The Mountain of the Lord

It shall come to pass (A)in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it,
    and many nations shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,[a]
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples,
    and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;
and they shall (B)beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore;
(C)but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
    (D)and no one shall make them afraid,
    (E)for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
For (F)all the peoples walk
    each in the name of its god,
but (G)we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
    forever and ever.

The Lord Shall Rescue Zion

(H)In that day, declares the Lord,
    (I)I will assemble the (J)lame
and gather those who have been driven away
    and those whom I have afflicted;
and the lame I will make (K)the remnant,
    and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and (L)the Lord will reign over them (M)in Mount Zion
    from this time forth and forevermore.

And you, O tower of the flock,
    hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
    the former dominion shall come,
    kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

Now why do you cry aloud?
    (N)Is there no king in you?
(O)Has your counselor perished,
    that (P)pain seized you like a woman in labor?
10 (Q)Writhe and groan,[b] O daughter of Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for (R)now you shall go out from the city
    and dwell in the open country;
    you (S)shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
    (T)there the Lord will redeem you
    from the hand of your enemies.

11 Now (U)many nations
    are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
    and (V)let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But (W)they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
    that (X)he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
    O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron,
    and I will make your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
    and (Y)shall devote[c] (Z)their gain to the Lord,
    their wealth to (AA)the Lord of the whole earth.

The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem

[d] Now muster your troops, O daughter[e] of troops;
    siege is laid against us;
with a rod (AB)they strike the judge of Israel
    on the cheek.
[f] (AC)But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of (AD)Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be (AE)ruler in Israel,
(AF)whose coming forth is (AG)from of old,
    from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up (AH)until the time
    when she who is in labor has given birth;
then (AI)the rest of his brothers shall return
    to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand (AJ)and shepherd his flock (AK)in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now (AL)he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be (AM)their peace.

(AN)When the Assyrian comes into our land
    and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven (AO)shepherds
    and eight princes of men;
they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
    and the land of (AP)Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
    (AQ)when he comes into our land
    and treads within our border.

A Remnant Shall Be Delivered

Then (AR)the remnant of Jacob shall be
    in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
    like showers on the grass,
which delay not for a man
    nor wait for the children of man.
And (AS)the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
    in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
    like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
(AT)which, when it goes through, treads down
    and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
Your hand shall (AU)be lifted up over your adversaries,
    and all your enemies shall be cut off.

10 And (AV)in that day, declares the Lord,
    (AW)I will cut off your horses from among you
    and will destroy your chariots;
11 (AX)and I will cut off the cities of your land
    and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off (AY)sorceries from your hand,
    and (AZ)you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
13 and (BA)I will cut off your carved images
    and (BB)your pillars from among you,
(BC)and you shall bow down no more
    to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out your (BD)Asherah images from among you
    (BE)and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrath (BF)I will execute vengeance
    on the nations that did not obey.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:2 Or teaching
  2. Micah 4:10 Or push
  3. Micah 4:13 Hebrew devote to destruction
  4. Micah 5:1 Ch 4:14 in Hebrew
  5. Micah 5:1 That is, city
  6. Micah 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew

The Mountain of the Lord(A)

In the last days

the mountain(B) of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(C)
    and peoples will stream to it.(D)

Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(E)
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.(F)
He will teach us(G) his ways,(H)
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(I) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between many peoples
    and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(J)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.(K)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war(L) anymore.(M)
Everyone will sit under their own vine
    and under their own fig tree,(N)
and no one will make them afraid,(O)
    for the Lord Almighty has spoken.(P)
All the nations may walk
    in the name of their gods,(Q)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
    our God for ever and ever.(R)

The Lord’s Plan

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;(S)
    I will assemble the exiles(T)
    and those I have brought to grief.(U)
I will make the lame my remnant,(V)
    those driven away a strong nation.(W)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion(X)
    from that day and forever.(Y)
As for you, watchtower of the flock,
    stronghold[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored(Z) to you;
    kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.(AA)

Why do you now cry aloud—
    have you no king[b](AB)?
Has your ruler[c] perished,
    that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?(AC)
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
    to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;(AD)
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem(AE) you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

11 But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat(AF) over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,(AG)
    that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Rise and thresh,(AH) Daughter Zion,
    for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
    and you will break to pieces many nations.”(AI)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,(AJ)
    their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

[d]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
    for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
    on the cheek(AK) with a rod.

“But you, Bethlehem(AL) Ephrathah,(AM)
    though you are small among the clans[e] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler(AN) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,(AO)
    from ancient times.”(AP)

Therefore Israel will be abandoned(AQ)
    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
    to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock(AR)
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness(AS)
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace(AT)
    when the Assyrians invade(AU) our land
    and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
    even eight commanders,(AV)
who will rule[f] the land of Assyria with the sword,
    the land of Nimrod(AW) with drawn sword.[g](AX)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
    when they invade our land
    and march across our borders.(AY)

The remnant(AZ) of Jacob will be
    in the midst of many peoples
like dew(BA) from the Lord,
    like showers on the grass,(BB)
which do not wait for anyone
    or depend on man.
The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
    in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,(BC)
    like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles(BD) as it goes,
    and no one can rescue.(BE)
Your hand will be lifted up(BF) in triumph over your enemies,
    and all your foes will be destroyed.

10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will destroy your horses from among you
    and demolish your chariots.(BG)
11 I will destroy the cities(BH) of your land
    and tear down all your strongholds.(BI)
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
    and you will no longer cast spells.(BJ)
13 I will destroy your idols(BK)
    and your sacred stones from among you;(BL)
you will no longer bow down
    to the work of your hands.(BM)
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[h](BN)
    when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance(BO) in anger and wrath
    on the nations that have not obeyed me.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:8 Or hill
  2. Micah 4:9 Or King
  3. Micah 4:9 Or Ruler
  4. Micah 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:14, and 5:2-15 is numbered 5:1-14.
  5. Micah 5:2 Or rulers
  6. Micah 5:6 Or crush
  7. Micah 5:6 Or Nimrod in its gates
  8. Micah 5:14 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.

10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.

12 But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

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.

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.

Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

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

And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:

11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:

12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.

14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.

15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.