lord,
“that I will remove your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land
and will tear down all your strongholds.
12 I will eradicate witchcraft,
and you shall have no fortune tellers.
13 I will cut off your engraved images
and your pillars from among you,
and you shall no longer worship the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot your Asherah poles out from among you,
and I will destroy your cities.
15 I will execute vengeance in anger
and wrath on the nations that did not listen.”