Add parallel Print Page Options

“In that day,” says Yahweh,
    “I will assemble that which is lame,
    and I will gather that which is driven away,
    and that which I have afflicted;
    and I will make that which was lame a remnant,
    and that which was cast far off a strong nation:
    and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.”
You, tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion,
    to you it will come,
    yes, the former dominion will come,
    the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
Now why do you cry out aloud?
    Is there no king in you?
    Has your counselor perished,
    that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in travail?
10 Be in pain, and labor to give birth, daughter of Zion,
    like a woman in travail;
    for now you will go out of the city,
    and will dwell in the field,
    and will come even to Babylon.
There you will be rescued.
    There Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
11 Now many nations have assembled against you, that say,
    “Let her be defiled,
    and let our eye gloat over Zion.”
12 But they don’t know the thoughts of Yahweh,
    neither do they understand his counsel;
    for he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion;
    for I will make your horn iron,
    and I will make your hoofs bronze;
and you will beat in pieces many peoples:
and I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
    and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.

Read full chapter

On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,(A)
those I have injured.
I will make the lame into a remnant,(B)
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the Lord will reign over them(C) in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
And you, watchtower for the flock,(D)
fortified hill[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former rule(E) will come to you;
sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.

From Exile to Victory

Now, why are you shouting loudly?(F)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished(G)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and cry out,[b](H) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city(I)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;(J)
there the Lord will redeem you(K)
from the grasp of your enemies!
11 Many nations have now assembled against you;(L)
they say, “Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
12 But they do not know the Lord’s intentions(M)
or understand his plan,
that he has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Rise and thresh,(N) Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze
so you can crush many peoples.(O)
Then you[c] will set apart their plunder(P)
for the Lord,
their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 4:8 Or flock, Ophel
  2. 4:10 Hb obscure
  3. 4:13 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads I