Birth of the King in Bethlehem

1“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
         They have laid siege against us;
         With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.

2“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
         Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
         From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
         His goings forth are from long ago,
         From the days of eternity.”

3Therefore He will give them up until the time
         When she who is in labor has borne a child.
         Then the remainder of His brethren
         Will return to the sons of Israel.

4And He will arise and shepherd His flock
         In the strength of the LORD,
         In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
         And they will remain,
         Because at that time He will be great
         To the ends of the earth.

5This One will be our peace.
         When the Assyrian invades our land,
         When he tramples on our citadels,
         Then we will raise against him
         Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.

6They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
         The land of Nimrod at its entrances;
         And He will deliver us from the Assyrian
         When he attacks our land
         And when he tramples our territory.

7Then the remnant of Jacob
         Will be among many peoples
         Like dew from the LORD,
         Like showers on vegetation
         Which do not wait for man
         Or delay for the sons of men.

8The remnant of Jacob
         Will be among the nations,
         Among many peoples
         Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
         Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
         Which, if he passes through,
         Tramples down and tears,
         And there is none to rescue.

9Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,
         And all your enemies will be cut off.

10“It will be in that day,” declares the LORD,
         “That I will cut off your horses from among you
         And destroy your chariots.

11“I will also cut off the cities of your land
         And tear down all your fortifications.

12“I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
         And you will have fortune-tellers no more.

13“I will cut off your carved images
         And your sacred pillars from among you,
         So that you will no longer bow down
         To the work of your hands.

14“I will root out your Asherim from among you
         And destroy your cities.

15“And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath
         On the nations which have not obeyed.”

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
Now shalt thou 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.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now shalt thou be laid waste, O daughter of the robber: they have laid siege against us, with a rod shall they strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.

Darby Bible Translation
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.

English Revised Version
Now shalt thou 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.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Now you shall gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

Young's Literal Translation
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. 'A Dew from the Lord'
'The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.'--MICAH v. 7. The simple natural science of the Hebrews saw a mystery in the production of the dew on a clear night, and their poetic imagination found in it a fit symbol for all silent and gentle influences from heaven that refreshed and quickened parched and dusty souls. Created by an inscrutable process in silence and darkness, the dewdrops lay innumerable …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ is Glorious --Let us Make Him Known
I want to conduct you in such a frame of mind through the glories of my text. First, bidding you observe the perpetual reign of Christ: "He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God;" then I shall beg you to observe that flowing from this is the perpetual continuance of his church: "and they shall abide;" and then proceeding both from his continued reign and from the Church's consequent perpetual existence comes the greatness of our King: "for …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

The Incarnation and Birth of Christ
"Who with more care keep holiday The wrong, than others the right way." The old Puritans made a parade of work on Christmas-day, just to show that they protested against the observance of it. But we believe they entered that protest so completely, that we are willing, as their descendants, to take the good accidentally conferred by the day, and leave its superstitions to the superstitious. To proceed at once to what we have to say to you: we notice, first, who it was that sent Christ forth. God the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Whether this is a Good Definition of Eternity, "The Simultaneously-Whole and Perfect Possession of Interminable Life"?
Objection 1: It seems that the definition of eternity given by Boethius (De Consol. v) is not a good one: "Eternity is the simultaneously-whole and perfect possession of interminable life." For the word "interminable" is a negative one. But negation only belongs to what is defective, and this does not belong to eternity. Therefore in the definition of eternity the word "interminable" ought not to be found. Objection 2: Further, eternity signifies a certain kind of duration. But duration regards existence …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

And Again the Prophet Micah Speaks of the Place Where Christ Should be Born...
And again the prophet Micah speaks of the place where Christ should be born, that it should be in Bethlehem of Judæa, saying thus: And thou, Bethlehem of Judæa, art thou the least among the princes of Judah? for out of, thee shall come a prince who shall feed my people Israel. [229] (Micah v. 2) But Bethlehem is the native place [230] of David: so that not only in respect of the Virgin who bore Him is He of David's race, but also in respect of His birth in Bethlehem the native place of …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Balaam
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.'--NUM. xxii. 6. Give a general outline of the history. See Bishop Butler's great sermon. I. How much knowledge and love of good there may be in a bad man. Balaam was a prophet: (a) He knew something of the divine character, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Chosen People
For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had awaited the Saviour's coming. Upon this event they had rested their brightest hopes. In song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer, they had enshrined His name. And yet at His coming they knew Him not. The Beloved of heaven was to them "as a root out of a dry ground;" He had "no form nor comeliness;" and they saw in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." Isa. 53:2; John 1:11. …
Ellen Gould White—The Desire of Ages

Unto You a Saviour
The King of glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings. His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him. The character of the Messiah had long …
Ellen Gould White—The Desire of Ages

The visit and Homage of the Magi, and the Flight into Egypt
With the Presentation of the Infant Saviour in the Temple, and His acknowledgment - not indeed by the leaders of Israel, but, characteristically, by the representatives of those earnest men and women who looked for His Advent - the Prologue, if such it may be called, to the third Gospel closes. From whatever source its information was derived - perhaps, as has been suggested, its earlier portion from the Virgin-Mother, the later from Anna; or else both alike from her, who with loving reverence and …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Signs of the Redeemer's Return
As we have shown in the last chapter, the apostles and their converts looked for Christ to return in their own lifetime. They did not affirm that He would but they believed that He might. But eighteen centuries have passed since then and yet He has not come. The question therefore arises, What evidence is there that the second advent of our Lord is now nigh at hand--that is, nigh as judged even by human measurement of time? May there not be another eighteen centuries which must yet run their weary …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

The Greatest Trial on Record
Brethren, as the Lord gave commandment concerning even the ashes and offal of the sacrifices, we ought to think no matter trivial which stands in connection with our great burnt offering. My admonition is, "Gather up the fragments which remain, that nothing be lost." As goldsmiths sweep their shops, to save even the filings of the gold, so every word of Jesus should be treasured up as very precious. But, indeed, the narrative to which I invite you is not unimportant. Things which were purposed of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

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