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Birth of the King in Bethlehem

¹ "Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops;
A state of siege has been placed against us.
They shall ^(C1)strike the ruler of Israel on the cheek with a rod (scepter).

² "But as for ^(C1)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah;
From ^(C2)you One shall come forth for Me who is to be ^(C3)Ruler in Israel,
His goings forth (appearances) are ^(C4)from long ago,
From ^(F1)ancient days." ^(VR1)

³ Therefore, He will ^(C1)give them up until the time
When she ^(C2)who is in labor has given birth to a child.
Then what is ^(C3)left of His kinsmen
Shall return to the children of Israel.

⁴ And He shall ^(C1)stand and shepherd and guide His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God;
And they shall dwell secure in undisturbed peace,
Because at that time He shall be great extending His authority
Even to the ^(C2)ends of the earth. ^(VR1)

⁵ This One the Messiah ^(C1)shall be our peace.
When the ^(C2)Assyrian invades our land
And tramples on our citadels and in our palaces,
Then shall we raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princes an overpowering force among men. ^(VR1)

⁶ They shall ^(C1)devastate the land of Assyria with the sword and
The land of ^(C2)Nimrod within her own gates.
And He (the Messiah) shall ^(C3)rescue us from the Assyrian (all enemy nations)
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.

⁷ Then the ^(C1)remnant of Jacob
Shall be among many peoples
Like ^(C2)dew from the LORD,
Like ^(C3)showers on the grass a source of blessing
Which come suddenly and do not wait for man
Nor delay for the sons of men. ^(VR1)

⁸ The remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the nations,
In the midst of many peoples
^(C1)Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion suddenly appearing among the flocks of sheep
Which, if he passes through,
^(C2)Tramples down and ^(C3)tears into pieces the nations in judgment,
And there is ^(C4)no one to rescue.

⁹ Your hand will be ^(C1)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be cut off and destroyed.

¹⁰ "And in that day," says the LORD,
"^(C1)I will cut off your ^(C2)horses from among you
And destroy your chariots on which you depend. ^(VR1)

¹¹ "I will cut off the ^(C1)cities of your land
And tear down all your ^(C2)fortifications.

¹² "I will cut off ^(C1)witchcrafts and sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no more fortune-tellers.

¹³ "^(C1)I will also cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer worship and bow down
To the work of your hands.

¹⁴ "I will root out your ^(C1)Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) from among you
And destroy your cities which are the centers of pagan worship. ^(VR1)

¹⁵ "And in anger and wrath I shall ^(C1)execute vengeance
On the nations which have not obeyed such vengeance as they have not known before."