Micah 5

1 “Now cut yourself in bitter grief, daughter besieged by soldiers. They have set a wall around you. They strike the ruler of Israel, in the face with a rod.

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 “Bethlehem in Ephrathah, small among the tribes of Judah, from you will come a king who will rule for me over Israel, whose family line goes back to the distant past.”

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 So the Lord will only abandon Israel to its enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then the survivors will be reunited with their own people.

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 he will stand and shepherd by the strength of the Lord, In the exalted name of the Lord his God; And they will live in security, for now he will be great, even 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 This will be our peace: when Assyria comes into our land and treads on our soil, we will raise up against him seven shepherds, eight leaders 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 They will shepherd Assyria with a sword, and the land of Nimrod with bared blades. They will deliver us from Assyria, when they come into our land, and tread within our borders.

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 survivors of Jacob will be disbursed among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which don’t wait for people to come or linger for mortals.

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 survivors of Jacob will be disbursed among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the sheep-folds, who, when he passes through, pounces. He savages his prey. There is no rescuer.

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 Let your hand triumph over your adversaries, let all your enemies be cut off.

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

10 On that day, says the Lord: “I will slaughter your horses from your midst, 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 I will devastate the cities in your land, and tear down your fortresses.

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

12 I will destroy your magic charms, and you will have no soothsayers.

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

13 I will cut down your idols and sacred pillars, and you will not worship any more the work 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 I will uproot your sacred poles, and destroy your idols.

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

15 In my wrath and my anger I will seek vengeance on the nations that ignore me.”

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