1 Jerusalem, enemy troopshave surrounded you;they have struck Israel's rulerin the face with a stick.
2 Bethlehem Ephrath,you are one of the smallest townsin the nation of Judah.But the Lord will chooseone of your peopleto rule the nation—someone whose familygoes back to ancient times.
3 The Lord will abandon Israelonly until this ruler is born,and the rest of his familyreturns to Israel.
4 Like a shepherdtaking care of his sheep,this ruler will leadand care for his peopleby the power and glorious nameof the Lord his God.His people will live securely,and the whole earth will knowhis true greatness,
5 because he will bring peace.Let Assyria attack our countryand our palaces.We will counterattack,led by a number of rulers
6 whose strong army will defeatthe nation of Assyria.Yes, our leaders will rescue us,if those Assyriansdare to invade our land.
7 A few of Jacob's descendantssurvived and are scatteredamong the nations.But the Lord will let themcover the earth like dew and rainthat refreshes the soil.