Micah 4-5

World English Bible

4 But in the latter days,
    it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains,
    and it will be exalted above the hills;
    and peoples will stream to it.
² Many nations will go and say,
    “Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
    and to the house of the God of Jacob;
    and he will teach us of his ways,
    and we will walk in his paths.”
For the law will go out of Zion,
    and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;
³ and he will judge between many peoples,
    and will decide concerning strong nations afar off.
    They will beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
    neither will they learn war any more.
⁴ But every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree.
    No one will make them afraid,
for the mouth of Yahweh of Armies has spoken. ⁵     Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods,
    but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever.
⁶ “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;
⁷     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.”
⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.
You will beat in pieces many peoples.
I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
    and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.

5 Now you shall gather yourself in troops,
    daughter of troops.
He has laid siege against us.
    They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
² But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    being small among the clans of Judah,
    out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel;
    whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
³ Therefore he will abandon them until the time that she who is in labor gives birth.
    Then the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel.
⁴ He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh,
    in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God.
    They will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.
⁵ He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land
    and when he marches through our fortresses,
    then we will raise against him seven shepherds,
    and eight leaders of men.
⁶ They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
    and the land of Nimrod in its gates.
He will deliver us from the Assyrian,
    when he invades our land,
    and when he marches within our border.
⁷ The remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples
    like dew from Yahweh,
    like showers on the grass,
    that don’t wait for man
    nor wait for the sons of men.
⁸ The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
    among many peoples,
    like a lion among the animals of the forest,
    like a young lion among the flocks of sheep;
    who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces,
    and there is no one to deliver.
⁹ Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries,
    and let all of your enemies be cut off.
¹⁰ “It will happen in that day”, says Yahweh,
    “that I will cut off your horses from among you
    and will destroy your chariots.
¹¹ I will cut off the cities of your land
    and will tear down all your strongholds.
¹² I will destroy witchcraft from your hand.
    You shall have no soothsayers.
¹³ I will cut off your engraved images and your pillars from among you;
    and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.
¹⁴ I will uproot your Asherah poles from among you;
    and I will destroy your cities.
¹⁵ I will execute vengeance in anger
    and wrath on the nations that didn’t listen.”