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1(4:14) But now slash yourself, daughter surrounded by soldiers![#sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.; #tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).sn Slash yourself. Slashing one’s body was a form of mourning. See Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5.; #tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”sn The daughter surrounded by soldiers is an image of the city of Jerusalem under siege (note the address “Daughter Jerusalem” in 4:8).]
We are besieged!
With a scepter they strike Israel’s ruler
on the side of his face.
2(5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,[#sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.map For location of Bethlehem see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.]
seemingly insignificant among the clans of Judah –
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf,
one whose origins are in the distant past.
3So the Lord will hand the people of Israel over to their enemies[#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.; #tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.; #tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.]
until the time when the woman in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of the king’s countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel.
4He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the Lord ’s strength,[#tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”; #tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.]
by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God.
They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored
even in the distant regions of the earth.
5He will give us peace.[#tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).]
Should the Assyrians try to invade our land
and attempt to set foot in our fortresses,
we will send against them seven shepherd-rulers,
make that eight commanders.
6They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,[#tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”]
the land of Nimrod with a drawn sword.
Our king will rescue us from the Assyrians
should they attempt to invade our land
and try to set foot in our territory.
7Those survivors from Jacob will live[#tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).; #tn Heb “will be.”]
in the midst of many nations.
They will be like the dew the Lord sends,
like the rain on the grass,
that does not hope for men to come
or wait around for humans to arrive.
8Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which attacks when it passes through;
it rips its prey and there is no one to stop it.
9Lift your hand triumphantly against your adversaries;[#tn Heb “let your hand be lifted against your adversaries.”]
may all your enemies be destroyed!
10“In that day,” says the Lord ,
“I will destroy your horses from your midst,
and smash your chariots.
11I will destroy the cities of your land,
and tear down all your fortresses.
12I will remove the sorcery that you practice,[#tn Heb “magic charms” (so NCV, TEV); NIV, NLT “witchcraft”; NAB “the means of divination.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but note its use in Isa 47:9, 12.; #tn Heb “from your hands.”]
and you will no longer have omen readers living among you.
13I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst;
you will no longer worship what your own hands made.
14I will uproot your images of Asherah from your midst,[#tn Or “Asherah poles.”sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4). The Lord states that he will destroy these images, something the Israelites themselves should have done but failed to do.]
and destroy your idols.
15I will angrily seek vengeance
on the nations that do not obey me.”