5
1 But thou, Beit-Lechem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the Alphei Yehudah (Thousands of Yehudah),
yet out of thee shall He* come forth unto Me†
that is to be Moshel Yisroel;
whose goings forth‡ have been mikedem (from everlasting),§
mimei olam (from the days of eternity).
2 Therefore will He give them up,
until the Et Yoledah (time when she who is in labor) hath brought forth;
then the rest of His* Brethren
shall return unto Bnei Yisroel.
3 And He† shall stand and shall shepherd in the strength of Hashem,
in the majesty of the Shem of Hashem Elohav,
and they‡ shall live;
for then shall He§ be great unto the ends of ha'aretz.
4 And this shall be Shalom.
When the Assyrian shall invade our land;
and when he shall set foot on our armenot (citadels),
then shall we raise against him shivah ro'im (seven shepherds),
and shmoneh nesikhei adam (eight leaders [tribal princes] of men).
5 And they shall shepherd Eretz Ashur (Assyria) with the cherev,
and Eretz Nimrod at its gates;
thus shall He* deliver us from the Assyrian,
when he cometh into our land,
and when he sets foot within our borders.
6 And the She'erit Ya'akov shall be in the midst of many people
like tal (dew) from Hashem, like the showers upon the grass,
that doth not await manʼs bidding,
nor tarry for the bnei adam.
7 And the She'erit Ya'akov shall be among the Goyim
in the midst of many people
like an aryeh among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among the edrei tzon (flocks of sheep);
who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces,
and none can deliver.
8 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries,
and kol oyvecha (all thine enemies) shall be cut off.
9 And it shall come to pass in Yom HaHu, saith Hashem,
that I will cut off thy susim out of the midst of thee,
and I will destroy thy merkavot (chariots);
10 And I will cut off the cities of thy land,
and throw down all thy mivtzarim (fortresses);
11 And I will cut off keshafim (witchcrafts) out of thine hand; n tsvishen dir,
un vest zich mer nisht b
and thou shalt have no more sorcerers;
12 Thy graven images also will I cut off,
and thy sacred pillars out of the midst of thee;
and lo tishtachaveh (thou shalt no more bow down to, worship) the work of thine hands.
13 And I will pluck up thy Asherim† out of the midst of thee;
so will I destroy thy cities.
14 And I will execute vengeance
in anger and fury
upon the Goyim that were without mishma'at (obedience).
* 5:1 Moshiach † 5:1 Hashem ‡ 5:1 (i.e. origins) § 5:1 See Hab 1:12 * 5:2 Moshiachʼs † 5:3 Moshiach ‡ 5:3 Bnei Yisroel § 5:3 Moshiach * 5:5 Moshiach † 5:13 i.e., sacred poles of the Asherah cult of Canaan