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Birth of the King in Bethlehem

¹ "^(F1)Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
^(F2)They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will ^(C1)strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

² "^(F1)But as for ^(C1)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From ^(C2)you One will come forth for Me to be ^(C3)ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are ^(C4)from long ago,
From the days of eternity."

³ Therefore He will ^(C1)give them up until the time
When she ^(C2)who is in labor has given birth.
Then the ^(C3)remainder of His kinsmen
Will return to the sons of Israel.

⁴ And He will arise and ^(C1)shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will ^(F1)remain,
Because ^(F2)at that time He will be great
To the ^(C2)ends of the earth.

⁵ This One ^(C1)will be our peace.
When the ^(C2)Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our ^(F1)citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of people.

⁶ They will ^(C1)shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of ^(C2)Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will ^(C3)rescue us from the Assyrian
When he invades our land,
And when he tramples our territory.

⁷ Then the ^(C1)remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like ^(C2)dew from the LORD,
Like ^(C3)showers on vegetation
That do not wait for man,
Or delay for ^(F1)mankind.

⁸ The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
^(C1)Like a lion among the animals of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
^(C2)Tramples and ^(C3)tears,
And there is ^(C4)no one who can rescue.

⁹ Your hand will be ^(C1)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be eliminated.

¹⁰ "And it will be on that day," declares the LORD,
"^(C1)That I will eliminate your ^(C2)horses from among you,
And destroy your chariots.

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

¹² "I will eliminate ^(C1)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have no fortune-tellers.

¹³ "^(C1)I will eliminate your carved images
And your memorial stones from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.

¹⁴ "I will uproot your ^(F1)(C1)Asherim from among you,
And destroy your cities.

¹⁵ "And I will ^(C1)execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed."