1  ¹ Now muster your troops, O daughter² of troops;

siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the judge of Israel

on the cheek.

2  ^{3 d}But you, O ^eBethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of ^fJudah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

from ancient days.

3  Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

to the people of Israel.

4  And he shall stand and ^gshepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now ^hhe shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

5  And he shall be their ⁱpeace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land

and treads in our palaces,

then we will raise against him seven shepherds

and eight princes of men;

6  they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,

and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;

and ^jhe shall deliver us from the Assyrian

when he comes into our land

and treads within our border.

7  Then the ^kremnant 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  And 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,

which, when it goes through, treads down

and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

9  Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,

and all your enemies shall be cut off.