| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. | 1Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel. |
| 2“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” | 2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity. |
| 3Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. | 3Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel. |
| 4And 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 abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; | 4He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth. |
| 5And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men. | 5And He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land and tramples our citadels. We will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. |
| 6They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders. | 6And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn. So He will deliver us when Assyria invades our land and marches into our borders. |
| 7Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass, That tarry for no man Nor wait for the sons of men. | 7Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind. |
| 8And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down and tears in pieces, And none can deliver. | 8Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them. |
| 9Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off. | 9Your hand will be lifted over your foes, and all your enemies will be cut off. |
| 10“And it shall be in that day,” says the LORD, “That I will cut off your horses from your midst And destroy your chariots. | 10“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots. |
| 11I will cut off the cities of your land And throw down all your strongholds. | 11I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds. |
| 12I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers. | 12I will cut the sorceries from your hand, and you will have no fortune-tellers. |
| 13Your carved images I will also cut off, And your sacred pillars from your midst; You shall no more worship the work of your hands; | 13I will also cut off the carved images and sacred pillars from among you, so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your own hands. |
| 14I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; Thus I will destroy your cities. | 14I will root out the Asherah poles from your midst and demolish your cities. |
| 15And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury On the nations that have not heard.” | 15I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.” |
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