Micah 4-5
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Peace and Security through Obedience
4 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it,
2 and many nations shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
and shall decide for strong nations afar off;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
and none shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 For all the peoples walk
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
for ever and ever.
Restoration Promised after Exile
6 In that day, says the Lord,
I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away,
and those whom I have afflicted;
7 and the lame I will make the remnant;
and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and for evermore.
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
the former dominion shall come,
the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished,
that pangs have seized you like a woman in travail?
10 Writhe and groan,[a] O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in travail;
for now you shall go forth from the city
and dwell in the open country;
you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued,
there the Lord will redeem you
from the hand of your enemies.
11 Now many nations
are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be profaned,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord,
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron
and your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples,
and shall[b] devote their gain to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
5 [c] Now you are walled about with a wall;[d]
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike upon the cheek
the ruler of Israel.
The Ruler from Bethlehem
2 [e] But you, O Bethlehem Eph′rathah,
who are little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in travail has brought forth;
then the rest of his brethren shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And this shall be peace,
when the Assyrian comes into our land
and treads upon our soil,[f]
that we will raise against him seven shepherds
and eight princes of men;
6 they shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword;[g]
and they[h] shall deliver us from the Assyrian
when he comes into our land
and treads within our border.
The Future Role of the Remnant
7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
like showers upon the grass,
which tarry not for men
nor wait for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which, when it goes through, treads down
and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
and all your enemies shall be cut off.
10 And in that day, says the Lord,
I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you shall have no more soothsayers;
13 and I will cut off your images
and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out your Ashe′rim from among you
and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
upon the nations that did not obey.
Footnotes
- Micah 4:10 Heb uncertain
- Micah 4:13 Gk Syr Tg: Heb I will
- Micah 5:1 Ch 4.14 in Heb
- Micah 5:1 Cn Compare Gk: Heb obscure
- Micah 5:2 Ch 5.1 in Heb
- Micah 5:5 Gk: Heb in our palaces
- Micah 5:6 Cn: Heb in its entrances
- Micah 5:6 Heb he
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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