Micah 4
New Catholic Bible
The Expectation of Renewal[a]
Chapter 4
We Shall Go to the Mountain of God
1 In days to come,
the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest of the mountains,
towering above other hills.
Peoples will stream toward it;
2 many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
so that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion will instruction go forth,
and from Jerusalem the word of the Lord.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and serve as an arbiter,
between mighty and distant nations.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
nor will they ever again be trained for war.
4 Each man will sit under his own vine
or under his own fig tree
with no cause for alarm,
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 For all the peoples go forth,
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord, our God,
forever and ever.
Gathering Up the Dispersed Flock
6 On that day, says the Lord,
I will gather the lame;
I will assemble those who have been driven away
and those whom I have afflicted.
7 I will make the lame into a remnant,
and turn into a strong nation those who were cast off.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion
now and forevermore.
8 As for you, O tower of the flock,[b]
hill of daughter Zion,
the promises made to you
will be fulfilled,
and your former security will be restored,
the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem.
A Sorrowful Childbirth
9 Why are you now crying out?
Have you no king any longer,
or has your counselor perished,
that you are afflicted with pains
like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe in pain and cry aloud,
O daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor.
For now you must go forth from the city
and camp in the open country.
You will go to Babylon
where you will be saved.
There the Lord will deliver you
from the hands of your enemies.
The Nations Crush the Land of God
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be profaned;
let us gloat over Zion.”
12 However, they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord
or comprehend his plan.
For he has gathered them
like sheaves on the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn like iron
and your hooves like bronze
so that you may crush many peoples.
You shall devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
From You Bethlehem There Will Be Born the One Who Will Rule[c]
14 Now withdraw behind your walls,
for they have laid siege against you.
With a rod they will strike on the cheek
the ruler of Israel.
Footnotes
- Micah 4:1 In this section it is difficult to determine what is from Micah and what is postexilic.
- Micah 4:8 Tower of the flock: a symbolic name for Jerusalem.
- Micah 4:14 As had already happened in the past, the new leader, the new David, is to come from a modest rural family (see 1 Sam 16:1-13; 17:12), and the prophet sings of his glory. As we read in St. Matthew (Mt 2:5-6) and St. John (Jn 7:42), in the time of Jesus this oracle was interpreted as predicting the birthplace of the Messiah. It is a fine example of how God chooses someone unexpected and weak in order to confound the mighty and the strong (see Jdg 6:15; 1 Sam 9:21; 1 Cor 1:27). Speaking of the woman who is to give birth (Mic 5:2), the prophet alludes to the promise given by Isaiah (Isa 7:14) some years before, in which the Christian tradition, following the lead of the first Gospel (Mt 1:23), sees a veiled announcement of the birth of Jesus.
Micah 4
Living Bible
4 But in the last days Mount Zion will be the most renowned of all the mountains of the world, praised by all nations; people from all over the world will make pilgrimages there.
2 “Come,” they will say to one another, “let us visit the mountain of the Lord, and see the Temple of the God of Israel; he will tell us what to do, and we will do it.” For in those days the whole world will be ruled by the Lord from Jerusalem! He will issue his laws and announce his decrees from there.
3 He will arbitrate among the nations and dictate to strong nations far away. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall no longer fight each other, for all war will end. There will be universal peace, and all the military academies and training camps will be closed down.
4 Everyone will live quietly in his own home in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord himself has promised this. 5 (Therefore we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever, even though all the nations around us worship idols!)
6 In that coming day, the Lord says that he will bring back his punished people—sick and lame and dispossessed— 7 and make them strong again in their own land, a mighty nation, and the Lord himself shall be their King from Mount Zion forever. 8 O Jerusalem—the Watchtower of God’s people—your royal might and power will come back to you again, just as before.
9 But for now, you scream in terror. Where is your king to lead you? He is dead! Where are your wise men? All are gone! Pain has gripped you like a woman in labor. 10 Writhe and groan in your terrible pain, O people of Zion, for you must leave this city and live in the fields; you will be sent far away into exile in Babylon. But there I will rescue you and free you from the grip of your enemies.
