The Lord says,“ Bethlehem Ephrathah, you might not be an important town in the nation of Judah. But out of you will come for me a ruler over Israel. His family line goes back to the early years of your nation. It goes all the way back to days of long ago.”

伯利恒以法他啊，你在犹大诸城中为小，将来必有一位从你那里出来，在以色列中为我作掌权的；他的根源从亘古，从太初就有。

伯利恒的以法他啊，你在犹大诸城中虽小，将来必有一位从你那里出来，在以色列中为我作掌权者；他的根源自亘古，从太初就有。

伯利恒的以法他啊，你在犹大诸城中虽小，将来必有一位从你那里出来，在以色列中为我作掌权者；他的根源自亘古，从太初就有。

以法他的伯利恒啊，你在犹大各城中毫不起眼，但将有一位从你那里出来，为我统治以色列；祂的根源自亘古，来自太初。

伯利恒以法他啊！你在犹大诸城中虽然细小（“伯利恒……细小”有古卷作“以法他家啊，你在犹大诸族中虽然细小”），必有一位从你那里出来，为我作以色列的统治者；他的根源从太初，从亘古就有了。（本节在《马索拉文本》为5:1）

伯利恆的以法他啊，你在猶大諸城中為小，將來必有一位從你那裏出來，在以色列中為我作掌權的；他的根源從亙古，從太初就有。

伯利恆的以法他啊，你在猶大諸城中雖小，將來必有一位從你那裏出來，在以色列中為我作掌權者；他的根源自亙古，從太初就有。

伯利恆的以法他啊，你在猶大諸城中雖小，將來必有一位從你那裏出來，在以色列中為我作掌權者；他的根源自亙古，從太初就有。

以法他的伯利恆啊，你在猶大各城中毫不起眼，但將有一位從你那裡出來，為我統治以色列；祂的根源自亙古，來自太初。

伯利恆以法他啊！你在猶大諸城中雖然細小（“伯利恆……細小”有古卷作“以法他家啊，你在猶大諸族中雖然細小”），必有一位從你那裡出來，為我作以色列的統治者；他的根源從太初，從亙古就有了。（本節在《馬索拉文本》為5:1）

但是你、伯利恆以法他啊，你在猶大諸鄉村中雖然細小，將來必有一位從你那裏為我而出，在以色列中做統治者；他的根源出於亙古，出於往古之日。

伯利恆以法他乎、爾在猶大郡中為小、然將有一人自爾而出、為君於以色列、其原由於亙古、本於太初、

惟爾伯利恆、以法大、在猶大郡中、雖為卑微、然將有君於爾是出、代我牧以色列民、亙古以來即有之、顯著者屢矣。

惟爾伯利恆以法他、雖在猶大郡中郡中原文作諸千中千者即千家也為小、然將有君自爾出、為我治理以色列民、其源源原文作出自亙古自太初已有、

“ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.

Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.

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

“ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

But thou, Beth- lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.

Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity.

But thou, Bethlehem 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.

( 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.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.

“‘ But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah. A ruler will come out of you. He will rule my people Israel like a shepherd.’ ”( Micah 5:2)

Doesn’t Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the family line of David? Doesn’t it say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?”

“ City of Zion, be full of joy! People of Jerusalem, shout! See, your king comes to you. He always does what is right. He has won the victory. He is humble and riding on a donkey. He is sitting on a donkey’s colt.

A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace.There will be no limit to how great his authority is. The peace he brings will never end. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom. He will make the kingdom strong and secure. His rule will be based on what is fair and right. It will last forever. The Lord’ s great love will make sure that happens. He rules over all.

You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must call him Jesus.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago.The Son of the Most High God will rule forever over his people. They are from the family line of Jacob. That kingdom will never end.”

Jesse’s family is like a tree that has been cut down. A new little tree will grow from its stump. From its roots a Branch will grow and produce fruit.

Before you created the whole world and the mountains were made, from the beginning to the end you are God.

David was the son of an Ephrathite whose name was Jesse. Jesse was from Bethlehem in Judah and had eight sons. When Saul was king, Jesse was already very old.

“‘ The Lord and King says,“ I myself will get a twig from the very top of a cedar tree and plant it. I will break off the highest twig. I will plant it on a very high mountain.I will plant it on the high mountains of Israel. It will produce branches and bear fruit. It will become a beautiful cedar tree. All kinds of birds will make their nests in it. They will live in the shade of its branches.All the trees in the forest will know that I bring down tall trees. I make short trees grow tall. I dry up green trees. And I make dry trees green.”“‘ I have spoken. I will do this. I am the Lord.’ ”

The right to rule will not leave Judah. The ruler’s scepter will not be taken from between his feet. It will be his until the king it belongs to will come. The nations will obey that king.

So Rachel died. She was buried beside the road to Ephrath. Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.

As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died. It made me very sad. She died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way. We weren’t very far away from Ephrath. So I buried her body there beside the road to Ephrath.” Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.

Then Jesus came to them. He said,“ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Then the elders and all the people at the gate said,“ We are witnesses. The woman is coming into your home. May the Lord make her like Rachel and Leah. Together they built up the family of Israel. May you be an important person in Ephrathah. May you be famous in Bethlehem.

Judah also did not have the rights of the oldest son. Judah didn’t have them even though he was the leader among his brothers. And a ruler came from his family line. But the rights of the oldest son belonged to Joseph.

Penuel was the father of Gedor. Ezer was the father of Hushah. These people belonged to the family line of Hur. He was the oldest son of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.

