Peaceful Latter Days

And it will come about in the (A)last days
That the (B)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [a]as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the (C)peoples will stream to it.
(D)Many nations will come and say,
(E)Come and let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
So that (F)He may teach us about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For (G)from Zion will go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And He will (H)judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, [b]distant nations.
Then they will beat their swords (I)into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift a sword against nation,
And never again will they [c]train for war.
Instead, each of them will (J)sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With (K)no one to make them afraid,
Because the (L)mouth of the Lord of armies has spoken.
Though all the peoples walk,
Each in the (M)name of his god,
As for us, (N)we will walk
In the name of the (O)Lord our God forever and ever.

“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble those who (P)limp
And (Q)gather the scattered,
Those whom I have afflicted.
I will make those who limp a (R)remnant,
And those who [d]have strayed a mighty nation,
And the (S)Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion
From now on and forever.
As for you, [e](T)tower of the flock,
[f]Hill of the daughter of Zion,
To you it will come—
Yes, the (U)former dominion will come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.

“Now, why do you (V)cry out loudly?
Is there no king among you,
Or has your (W)counselor perished,
That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?
10 (X)Writhe and scream,
Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you will (Y)go out of the city,
Live in the field,
And go to Babylon.
(Z)There you will be rescued,
(AA)There the Lord will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 And now (AB)many nations have been assembled against you
Who say, ‘Let her be defiled,
And let our eyes [g]gloat over Zion!’
12 But they do not (AC)know the thoughts of the Lord,
And they do not understand His plan;
For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and (AD)thresh, daughter of Zion,
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs bronze,
So that you may (AE)pulverize many peoples,
And (AF)dedicate to the Lord their unjust profit,
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:1 Lit on
  2. Micah 4:3 Lit at a distance
  3. Micah 4:3 Lit learn
  4. Micah 4:7 Or are far removed
  5. Micah 4:8 Heb Migdal-eder
  6. Micah 4:8 Heb Ophel
  7. Micah 4:11 Lit see with pleasure

A peaceable world

But in the days to come,
        the mountain of the Lord’s house
            will be the highest of the mountains;
        it will be lifted above the hills;
            peoples will stream to it.
Many nations will go and say:
    “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
            to the house of Jacob’s God,
        so that he may teach us his ways
            and we may walk in God’s paths!”
Instruction will come from Zion
        and the Lord’s word from Jerusalem.
God will judge between the nations
        and settle disputes of mighty nations,
            which are far away.
They will beat their swords into iron plows
        and their spears into pruning tools.
Nation will not take up sword against nation;
        they will no longer learn how to make war.
All will sit underneath their own grapevines,
        under their own fig trees.
    There will be no one to terrify them;
        for the mouth of the Lord of heavenly forces has spoken.

An assertion of enduring loyalty

Each of the peoples walks in the name of their own god;
        but as for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
            forever and always.

Dominion in Zion

On that day, says the Lord,
        I will gather the lame;
        I will assemble those who were driven away
            and those whom I have harmed.
I will make the lame into survivors,
        those driven away into a mighty nation.
    The Lord will rule over them on Mount Zion
        from now on and forever.
As for you, Tower of Eder,[a] hill of Daughter Zion,
    as for you it will come,
        the former dominion will come,
        the royal power belonging to Daughter Zion.

God is in control

Now why do you cry out so loudly?
    Isn’t the king in you?
    Or has your counselor perished,
        so that pain has seized you like that of a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and scream, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor!
        Now you will leave the city and dwell in the open field;
            you will go to Babylon.
        There you will be rescued;
            there the Lord will redeem you from the power of your enemies.
11 Now many nations may gather against you;
        they say, “Let her be defiled,”
        or “Let our eyes look with desire at Zion.”
12 But they don’t know the plans of the Lord;
            they can’t understand his scheme,
        namely, that he will bring them like grain to the threshing floor!
13 Arise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
        for I will make your horn out of iron;
        your hooves I will make out of bronze.
    You will crush many peoples;
        you will dedicate their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
        their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:8 Or tower of the flock