5 Now gather thyself together, O daughter of troops, A siege he hath laid against us, With a rod they smite on the cheek the judge of Israel.

² And thou, Beth-Lehem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth -- to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth [are] of old, From the days of antiquity.

³ Therefore he doth give them out till the time She who bringeth forth hath brought forth, And the remnant of his brethren return to the sons of Israel.

⁴ And he hath stood and delighted in the strength of Jehovah, In the excellency of the name of Jehovah his God, And they have remained, For now he is great unto the ends of earth.

⁵ And this [one] hath been peace, Asshur! when he doth come into our land, And when he doth tread in our palaces, We have raised against him seven shepherds, And eight anointed of man.

⁶ And they have afflicted the land of Asshur with the sword, And the land of Nimrod at its openings, And he hath delivered from Asshur when he doth come into our land, And when he treadeth in our borders.

⁷ And the remnant of Jacob hath been in the midst of many peoples, As dew from Jehovah -- as showers on the herb, That waiteth not for man, nor stayeth for the sons of men.

⁸ Yea, the remnant of Jacob hath been among nations, In the midst of many peoples, As a lion among beasts of a forest, As a young lion among ranks of a flock, Which if it hath passed through, Hath both trodden down and hath torn, And there is no deliverer.

⁹ High is thy hand above thine adversaries, And all thine enemies are cut off.

¹⁰ And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, I have cut off thy horses from thy midst, And I have destroyed thy chariots,

¹¹ And I have cut off the cities of thy land, And I have thrown down all thy fortresses,

¹² And have cut off sorcerers out of thy hand, And observers of clouds thou hast none.

¹³ And I have cut off thy graven images, And thy standing-pillars out of thy midst, And thou dost not bow thyself any more To the work of thy hands.

¹⁴ And I have plucked up thy shrines out of thy midst, And I have destroyed thine enemies.

¹⁵ And I have done vengeance in anger and in fury, With the nations who have not hearkened!

6 Hear, I pray you, that which Jehovah is saying: `Rise -- strive thou with the mountains, And cause thou the hills to hear thy voice.'

² Hear, O mountains, the strife of Jehovah, Ye strong ones -- foundations of earth! For a strife [is] to Jehovah, with His people, And with Israel He doth reason.

³ O My people, what have I done to thee? And what -- have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.

⁴ For I brought thee up from the land of Egypt, And from the house of servants I have ransomed thee, And I send before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

⁵ O My people, remember, I pray you, What counsel did Balak king of Moab, What answer him did Balaam son of Beor, (From Shittim unto Gilgal,) In order to know the righteous acts of Jehovah.'

⁶ With what do I come before Jehovah? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves -- sons of a year?

⁷ Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my first-born [for] my transgression? The fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul?

⁸ He hath declared to thee, O man, what [is] good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except -- to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?

⁹ A voice of Jehovah to the city calleth, And wisdom doth fear Thy name, Hear ye the rod, and Him who appointed it.

¹⁰ Are there yet [in] the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness, And the abhorred scanty ephah?

¹¹ Do I reckon [it] pure with balances of wickedness? And with a bag of deceitful stones?

¹² Whose rich ones have been full of violence, And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood, And their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth.

¹³ And I also, I have begun to smite thee, To make desolate, because of thy sins.

¹⁴ Thou -- thou eatest, and thou art not satisfied, And thy pit [is] in thy midst, And thou removest, and dost not deliver, And that which thou deliverest, to a sword I give.

¹⁵ Thou -- thou sowest, and thou dost not reap, Thou -- thou treadest the olive, And thou pourest not out oil, And new wine -- and thou drinkest not wine.

¹⁶ And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And ye do walk in their counsels, For My giving thee for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And the reproach of My people ye do bear!

7 My wo [is] to me, for I have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul.

² Perished hath the kind out of the land, And upright among men -- there are none, All of them for blood lie in wait, Each his brother they hunt [with] a net.

³ On the evil [are] both hands to do [it] well, The prince is asking -- also the judge -- for recompence, And the great -- he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.

⁴ Their best one [is] as a brier, The upright one -- than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen -- Thy visitation -- hath come. Now is their perplexity.

⁵ Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth.

⁶ For a son is dishonouring a father, A daughter hath stood against her mother, A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, The enemies of each [are] the men of his house.

⁷ And I -- in Jehovah I do watch, I do wait for the God of my salvation, Hear me doth my God.

⁸ Thou dost not rejoice over me, O mine enemy, When I have fallen, I have risen, When I sit in darkness Jehovah is a light to me.

⁹ The indignation of Jehovah I do bear, For I have sinned against Him, Till that He doth plead my cause, And hath executed my judgment, He doth bring me forth to the light, I look on His righteousness.

¹⁰ And see doth mine enemy, And cover her doth shame, Who saith unto me, `Where [is] Jehovah thy God?' Mine eyes do look on her, Now she is for a treading-place, As mire of the out-places.

¹¹ The day to build thy walls! That day -- removed is the limit.

¹² That day -- even unto thee it doth come in, From Asshur and the cities of the fortress, And from the fortress even unto the river, And from sea to sea, and mount to mount.

¹³ And the land hath been for a desolation, Because of its inhabitants, Because of the fruit of their doings.

¹⁴ Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone [in] a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.

¹⁵ According to the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt, I do shew it wonderful things.

¹⁶ See do nations, and they are ashamed of all their might, They lay a hand on the mouth, their ears are deaf.

¹⁷ They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee.

¹⁸ Who [is] a God like Thee? taking away iniquity, And passing by the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance, He hath not retained for ever His anger, Because He -- He delighteth [in] kindness.

¹⁹ He doth turn back, He pitieth us, He doth subdue our iniquities, And Thou castest into the depths of the sea all their sins.

²⁰ Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!