All of them belonged to the family line of Caleb. Hur was the oldest son of Ephrathah. Hur was the brother of Shobal. Shobal was the father of Kiriath Jearim.Hur was the father of Salma. Salma was the father of Bethlehem. Hur was also the father of Hareph. Hareph was the father of Beth Gader.

So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. Joseph went there because he belonged to the family line of David.He went there with Mary to be listed. Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a baby.While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born.She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. That’s because there was no guest room where they could stay.

“ Here is what I command you to write to the church in Smyrna. Here are the words of Jesus, who is the First and the Last. He is the one who died and came to life again. He says,

Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together.

The voice said,“ Write on a scroll what you see. Send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”I turned around to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.In the middle of them was someone who looked“ like a son of man.”( Daniel 7:13) He was dressed in a long robe with a gold strip of cloth around his chest.The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a blazing fire.His feet were like bronze metal glowing in a furnace. His voice sounded like rushing waters.He held seven stars in his right hand. Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with two edges. His face was like the sun shining in all its brightness.When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. Then he put his right hand on me and said,“ Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.I am the Living One. I was dead. But now look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Hell.

So I chose the leading men of your tribes who were wise and respected. I appointed them to have authority over you. I made them commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. I appointed them to be officials over the tribes.

Here is what we announce to everyone about the Word of life. The Word was already here from the beginning. We have heard him. We have seen him with our eyes. We have looked at him. Our hands have touched him.

A written sign had been placed above him. It read, this is the king of the jews.

“ The Lord created me as the first of his works, before his acts of long ago.I was formed a long, long time ago. I was formed at the very beginning, when the world was created.

But now you have turned your backs on your God. He saves you out of all your trouble and suffering. In spite of that, you have said,‘ We refuse to listen. Place a king over us.’ So now gather together to meet with the Lord. Do it tribe by tribe and family group by family group.”

Here is the name that is written on the rider’s robe and on his thigh. the greatest king of all and the most powerful lord of all

Their leader will be one of their own people. Their ruler will rise up from among them. I will bring him near. And he will come close to me. He will commit himself to serve me,” announces the Lord.

In the beginning you made the earth secure. You placed it on its foundations. Your hands created the heavens.They will pass away. But you will remain. They will all wear out like a piece of clothing. You will make them like clothes that are taken off and thrown away.But you remain the same. Your years will never end.

There I will make them one nation. They will live on the mountains of Israel. All of them will have one king. They will never be two nations again. They will never again be separated into two kingdoms.They will no longer make themselves‘ unclean’ by worshiping any of their evil gods. They will not do wrong things anymore. They always turn away from me. But I will save them from that sin. I will make them pure and‘ clean.’ They will be my people. And I will be their God.“‘ “A man who belongs to the family line of my servant David will be their king. All of them will have one shepherd. They will obey my laws. And they will be careful to keep my rules.They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob. That is where your people of long ago lived. They, their children, their children’s children, and their children after them will live there forever. And my servant from David’s family line will be their prince forever.

He chose men of ability from the whole community of Israel. He made them leaders of the people. They became officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

He’ll choose some of your sons to be commanders of thousands of men. Some will be commanders of fifties. Others will have to plow his fields and gather his crops. Still others will have to make weapons of war and parts for his chariots.

They began to bring charges against Jesus. They said,“ We have found this man misleading our people. He is against paying taxes to Caesar. And he claims to be Messiah, a king.”

“ The time will come when I will set up David’s fallen shelter. I will repair its broken walls. I will rebuild what was destroyed. I will make it what it used to be.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important.

His servant grew up like a tender young plant. He grew like a root coming up out of dry ground. He didn’t have any beauty or majesty that made us notice him. There wasn’t anything special about the way he looked that drew us to him.

Find out about all the hiding places he uses. Come back to me with all the facts. I’ll go with you. Suppose he’s in the area. Then I’ll track him down among all the family groups of Judah.”

It is clear that our Lord came from the family line of Judah. Moses said nothing about priests who were from the tribe of Judah.

Here are the words we heard in Ephrathah. We heard them again in the fields of Kiriath Jearim.

Take along these ten chunks of cheese to the commander of their military group. Find out how your brothers are doing. Bring me back some word about them.

Here is the family line of Salma. It included Bethlehem, the people of Netophah, Atroth Beth Joab, half of the people of Manahath, and the Zorites.

It was about noon on Preparation Day in Passover Week.“ Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.But they shouted,“ Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”“ Should I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.“ We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.Finally, Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be nailed to a cross. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.He had to carry his own cross. He went out to a place called the Skull. In the Aramaic language it was called Golgotha.There they nailed Jesus to the cross. Two other men were crucified with him. One was on each side of him. Jesus was in the middle.Pilate had a notice prepared. It was fastened to the cross. It read, jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews.Many of the Jews read the sign. That’s because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And the sign was written in the Aramaic, Latin and Greek languages.The chief priests of the Jews argued with Pilate. They said,“ Do not write‘ The King of the Jews.’ Write that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”Pilate answered,“ I have written what I have written.”

In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning.All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him.

But choose men of ability from all the people. They must have respect for God. You must be able to trust them. They must not try to get money by cheating others. Appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

So I went and hid it at Perath. I did just as the Lord had told me to do.Many days later the Lord said to me,“ Go to Perath. Get the belt I told you to hide there.”

I will place one shepherd over them. He will belong to the family line of my servant David. He will take good care of them. He will look after them. He will be their shepherd.I am the Lord. I will be their God. And my servant from David’s family line will be the prince among them. I have spoken. I am the Lord.

He said to me,“ It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water to anyone who is thirsty. The water will come from the spring of the water of life. It doesn’t cost anything!