1
Now thou shalt be besieged by armies, O daughter of
the army: he shall lay siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2
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 Lord in Israel; and his goings forth
are from the beginning, from the days of the ages.
3
Therefore he will give them up until the time
that she who travails has brought forth; then the remnant of his brethren shall return with the sons of Israel.
4
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 he shall be great unto the ends of the earth.
5
And he shall be
our peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then we shall raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men.
6
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the blade, and the land of Nimrod with their swords; and he shall deliver
us from the Assyrian when he comes against our land and when he treads
within our borders.
7
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as the dew of the LORD, as the rains upon the grass, which did not expect
a man, nor did they expect the sons of men.
8
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goes through and treads down and tears in pieces, there are none that can escape.
9
Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine enemies, and all thine adversaries shall be cut off.