The new king will come
1Get your soldiers ready,
because the enemies are around your city.
They come from all sides,
and they want to beat the king_of_Israel
in the face with sticks.
God promises that a ruler will come from Bethlehem
2But you, little town of Bethlehem in Ephrathah,
you are one of the smallest towns
of all the clans of Judah,
but the Lord will choose one of your men
to become king_of_Israel.
His family is not important
in the land_of_Judah,
but they have been living in the land
for a very long time.
3The Lord will leave his people
for a short while.
He will give them to their enemies
and it will be like the time it takes a woman
from when she starts to feel the pain
until her baby is born.
But then the people of the family
who are still_alive
will come back to Israel.
4The new king will come
and he will lead his people.
The Lord will help him.
He will make him strong
so that he can lead his people.
The king will be so important that
people all over the world will know about him,
because the new king will be strong.
5He will bring peace.
When the Assyrian people come
to make war_against our land
and they want to go into our strong buildings,
then we, the people of Israel,
will have enough leaders
to fight against them.
6Our leaders have sharp swords.
They will defeat the Assyrians
who are from the land of Nimrod.
When they come into our land to fight against us,
our new king will save us.
7The Israelites who will still be alive
will be like dew
that comes from the Lord to many people.
They will be like good rain
that makes the grass green.
The people of the Lord will be strong again
8The Israelites who will still be alive
will live among the people of other nations.
They will be like lions
that are among wild animals,
like lions that walk
among a flock of sheep and kill them.
No one can save the animals
from the mouths of the lions.
9The Israelites will kill all their enemies.
I will punish the nations who did not listen to Me
10The Lord says:
‘On that day I will kill your horses
and destroy your war-chariots.
11I will destroy the cities in your land,
and I will break down their strong walls.
12I will stop you from telling fortunes
and doing bad things like witchcraft.
13I will destroy your images
and your sacred_pillars.
You will not bow again in front of idols
that you have made yourselves.
14I will destroy your sacred_pillars
and destroy your cities.
15I will punish the nations that did not listen to Me.’
