Birth of the King in Bethlehem
“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will asmite the judge of Israel on the cheek.
2 “But as for ayou, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From byou One will go forth for Me to be cruler in Israel.
His goings forth are dfrom long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
3 Therefore He will agive them up until the time
When she bwho is in labor has borne a child.
Then the cremainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
4 And He will arise and ashepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the bends of the earth.
5 This One awill be our peace.
When the bAssyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6 They will ashepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of bNimrod at its entrances;
And He will cdeliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.
7 Then the aremnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like bdew from the Lord,
Like cshowers on vegetation
Which do not wait for man
Or delay for the sons of men.
8 The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
aLike a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
bTramples down and ctears,
And there is dnone to rescue.
9 Your hand will be alifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be cut off.
10 “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,
“aThat I will cut off your bhorses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
11 “I will also cut off the acities of your land
And tear down all your bfortifications.
12 “I will cut off asorceries from your hand,
And you will have fortune‑tellers no more.
13 “aI will cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
14 “I will root out your aAsherim from among you
And destroy your cities.
15 “And I will aexecute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed.”
God’s Indictment of His People
Hear now what the Lord is saying,
“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
2 “Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord,
And you enduring afoundations of the earth,
Because the bLord has a case against His people;
Even with Israel He will dispute.
3 “aMy people, bwhat have I done to you,
And chow have I wearied you? Answer Me.
4 “Indeed, I abrought you up from the land of Egypt
And bransomed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you cMoses, Aaron and dMiriam.
5 “My people, remember now
What aBalak king of Moab counseled
And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
And from bShittim to cGilgal,
So that you might know the drighteous acts of the Lord.”
What God Requires of Man
6 aWith what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with bburnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Does the Lord take delight in athousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my bfirstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has atold you, O man, what is good;
And bwhat does the Lord require of you
But to cdo justice, to dlove kindness,
And to walk ehumbly with your God?
9 The voice of the Lord will call to the city—
And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:
“Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed its time?
10 “Is there yet a man in the wicked house,
Along with treasures of awickedness
And a bshort measure that is cursed?
11 “Can I justify wicked ascales
And a bag of deceptive weights?
12 “For the rich men of the city are full of aviolence,
Her residents speak blies,
And their ctongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 “So also I will make you asick, striking you down,
bDesolating you because of your sins.
14 “You will eat, but you will anot be satisfied,
And your vileness will be in your midst.
You will try to remove for safekeeping,
But you will bnot preserve anything,
And what you do preserve I will give to the sword.
15 “You will sow but you will anot reap.
You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil;
And the grapes, but you will bnot drink wine.
16 “The statutes of aOmri
And all the works of the house of bAhab are observed;
And in their devices you cwalk.
Therefore I will give you up for ddestruction
And your inhabitants for ederision,
And you will bear the freproach of My people.”
The Prophet Acknowledges
Woe is me! For I am
Like the fruit pickers, like the agrape gatherers.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
Or a bfirst‑ripe fig which I crave.
2 The godly person has aperished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men.
All of them lie in wait for bbloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a cnet.
3 Concerning evil, both hands do it awell.
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bbribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a abriar,
The most upright like a bthorn hedge.
The day when you post your watchmen,
Your cpunishment will come.
Then their dconfusion will occur.
5 Do not atrust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a friend.
From her who lies in your bosom
Guard your lips.
6 For ason treats father contemptuously,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter‑in‑law against her mother‑in‑law;
bA man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
God Is the Source of Salvation and Light
7 But as for me, I will awatch expectantly for the Lord;
I will bwait for the God of my salvation.
My cGod will hear me.
8 aDo not rejoice over me, O bmy enemy.
Though I fall I will crise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a dlight for me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He apleads my case and executes justice for me.
He will bring me out to the blight,
And I will see His crighteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who asaid to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look on her;
At that time she will be btrampled down
Like mire of the streets.
11 It will be a day for abuilding your walls.
On that day will your boundary be extended.
12 It will be a day when they will acome to you
From Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
From Egypt even to the Euphrates,
Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 And the earth will become adesolate because of her inhabitants,
On account of the bfruit of their deeds.
14 aShepherd Your people with Your bscepter,
The flock of Your possession
Which dwells by itself in the woodland,
In the midst of a fruitful field.
Let them feed in cBashan and Gilead
dAs in the days of old.
15 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,
I will show ayou miracles.”
16 Nations awill see and be ashamed
Of all their might.
They will bput their hand on their mouth,
Their ears will be deaf.
17 They will alick the dust like a serpent,
Like breptiles of the earth.
They will come ctrembling out of their fortresses;
To the Lord our God they will come in ddread
And they will be afraid before You.
18 Who is a God like You, who apardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the bremnant of His possession?
He does not cretain His anger forever,
Because He ddelights in unchanging love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
aHe will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, You will bcast all their sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give atruth to Jacob
And unchanging love to Abraham,
Which You bswore to our forefathers
From the days of old.