| King James Bible | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. | 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. |
| 2But 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 ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. | 2Bethlehem Ephrathah, 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 will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. | 3Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of the ruler's brothers will return to the people of Israel. |
| 4And 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 shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. | 4He will stand and shepherd them 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. |
| 5And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. | 5He will be their peace. When Assyria invades our land, when it marches against our fortresses, we will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. |
| 6And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. | 6They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, 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. |
| 7And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. | 7Then the remnant of Jacob 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. |
| 8And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. | 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. |
| 9Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. | 9Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, and all your enemies will be destroyed. |
| 10And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: | 10In that day--this is the LORD's declaration--I will remove your horses from you and wreck your chariots. |
| 11And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: | 11I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your fortresses. |
| 12And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: | 12I will remove sorceries from your hands, and you will not have any more fortune-tellers. |
| 13Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. | 13I will remove your carved images and sacred pillars from you so that you will no longer worship the work of your hands. |
| 14And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. | 14I will pull up the Asherah poles from among you and demolish your cities. |
| 15And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. | 15I will take vengeance in anger and wrath against the nations that have not obeyed me. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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