From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King

¹Now, daughter who is under attack,

you slash yourself in grief;

a siege is set against us!

They are striking the judge of Israel

on the cheek with a rod.

²Bethlehem Ephrathah,[#5:2 Gn 35:19; Ru 4:11; 1Sm 17:12; Mt 2:6]

you are small among the clans of Judah;

one will come from you

to be ruler over Israel for me.

His origin is from antiquity,

from ancient times.

³Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time[#5:3 Hs 11:8; Mc 4:10; 7:13]

when she who is in labour has given birth;

then the rest of the ruler’s brothers will return

to the people of Israel.

⁴He will stand and shepherd them[#5:4 Is 40:11; 49:9; Ezk 34:13–15,23–24; Mc 7:14]

in the strength of the Lord ,

in the majestic name of the Lord his God.

They will live securely,

for then his greatness will extend

to the ends of the earth.

⁵He will be their peace.[#5:5 Is 9:6]

When Assyria invades our land,

when it marches against our fortresses,

we will raise against it seven shepherds,

even eight leaders of men.

⁶They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,[#5:6 Nah 2:11–13; Zph 2:13]

the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade.

So he will rescue us from Assyria

when it invades our land,

when it marches against our territory.

The Glorious and Purified Remnant

⁷Then the remnant of Jacob[#5:7 Is 10:21; Mc 2:12; 4:7; 7:18]

will be among many peoples

like dew from the Lord ,

like showers on the grass,

which do not wait for anyone

or linger for mankind.

⁸Then the remnant of Jacob

will be among the nations, among many peoples,

like a lion among animals of the forest,

like a young lion among flocks of sheep,

which tramples and tears as it passes through,

and there is no one to rescue them.

⁹Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,[#5:9 Ps 10:12; 21:8; Is 26:11]

and all your enemies will be destroyed.

¹⁰In that day –

I will remove your horses from you

and wreck your chariots.

¹¹I will remove the cities of your land[#5:11 Is 1:7; 6:11]

and tear down all your fortresses.

¹²I will remove sorceries from your hands,[#5:12 Dt 18:10–12; Is 2:6; 8:19]

and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.

¹³I will remove your carved images[#5:13 Is 2:18,20; 17:8; Ezk 6:9]

and sacred pillars from you

so that you will no longer worship

the work of your hands.

¹⁴I will pull up the Asherah poles from among you[#5:14 Dt 16:21; #5:14 Ex 34:13; Is 27:9]

and demolish your cities.

¹⁵I will take vengeance in anger and wrath[#5:15 Is 1:24; 65:12]

against the nations that have not obeyed me.