New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Now you are walled around with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel upon the cheek.
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Now you will give yourselves deep wounds for grief; they will put up a wall round us: they will give the judge of Israel a blow on the face with a rod.
2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
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And you, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, the least among the families of Judah, out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose going out has been purposed from time past, from the eternal days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.
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For this cause he will give them up till the time when she who is with child has given birth: then the rest of his brothers will come back to the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
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And he will take his place and give food to his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the glory of the name of the Lord his God; and their resting-place will be safe: for now he will be great to the ends of the earth.
5 and he shall be the one of peace. If the Assyrians come into our land and tread upon our soil, we will raise against them seven shepherds and eight installed as rulers.
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And this will be our peace: when the Assyrian comes into our country and his feet are in our land, then we will put up against him seven keepers of the flocks and eight chiefs among men.
6 They shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; they shall rescue us from the Assyrians if they come into our land or tread within our border.
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And they will make waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the edge of the sword: he will give us salvation from the Assyrian when he comes into our country, when his feet come inside the limit of our land.
7 Then the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples, shall be like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not depend upon people or wait for any mortal.
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And the rest of Jacob will be among the mass of peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which may not be kept back by man, or be waiting for the sons of men.
8 And among the nations the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples, shall be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, with no one to deliver.
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And the rest of Jacob will be among the nations, in the middle of the mass of peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the woods, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep: if he goes through, they will be crushed under foot and pulled to bits, and there will be no saviour.
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.
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Your hand is lifted up against those who are against you, and all your haters will be cut off.
10 In that day, says the Lord, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots;
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And it will come about in that day, says the Lord, that I will take away your horses from you, and will give your war-carriages to destruction:
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds;
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I will have the towns of your land cut off and all your strong places pulled down:
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers;
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I will put an end to your use of secret arts, and you will have no more readers of signs:
13 and I will cut off your images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands;
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And I will have your images and your pillars cut off from you; and you will no longer give worship to the work of your hands.
14 and I will uproot your sacred poles from among you and destroy your towns.
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I will have your Asherahs pulled up from among you: and I will send destruction on your images.
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.
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And my punishment will be effected on the nations with such burning wrath as they have not had word of.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.