so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;

From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.

And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward.

I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

His roots wrap around the rock heap, And look for a place in the stones.

Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground,

His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above.

If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’— Since the root of the matter is found in me,

He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.

My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch.

Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food.

Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.

You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land.

A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

“Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.

The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant.

Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit.

And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward.

Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.