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“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.

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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.”

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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.”