Now gather
thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath
laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge
of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
02 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting.
03 Therefore will he give them up, until the time
that she which travaileth hath brought forth:
then the remnant of his brethren shall return
unto the children of Israel.
04 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of
the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord
his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he
be great unto the ends of the earth.
05 And this man shall be the peace, when the
Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he
shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise
against him seven shepherds, and eight principal
men.
06 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with
the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the
entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from
the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and
when he treadeth within our borders.
07 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst
of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the
showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for
man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
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08 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the
Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion
among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion
among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through,
both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and
none can deliver.
09 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine
adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut
off.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith
the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of
the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy
chariots:
11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and
throw down all thy strong holds:
12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine
hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:
13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy
standing images out of the midst of thee; and
thou shalt no more worship the work of thine
hands.
14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the
midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.
15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury
upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
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