The Lord’s Reign in Zion(A)

Now (B)it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into (C)plowshares,
And their spears into [a]pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
(D)Neither shall they learn war anymore.

(E)But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid;
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
For all people walk each in the name of his god,
But (F)we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
Forever and ever.

Zion’s Future Triumph

“In that day,” says the Lord,
(G)“I will assemble the lame,
(H)I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
I will make the lame (I)a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the Lord (J)will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

Now why do you cry aloud?
(K)Is there no king in your midst?
Has your counselor perished?
For (L)pangs have seized you like a woman in [b]labor.
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,
And to (M)Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered;
There the (N)Lord will (O)redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.

11 (P)Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, “Let her be defiled,
And let our eye (Q)look upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know (R)the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them (S)like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Arise(T) and (U)thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall (V)beat in pieces many peoples;
(W)I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to (X)the Lord of the whole earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:3 pruning knives
  2. Micah 4:9 childbirth

The Mountain of Yahweh

And it will be that at the end of those days,
the mountain of Yahweh
    will be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it will be lifted up above the hills,
    and people will stream to it.
And many nations will come and say,
“Come! Let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
    and to the temple[a] of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways,
    and that we may walk in his paths,”
for the law will go out from Zion,
    and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
And he will judge between many peoples
    and will arbitrate for strong nations far away;
and they will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation will not lift up a sword against a nation,
    and they will no longer learn war.
But they will sit, each under his vine
    and under his fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
    for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken.
For all the nations walk,
    each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God,
    forever and ever.

Yahweh Will Deliver Zion

“In that day,” declares Yahweh,[b]
    “I will assemble the one who limps,
and I will gather the one who has been scattered,
    and those whom I have mistreated.
And I will make the one who limps a remnant,
    and the one driven far away a strong nation,
and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion
    from now to forever.
And you, O Migdal-Eder,[c]
    hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you it will come,
    and the former dominion will come,
    the reign of the daughter of Jerusalem.
So then, why do you shout a loud shout?
    Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished
    that pangs like a woman in labor have seized you?
10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
    like a woman in labor.
For now you will go forth from the city,
    and you will camp in the field;
    you will go to Babylon.
There you will be rescued;
    there Yahweh will redeem you
    from the hand of your enemies.
11 And now, many nations are gathered against you
    who are saying, ‘Let her be defiled,
    and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.’
12 But they do not know the thoughts of Yahweh,
    and they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them as sheaves
    to his threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion,
    for your horn I will make as iron
    and your hooves as bronze.
And you will break many peoples in pieces,
    and their gain you will devote to destruction to Yahweh,
    and their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:2 Literally “house”
  2. Micah 4:6 Literally “a declaration of Yahweh”
  3. Micah 4:8 Or “tower of the flock”