11 True, many nations have gathered together against you, calling for your blood, eager to destroy you. 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord nor understand his plan, for the time will come when the Lord will gather together the enemies of his people like sheaves upon the threshing floor, helpless before Israel.
13 Rise, thresh, O daughter of Zion; I will give you horns of iron and hoofs of brass; you will trample to pieces many people, and you will give their wealth as offerings to the Lord, the Lord of all the earth.
Mika 4
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015
Israel ska återvända till sitt land
4 (A) Det ska ske i den yttersta tiden
att berget med Herrens hus
ska stå fast grundat
och vara högst bland bergen,
upphöjt över höjderna.
Och alla folk ska strömma dit.
2 (B) och många folk ska gå i väg och säga:
”Kom, låt oss gå upp
till Herrens berg,
till Jakobs Guds hus.
Han ska lära oss sina vägar
så att vi kan vandra
på hans stigar.”
För undervisningen
ska gå ut från Sion,
Herrens ord från Jerusalem.
3 (C) Han ska döma mellan många folk
och skipa rätt åt mäktiga hednafolk,
ända bort i fjärran land.
Då ska de smida sina svärd
till plogbillar
och sina spjut till vingårdsknivar.
Folken ska inte lyfta svärd
mot varandra
och inte mer öva för krig.[a]
4 (D) Var och en ska sitta
under sin vinstock och sitt fikonträd[b]
utan fruktan,
för så har Herren Sebaots mun talat.
5 (E) Alla andra folk vandrar
vart och ett i sin guds namn,
men vi ska vandra
i Herren vår Guds namn,
alltid och för evigt.
6 (F) På den dagen, säger Herren,
ska jag samla de haltande
och föra samman de fördrivna
och dem som jag har plågat.
7 (G) Jag ska göra de haltande till en rest
och de fördrivna
till ett mäktigt folk,
och Herren ska vara kung
över dem på Sions berg
från nu och till evig tid.
8 (H) Och du Herdetorn,
dottern Sions kulle,
till dig ska det komma,
det forna herraväldet ska komma,
dottern Jerusalems kungadöme.
9 (I) Men varför ropar du så högt?
Finns det ingen kung hos dig,
är din rådgivare borta
eftersom du gripits av vånda
likt en barnaföderska?
10 (J) Vrid dig i födslosmärtor
likt en födande kvinna,
dotter Sion,
för nu måste du dra ut ur staden
och bo på öppna fältet.
Ända till Babel[c] ska du komma.
Där ska du befrias,
där ska Herren förlossa dig
ur dina fienders hand.
11 (K) Nu samlas många folk mot dig,
och de säger:
”Hon ska bli orenad,
och våra ögon ska se
med lust på Sion.”
12 (L) Men de känner inte
Herrens tankar,
de förstår inte hans rådslut,
att han har samlat dem
som kärvar till tröskplatsen.
13 (M) Res dig och tröska[d], dotter Sion,
för jag ska ge dig horn av järn
och klövar av koppar.
Du ska krossa många folk
och viga bytet från dem åt Herren,
deras skatter åt hela jordens Herre.
Footnotes
- 4:1f Stycket återfinns även i Jesaja 2:2-4. De två profeterna var samtida och kände troligen varandra.
- 4:4 under sin vinstock och sitt fikonträd Uttryck för trygghet och gott liv (jfr 1 Kung 4:25, Sak 3:10).
- 4:10 till Babel Hit fördes folket bort över hundra år senare, 597 och 587 f Kr (se 2 Kung 24-25). De befriades av perserkungen Koresh 539 f Kr (Esra 1) och fick återvända till sitt land (vers 6).
- 4:13 tröska Att krossa skördad säd på tröskplatsen (Jes 28:28), en bild för våldsam behandling.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015, Copyright © 2015 by Svenska Folkbibeln Foundation
