Michaeas 5

1 Now shall the daughter [of Sion] be completely hedged in: he has laid siege against us: they shall strike the tribes of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

Now you will give yourselves deep wounds for grief; they will put up a wall round us: they will give the judge of Israel a blow on the face with a rod.

2 And you, Bethleem, house of Ephratha, are few in number to be [reckoned] amongst the thousands of Juda; [yet] out of you shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, [even] from eternity.

And you, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, the least among the families of Judah, out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose going out has been purposed from time past, from the eternal days.

3 Therefore shall he appoint them [to wait] till the time of her that travails: she shall bring forth, and [then] the remnant of their brethren shall return to the children of Israel.

For this cause he will give them up till the time when she who is with child has given birth: then the rest of his brothers will come back to the children of Israel.

4 And the Lord shall stand, and see, and feed his flock with power, and they shall dwell in the glory of the name of the Lord their God: for now shall they be magnified to the ends of the earth.

And he will take his place and give food to his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the glory of the name of the Lord his God; and their resting-place will be safe: for now he will be great to the ends of the earth.

5 And she shall have peace when Assur shall come into your land, and when he shall come up upon your country; and there shall be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight attacks of men.

And this will be our peace: when the Assyrian comes into our country and his feet are in our land, then we will put up against him seven keepers of the flocks and eight chiefs among men.

6 And they shall tend the Assyrian with a sword, and the land of Nebrod with her trench: and he shall deliver [you] from the Assyrian, when he shall come upon your land, and when he shall invade your coasts.

And they will make waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the edge of the sword: he will give us salvation from the Assyrian when he comes into our country, when his feet come inside the limit of our land.

7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be amongst the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples, as dew falling from the Lord, and as lambs on the grass; that none may assemble nor resist amongst the sons of men.

And the rest of Jacob will be among the mass of peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which may not be kept back by man, or be waiting for the sons of men.

8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be amongst the Gentiles in the midst of many nations, as a lion in the forest amongst cattle, and as a [lion's] whelp amongst the flocks of sheep, even as when he goes through, and selects, and carries off [his prey], and there is none to deliver.

And the rest of Jacob will be among the nations, in the middle of the mass of peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the woods, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep: if he goes through, they will be crushed under foot and pulled to bits, and there will be no saviour.

9 Your hand shall be lifted up against them that afflict you, and all your enemies shall be utterly destroyed.

Your hand is lifted up against those who are against you, and all your haters will be cut off.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, [that] I will utterly destroy the horses out of the midst of you, and destroy your chariots;

And it will come about in that day, says the Lord, that I will take away your horses from you, and will give your war-carriages to destruction:

11 and I will utterly destroy the cities of your land, and demolish all your strongholds:

I will have the towns of your land cut off and all your strong places pulled down:

12 and I will utterly destroy your sorceries out of your hands; and there shall be no soothsayers in you.

I will put an end to your use of secret arts, and you will have no more readers of signs:

13 And I will utterly destroy your graven images, and your statues out of the midst of you; and you shall never any more worship the works of your hands.

And I will have your images and your pillars cut off from you; and you will no longer give worship to the work of your hands.

14 And I will cut off the groves out of the midst of you, and I will abolish your cities.

I will have your Asherahs pulled up from among you: and I will send destruction on your images.

15 and I will execute vengeance on the heathen in anger and wrath, because they listened not.

And my punishment will be effected on the nations with such burning wrath as they have not had word of.