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Peaceful Latter Days

But it shall come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the Lord
Shall be established as the highest and chief of the mountains;
It shall be above the hills,
And peoples shall flow [like a river] 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 about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law shall go forward from Zion,
And the word of the Lord [the revelation about Him and His truth] from Jerusalem.

And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for strong and distant nations.
Then they shall hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks [so that the implements of war may become the tools of agriculture];
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Nor shall they ever again train for war.(A)

Each of them shall sit [in security and peace] under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the [omnipotent] Lord of hosts has spoken it.(B)

For all the peoples [now] walk
Each in the name of his god [in a transient relationship],
As for us, we shall walk [securely]
In the name of the Lord our [true] God forever and ever.


“In that day,” says the Lord,
“I shall assemble the lame,
And gather the outcasts [from foreign captivity],
Even those whom I have caused pain.

“I shall make the lame a [godly] remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation;
And the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion
From this time on and forever.

“As for you [Jerusalem], tower of the flock [of Israel],
Hill and stronghold of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem’s inhabitants),
To you the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the Daughter of Jerusalem [when the Messiah reigns in Jerusalem, and the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled].(C)


“Now, why do you cry out loudly?
Is there no king among you?
Has your counselor perished?
For agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.
10 
“Writhe in pain and labor to give birth,
O Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you shall go out of the city,
Live in the field,
And go to Babylon.
There you will be rescued;
There the Lord shall redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 
“Now many [conquering] nations are assembled against you,
Who say, ‘Let her be profaned [through Gentile presence and the temple’s destruction],
And let our eyes gaze on and gloat over Zion.’
12 
“But they (Gentile nations) do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His purpose and plan;
For He has gathered them (Gentiles) like sheaves to the threshing floor [for destruction].
13 
“Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion!
For I will make your horn iron
And I will make your hoofs bronze;
That you may beat many peoples in pieces [trampling down your enemies],
That you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain (pagan possessions)
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.(D)

The Lord’s Future Reign

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
    will be the highest of all—
    the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
    and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
    and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
    his word will go out from Jerusalem.
The Lord will mediate between peoples
    and will settle disputes between strong nations far away.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
    nor train for war anymore.
Everyone will live in peace and prosperity,
    enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees,
    for there will be nothing to fear.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    has made this promise!
Though the nations around us follow their idols,
    we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

Israel’s Return from Exile

“In that coming day,” says the Lord,
“I will gather together those who are lame,
    those who have been exiles,
    and those whom I have filled with grief.
Those who are weak will survive as a remnant;
    those who were exiles will become a strong nation.
Then I, the Lord, will rule from Jerusalem[a]
    as their king forever.”
As for you, Jerusalem,
    the citadel of God’s people,[b]
your royal might and power
    will come back to you again.
The kingship will be restored
    to my precious Jerusalem.

But why are you now screaming in terror?
    Have you no king to lead you?
Have your wise people all died?
    Pain has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.
10 Writhe and groan like a woman in labor,
    you people of Jerusalem,[c]
for now you must leave this city
    to live in the open country.
You will soon be sent in exile
    to distant Babylon.
But the Lord will rescue you there;
    he will redeem you from the grip of your enemies.

11 Now many nations have gathered against you.
    “Let her be desecrated,” they say.
    “Let us see the destruction of Jerusalem.[d]
12 But they do not know the Lord’s thoughts
    or understand his plan.
These nations don’t know
    that he is gathering them together
to be beaten and trampled
    like sheaves of grain on a threshing floor.
13 “Rise up and crush the nations, O Jerusalem!”[e]
    says the Lord.
“For I will give you iron horns and bronze hooves,
    so you can trample many nations to pieces.
You will present their stolen riches to the Lord,
    their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.”

Footnotes

  1. 4:7 Hebrew Mount Zion.
  2. 4:8 Hebrew As for you, Migdal-eder, / the Ophel of the daughter of Zion.
  3. 4:10 Hebrew O daughter of Zion.
  4. 4:11 Hebrew of Zion.
  5. 4:13 Hebrew “Rise up and thresh, O daughter of Zion.”

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.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:8 Or hill
  2. Micah 4:9 Or King
  3. Micah 4:9 Or Ruler

The Making of God’s People

1-4 But when all is said and done,
    God’s Temple on the mountain,
Firmly fixed, will dominate all mountains,
    towering above surrounding hills.
People will stream to it
    and many nations set out for it,
Saying, “Come, let’s climb God’s mountain.
    Let’s go to the Temple of Jacob’s God.
He will teach us how to live.
    We’ll know how to live God’s way.”
True teaching will issue from Zion,
    God’s revelation from Jerusalem.
He’ll establish justice in the rabble of nations
    and settle disputes in faraway places.
They’ll trade in their swords for shovels,
    their spears for rakes and hoes.
Nations will quit fighting each other,
    quit learning how to kill one another.
Each man will sit under his own shade tree,
    each woman in safety will tend her own garden.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so,
    and he means what he says.

Meanwhile, all the other people live however they wish,
    picking and choosing their gods.
But we live honoring God,
    and we’re loyal to our God forever and ever.

6-7 “On that great day,” God says,
    “I will round up all the hurt and homeless,
    everyone I have bruised or banished.
I will transform the battered into a company of the elite.
    I will make a strong nation out of the long lost,
A showcase exhibit of God’s rule in action,
    as I rule from Mount Zion, from here to eternity.

“And you stragglers around Jerusalem,
    eking out a living in shantytowns:
The glory that once was will be again.
    Jerusalem’s daughter will be the kingdom center.”

* * *

9-10 So why the doomsday hysterics?
    You still have a king, don’t you?
But maybe he’s not doing his job
    and you’re panicked like a woman in labor.
Well, go ahead—twist and scream, Daughter Jerusalem.
    You are like a woman in childbirth.
You’ll soon be out of the city, on your way
    and camping in the open country.
And then you’ll arrive in Babylon.
    What you lost in Jerusalem will be found in Babylon.
God will give you new life again.
    He’ll redeem you from your enemies.

11-12 But for right now, they’re ganged up against you,
    many godless peoples, saying,
“Kick her when she’s down! Violate her!
    We want to see Zion grovel in the dirt.”
These blasphemers have no idea
    what God is thinking and doing in this.
They don’t know that this is the making of God’s people,
    that they are wheat being threshed, gold being refined.

13 On your feet, Daughter of Zion! Be threshed of chaff,
    be refined of dross.
I’m remaking you into a people invincible,
    into God’s juggernaut to crush the godless peoples.
You’ll bring their plunder as holy offerings to God,
    their wealth to the Master of the earth.