The people of Israel will be devastated and blockaded, but a ruler will arise from Bethlehem to bring peace and lead the remnant of Israel. This ruler will be strong in the Lord and will bring conversion to the people, and will also bring peace when the Assyrian invades. A remnant of Jacob will survive among the nations, and will be like a lion among beasts, and the Lord will take away Israel's horses, chariots, and fortifications, and will destroy their idols and sacred groves. The Lord will exact vengeance on the nations that have not listened.
1 Now you will be devastated, you daughter of a robber. They have placed a blockade against us, with a rod they will strike the jaw of the judge of Israel 2 And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, are a little one among the thousands of Judah. From you will go forth he who shall be the ruler in Israel, and his landing place has been set from the beginning, from the days of eternity 3 Because of this, he will provide for them, even until the time in which she who bears him gives birth. And the remnant of his brothers will be converted to the sons of Israel 4 And he will stand firm and feed on the strength of the Lord, according to the sublime name of the Lord his God. And they will be converted, for now he will be magnified, even to the ends of the earth 5 And this man will be our peace, when the Assyrian will come into our land, and when he will trample on our houses; and we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men 6 And they will graze on the land of Assur with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with its spears; and he will free us from Assur, when he will come into our land, and when he will trample our borders 7 And there will be a remnant of Jacob in the midst of many peoples, like a dew from the Lord and like drops upon the grass, which awaits no man and does not stand before the sons of men 8 And there will be a remnant of Jacob within the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forests, and like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, when he will pass through and trample down and seize, there is none who can rescue 9 Your hand will be exalted over your enemies, and all your adversaries will pass away 10 And it will be in that day, says the Lord: I will take away your horses from your midst, and I will utterly ruin your four-horse chariots 11 And I will destroy the cities of your land, and I will pull down all your fortifications, and I will take away evil-doing from your hand, and there will be no divinations among you 12 And I will cause your graven images to perish, and your statues, from your midst. And you will no longer adore the works of your hands 13 And I will root out your sacred groves from your midst, and I will crush your cities 14 And I will exact vengeance, in fury and in indignation, among all the nations which have not listened