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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 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”