1
Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rodpSee 1 Kgs. 22:24 they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.
2 qCited Matt. 2:6; [John 7:42] But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans ofr[Heb. 7:14] Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to bes[Gen. 49:10; Isa. 9:6, 7; Jer. 30:21; Zech. 9:9] ruler in Israel,
tHos. 6:3 whose origin isuPs. 90:2; [Prov. 8:22, 23; John 1:1] from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them upv[ch. 4:9, 10] until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
thenw[ch. 4:7] the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall standxIsa. 40:11; [ch. 7:14] and shepherd his flockySee Isa. 11:3-5 in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for nowzPs. 72:8; Isa. 52:13; Luke 1:32 he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall bea[Isa. 9:6; Zech. 9:10; Eph. 2:14] their peace.
b[2 Kgs. 18:13] When the Assyrian comes into our land
and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him sevenc[Isa. 3:2, 3] shepherds
and eight princes of men;
6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land ofdGen. 10:8, 10, 11 Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
b[See ver. 5 above] when he comes into our land
and treads within our border.
7
Thenw[See ver. 3 above] the remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which delay not for a man
nor wait for the children of man.
8 Andw[See ver. 3 above] 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,
e[Hos. 5:14] which, when it goes through, treads down
and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
9 Your hand shallfIsa. 26:11 be lifted up over your adversaries,
and all your enemies shall be cut off.
10 Andg[ch. 4:1, 6] in that day, declares the Lord,
hZech. 9:10; [Isa. 2:7; Hag. 2:22] I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
11 iver. 14; Isa. 17:9; 27:10; [Hos. 8:14; Zech. 2:4] and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut offj[2 Kgs. 9:22] sorceries from your hand,
andkDeut. 18:10; [Isa. 2:6] you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
13 andlZech. 13:2 I will cut off your carved images
andmHos. 3:4 your pillars from among you,
n[Isa. 17:8] and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out youroEx. 34:13; See Deut. 16:21 Asherah images from among you
i[See ver. 11 above] and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrathp[ver. 8; Ps. 149:7; 2 Thess. 1:8] I will execute vengeance
on the nations that did not obey.