| New King James Version | Christian Standard 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, 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. |
| 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.” | 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 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 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 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 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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 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, 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 shall be lifted against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off. | 9Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, and all your enemies will be destroyed. |
| 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. | 10In that day--this is the LORD's declaration--I will remove your horses from 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 fortresses. |
| 12I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers. | 12I will remove sorceries from your hands, and you will not have any more 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 remove your carved images and sacred pillars from you so that you will no longer worship the work of your hands. |
| 14I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; Thus I will destroy your cities. | 14I will pull up the Asherah poles from among you 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 against the nations that have not obeyed me. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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