Nunc vastaberis, filia latronis. Obsidionem posuerunt super nos: in virga percutient maxillam judicis Israël.

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.

At this present time, what is left thee but to muster thy roving bands, daughter of an outlaw king? Hard siege presses us now; smitten on the cheek, now, is the ruler of Israel.

Et tu, Bethlehem Ephrata, parvulus es in millibus Juda; ex te mihi egredietur qui sit dominator in Israël, et egressus ejus ab initio, a diebus æternitatis.

And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

Bethlehem-Ephrata! Least do they reckon thee among all the clans of Juda? Nay, it is from thee I look to find a prince that shall rule over Israel. Whence comes he? From the first beginning, from ages untold!

Propter hoc dabit eos usque ad tempus in quo parturiens pariet, et reliquiæ fratrum ejus convertentur ad filios Israël.

Therefore will he give them up even till the time wherein she that travaileth shall bring forth: and the remnant of his brethren shall be converted to the children of Israel.

Marvel not, then, if the Lord abandons his people for a time, until she who is in travail has brought forth her child; others there are, brethren of his, that must be restored to the citizenship of Israel.

Et stabit, et pascet in fortitudine Domini, in sublimitate nominis Domini Dei sui: et convertentur, quia nunc magnificabitur usque ad terminos terræ.

And he shall stand, and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the height of the name of the Lord his God: and they shall be converted, for now shall he be magnified even to the ends of the earth.

Enabled by the Lord his God, confident in that mighty protection, stands he, our shepherd, and safely folds his flock; fame of him now reaches to the world’s end;

Et erit iste pax: cum venerit Assyrius in terram nostram, et quando calcaverit domibus nostris, et suscitabimus super eum septem pastores et octo primates homines;

And this man shall be our peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall set his foot in our houses: and we shall raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

who else should be its hope of recovery? What though the Assyrian invade our country, trample down our strongholds? Seven leaders of men we shall find to marshal us, and an eighth yet in reserve;

et pascent terram Assur in gladio, et terram Nemrod in lanceis ejus, et liberabit ab Assur cum venerit in terram nostram, et cum calcaverit in finibus nostris.

And they shall feed the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nemrod with the spears thereof: and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our borders.

sword in hand, they shall herd the men of Assyria, naked steel for the land of Nemrod! Invade they, trample they as they will, he shall be our deliverance.

Et erunt reliquiæ Jacob in medio populorum multorum quasi ros a Domino, et quasi stillæ super herbam, quæ non exspectat virum, et non præstolatur filios hominum.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as a dew from the Lord, and as drops upon the grass, which waiteth not for man, nor tarrieth for the children of men.

Poor remnant of Jacob, lost among that multitude of peoples! Yet thrive it shall; does not the grass thrive, with dew and shower from the Lord to water it, nor looks for man’s tending, unbeholden to our human toil?

Et erunt reliquiæ Jacob in gentibus, in medio populorum multorum, quasi leo in jumentis silvarum, et quasi catulus leonis in gregibus pecorum, qui cum transierit, et conculcaverit, et ceperit, non est qui eruat.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples as a lion among the beasts of the forests, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who when he shall go through and tread down, and take, there is none to deliver.

Poor remnant of Jacob, among those heathen multitudes lost! Yet lion amid the forest herds, lion’s whelp amid flock of sheep, finds not easier passage, brings not down more inexorably his prey.

Exaltabitur manus tua super hostes tuos, et omnes inimici tui interibunt.

Thy hand shall be lifted up over thy enemies, and all thy enemies shall be cut off.

High triumph thou shalt have over thy enemies; perish all that bear thee ill-will!

Et erit in die illa, dicit Dominus: auferam equos tuos de medio tui, et disperdam quadrigas tuas.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will take away thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy thy chariots.

All other help, the Lord says, shall then be denied thee; gone, horse and chariot of thine,

Et perdam civitates terræ tuæ, et destruam omnes munitiones tuas: et auferam maleficia de manu tua, et divinationes non erunt in te:

And I will destroy the cities of thy land, and will throw down all thy strong holds, and I will take away sorceries out of thy hand, and there shall be no divinations in thee.

the cities lost, ruined the strongholds. Sorcery thou shalt have none to trust in, nor divinings;

et perire faciam sculptilia tua et statuas tuas de medio tui, et non adorabis ultra opera manuum tuarum:

And I will destroy thy graven things, and thy statues out of the midst of thee: and thou shalt no more adore the works of thy hands.

gone idol and sacred pillar of thine, nor any of thy own imaginings left thee;

et evellam lucos tuos de medio tui, et conteram civitates tuas.

And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: and will crush thy cities.

uprooted the woods of thy false worship, fallen the cities.

Et faciam, in furore et in indignatione, ultionem in omnibus gentibus quæ non audierunt.

And I will execute vengeance in wrath and in indignation among all the nations that have not given ear.

Only then shall my fierce anger find its scope, only then fall my vengeance upon the nations that defied me.