1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 ¶ And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
8 ¶ And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. 9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: 11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: 12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. 14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
1 Iwe nzi nkulu we babhayani, kubunganya babhayani babo
ngoti takombiwa nge ngwa,
banowoloba mbusi we Iziraela
mu lushaya nge lukombo.
Mbusi unodwa mu Bhetelehema
2 Koga iwe Bhetelehema Efurati,
iwe mmwe we batukununu pakati kwe misha ya Juta,
mukuli kowondidwila mmwe
unowobe mbusi mu Iziraela,
kutangisa kukwe kodwa ntolo,
kudwa mu misi ya ntolotolo.
3 Ndizo wali Yahwe banowobasiya
kuswikila tjibaka tjinowoti umu zwibhayo katshibama,
ipapo bana ba mmeyabe bakasala
banowobuya kushangana ne Baiziraela.
4 Ngono unowomilika kafudza ngubi iye
mu simba la Yahwe,
nge bukulu gwe zina la Yahwe Ndzimu uwe.
Ngono dzowotjila dzakasununguka, ipapo bukulu gugwe
gowoswika ku phelelo dze shango.
5 Ngono unowobe kunyalala kwabo.
Kusununguka ne shamu
Asiriya ha ithukila mu shango yedu,
bebe betshamba bepalama mbako dze matizhilo edu,
towobamusila balisi bali kutendeka kubhayana nabo,
ne batungamili bali zhanakadzi.
6 Banowobusa shango ye Asiriya nge thumo,
shango ya Nimirodi nge thumo.
Unowoti sunungula mu Baasiriya
pabanowobe bethukila mu shango yedu,
betshamba bengina mu migathu yedu.
7 Ipapo malimbelimbe a Jakubo anowobe
pakati kwe bathu banjinji
se khawa inodwa kuna Yahwe
se masusu e vula mu bushwa,
zwisingamilile nthu,
kene kulindila bathu.
8 Malimbelimbe a Jakubo anowobe pakati kwe njudzi
pakati kwe bathu banjinji,
se shumba pakati kwe phuka dze ishaka,
se shumbana pakati kwe ngubi dze pkhwizi
ha idzipalama inomwandawula ikamwawulanya,
ngono kusina ungadzigwila.
9 Tjiazha tjitjo tjowokunda zwita zwizo,
ngono zwita zwizo zose zowolobesiwa.
10 Yahwe bakati, “Mu zhuba ilelo,
ndowobulaya mbizi dzenyu pakati kwenyu
ndibe ndikolomodza koloyi dzenyu dze ngwa.
11 Ndowokolomodza mizi mikulu ye shango yenyu
ndibe ndiliga mbako dzose dzenyu dzakasima.
12 Ndowolobesa buloyi gwenyu
amutjowobe mungalowa.
13 Ndowophkwanya zwifano zwenyu zwakabezhiwa
ne zwe phanda,
amutjowobe mutjathigamila
mishingo ye maboko enyu.
14 Ndowoshomola midzimu yenyu inoyi Ashera
ndiyidusa pakati kwenyu,
ndibe ndikolomodza mizi yenyu mikulu.
15 Ndowobgwilizila njudzi dzisakandihwa
nge bushongola ndakagwadzamoyo.”