1. Now you will be devastated, you daughter of a robber. They have placed a blockade against us, with a rod they will strike the jaw of the judge of Israel.

2. And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, are a little one among the thousands of Judah. From you will go forth he who shall be the ruler in Israel, and his landing place has been set from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

3. Because of this, he will provide for them, even until the time in which she who bears him gives birth. And the remnant of his brothers will be converted to the sons of Israel.

4. And he will stand firm and feed on the strength of the Lord, according to the sublime name of the Lord his God. And they will be converted, for now he will be magnified, even to the ends of the earth.

5. And this man will be our peace, when the Assyrian will come into our land, and when he will trample on our houses; and we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men.

6. And they will graze on the land of Assur with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with its spears; and he will free us from Assur, when he will come into our land, and when he will trample our borders.

7. And there will be a remnant of Jacob in the midst of many peoples, like a dew from the Lord and like drops upon the grass, which awaits no man and does not stand before the sons of men.

8. And there will be a remnant of Jacob within the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forests, and like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, when he will pass through and trample down and seize, there is none who can rescue.

9. Your hand will be exalted over your enemies, and all your adversaries will pass away.

10. And it will be in that day, says the Lord: I will take away your horses from your midst, and I will utterly ruin your four-horse chariots.

11. And I will destroy the cities of your land, and I will pull down all your fortifications, and I will take away evil-doing from your hand, and there will be no divinations among you.

12. And I will cause your graven images to perish, and your statues, from your midst. And you will no longer adore the works of your hands.

13. And I will root out your sacred groves from your midst, and I will crush your cities.

14. And I will exact vengeance, in fury and in indignation, among all the nations which have not listened.





“Se você não entrega seu coração a Deus, o que lhe entrega?” “Você deve seguir outra estrada. Tire de seu coração todas as paixões deste mundo, humilhe-se na poeira e reze! Dessa forma, certamente você encontrará Deus, que lhe dará paz e serenidade nesta vida e a eterna beatitude na próxima.” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina