Micah 4-5

New Living Translation

The Lord’s Future Reign

4 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.
²People 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.
³The 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.
⁴Everyone 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!
⁵Though the nations around us follow their idols,
    we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

Israel’s Return from Exile

⁶“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.
⁷Those 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.”
⁸As 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.

⁹But 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.
¹⁰Writhe 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.

¹¹Now many nations have gathered against you.
    “Let her be desecrated,” they say.
    “Let us see the destruction of Jerusalem.^[d]”
¹²But 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.”

5 ^[f]Mobilize! Marshal your troops!
The enemy is laying siege to Jerusalem.
They will strike Israel’s leader
in the face with a rod.

A Ruler from Bethlehem

²^[g]But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
    whose origins are in the distant past,
    will come from you on my behalf.
³The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
    until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
    will return from exile to their own land.
⁴And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
    for he will be highly honored around the world.
⁵    And he will be the source of peace.

When the Assyrians invade our land
    and break through our defenses,
we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us,
    eight princes to lead us.
⁶They will rule Assyria with drawn swords
    and enter the gates of the land of Nimrod.
He will rescue us from the Assyrians
    when they pour over the borders to invade our land.

The Remnant Purified

⁷Then the remnant left in Israel^[h]
    will take their place among the nations.
They will be like dew sent by the Lord
    or like rain falling on the grass,
which no one can hold back
    and no one can restrain.
⁸The remnant left in Israel
    will take their place among the nations.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
    like a strong young lion among flocks of sheep and goats,
pouncing and tearing as they go
    with no rescuer in sight.
⁹The people of Israel will stand up to their foes,
    and all their enemies will be wiped out.

¹⁰“In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will slaughter your horses
    and destroy your chariots.
¹¹I will tear down your walls
    and demolish your defenses.
¹²I will put an end to all witchcraft,
    and there will be no more fortune-tellers.
¹³I will destroy all your idols and sacred pillars,
    so you will never again worship the work of your own hands.
¹⁴I will abolish your idol shrines with their Asherah poles
    and destroy your pagan cities.
¹⁵I will pour out my vengeance
    on all the nations that refuse to obey me.”