5:1 (4:14) But now slash yourself, daughter surrounded by soldiers!
We are besieged!
With a scepter they strike Israel’s ruler
on the side of his face.
5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
seemingly insignificant among the clans of Judah –
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf,
one whose origins are in the distant past.
5:3 So the Lord will hand the people of Israel over to their enemies
until the time when the woman in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of the king’s countrymen will return
to be reunited with the people of Israel.
5:4 He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the Lord’s strength,
by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God.
They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored
even in the distant regions of the earth.