Old/New Testament
The Lord’s Rule from Restored Zion
4 In the last days(A)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(B)
will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will stream to it,(C)
2 and many nations will come and say,(D)
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,(E)
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways(F)
so we may walk in his paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion(G)
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will settle disputes among many peoples(H)
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
4 But each person will sit under his grapevine(I)
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.(J)
For the mouth of the Lord(K) of Armies
has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk
in the name of their own gods,(L)
we will walk(M) in the name of the Lord our God
forever and ever.(N)
6 On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,(O)
those I have injured.
7 I will make the lame into a remnant,(P)
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the Lord will reign over them(Q) in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
8 And you, watchtower for the flock,(R)
fortified hill[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former rule(S) will come to you;
sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.
From Exile to Victory
9 Now, why are you shouting loudly?(T)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished(U)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and cry out,[b](V) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city(W)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;(X)
there the Lord will redeem you(Y)
from the grasp of your enemies!
11 Many nations have now assembled against you;(Z)
they say, “Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
12 But they do not know the Lord’s intentions(AA)
or understand his plan,
that he has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Rise and thresh,(AB) Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze
so you can crush many peoples.(AC)
Then you[c] will set apart their plunder(AD)
for the Lord,
their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.
From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King
5 Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge(AE) of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.
2 Bethlehem Ephrathah,(AF)
you are small among the clans of Judah;
one will come from you(AG)
to be ruler over Israel for me.(AH)
His origin[d] is from antiquity,(AI)
from ancient times.
3 Therefore, Israel will be abandoned(AJ) until the time
when she who is in labor(AK) has given birth;
then the rest of the ruler’s brothers(AL) will return
to the people of Israel.(AM)
4 He will stand and shepherd them(AN)
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majestic name of the Lord his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.(AO)
5 He will be their peace.(AP)
When Assyria invades our land,(AQ)
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
6 They will shepherd(AR) the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(AS) with a drawn blade.[e]
So he will rescue us(AT) from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.
The Glorious and Purified Remnant
7 Then the remnant of Jacob(AU)
will be among many peoples
like dew from the Lord,(AV)
like showers on the grass,(AW)
which do not wait for anyone
or linger for mankind.
8 Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among the nations, among many peoples,
like a lion among animals of the forest,(AX)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples(AY) and tears(AZ) as it passes through,
and there is no one to rescue them.(BA)
9 Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,(BB)
and all your enemies will be destroyed.
10 In that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will remove your horses from you(BC)
and wreck your chariots.
11 I will remove the cities of your land(BD)
and tear down all your fortresses.(BE)
12 I will remove sorceries from your hands,(BF)
and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.
13 I will remove your carved images(BG)
and sacred pillars from you
so that you will no longer worship
the work of your hands.
14 I will pull up the Asherah poles(BH) from among you(BI)
and demolish your cities.[f]
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath(BJ)
against the nations that have not obeyed me.
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
12 A great sign[a] appeared in heaven:(A) a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.(B) 2 She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth.(C) 3 Then another sign[b] appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon(D) having seven heads and ten horns,(E) and on its heads were seven crowns.[c] 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.(F) And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child.(G) 5 She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule[d] all nations with an iron rod.(H) Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God,(I) to be nourished there[e] for 1,260 days.(J)
The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael(K) and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail,(L) and there was no place for them in heaven any longer.(M) 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent,(N) who is called the devil and Satan,(O) the one who deceives the whole world.(P) He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.(Q) 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,(R)
because the accuser(S) of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb(T)
and by the word of their testimony;(U)
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.(V)
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!(W)
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.
The Woman Persecuted
13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted[f] the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle,(X) so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time.(Y) 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war(Z) against the rest of her offspring[g](AA)—those who keep the commands of God(AB) and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.(AC)
The Beast from the Sea
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