5:1 “ ①Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
②They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.
▷ ①Ch 4:14 in Heb ②Lit He has
5:2 ①But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
▷ ①Ch 5:1 in Heb
5:3 Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has given birth.
Then the remainder of His kinsmen
Will return to the sons of Israel.
5:4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will ①remain,
Because ②at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
▷ ①Or live in safety ②Lit now
5:5 This One will be our peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our ①citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of people.
▷ ①Or palaces
5:6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will rescue us from the Assyrian
When he invades our land,
And when he tramples our territory.
5:7 Then the remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like dew from the LORD,
Like showers on vegetation
That do not wait for man,
Or delay for ①mankind.
▷ ①Lit sons of mankind
5:8 The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
Like a lion among the animals of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
Tramples and tears,
And there is no one who can rescue.
5:9 Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be eliminated.
5:10 “And it will be on that day,” declares the LORD,
“That I will eliminate your horses from among you,
And destroy your chariots.
5:11 I will also eliminate the cities of your land,
And tear down all your fortifications.
5:12 I will eliminate sorceries from your hand,
And you will have no fortune-tellers.
5:13 I will eliminate your carved images
And your memorial stones from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
5:14 I will uproot your ①Asherim from among you,
And destroy your cities.
▷ ①I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed.”