¹ Now shalt thou be laid waste, O daughter of the robber: they have laid siege against us, with a rod shall they strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.

² AND THOU, BETHLEHEM Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

³ Therefore will he give them up even till the time wherein she that travaileth shall bring forth: and the remnant of his brethren shall be converted to the children of Israel.

⁴ And he shall stand, and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the height of the name of the Lord his God: and they shall be converted, for now shall he be magnified even to the ends of the earth.

⁵ And this man shall be our peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall set his foot in our houses: and we shall raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

⁶ And they shall feed the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nemrod with the spears thereof: and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our borders.

⁷ And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as a dew from the Lord, and as drops upon the grass, which waiteth not for man, nor tarrieth for the children of men.

⁸ And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples as a lion among the beasts of the forests, and as a young lion among the docks of sheep: who when he shall go through and tread down, and take, there is none to deliver.

⁹ Thy hand shall be lifted up over thy enemies, and all thy enemies shall be cut off.

¹⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will take away thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy thy chariots.

¹¹ And I will destroy the cities of thy land, and will throw down all thy strong holds, and I will take away sorceries out of thy hand, and there shall be no divinations in thee.

¹² And I will destroy thy graven things, and thy statues out of the midst of thee: and thou shalt no more adore the works of thy hands.

¹³ And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: and will crush thy cities.

¹⁴ And I will execute vengeance in wrath and in indignation among all the nations that have not given ear.

¹ Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills Hear thy voice.

² Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.

³ O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

⁴ For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

⁵ O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

⁶ Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

⁸ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

⁹ The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

¹⁰ Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

¹¹ Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?

¹² For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

¹³ Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.

¹⁴ Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

¹⁵ Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

¹⁶ For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.