Micah 4

1 In the last days
the mountain of the Lord ’s temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.

2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.

6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame;
I will assemble the exiles
and those I have brought to grief.

7 I will make the lame a remnant,
those driven away a strong nation.
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion
from that day and forever.

8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

9 Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king ?
Has your ruler perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem you
out of the hand of your enemies.

11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
he who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
and you will break to pieces many nations.”
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

MICAH 4

Peace and Prosperity

1 In the future, the mountain
with the [Lord]'s temple
will be the highest of all.
It will reach above the hills,
and every nation
will rush to it.

2 People of many nations
will come and say,
“Let's go up to the mountain
of the [Lord] God of Jacob
and worship in his temple.”
The [Lord] will teach us his Law
from Jerusalem,
and we will obey him.

3  t He will settle arguments
between distant
and powerful nations.
They will pound their swords
and their spears
into rakes and shovels;
they will never again make war
or attack one another.

4  t Everyone will find rest
beneath their own fig trees
or grape vines,
and they will live in peace.
This is a solemn promise
of the [Lord] All-Powerful.

5 Others may follow their gods,
but we will always follow
the [Lord] our God.

The [Lord] Will Lead His People //Home

6 The [Lord] said:
At that time
I will gather my people—
the lame and the outcasts,
and all others into whose lives
I have brought sorrow.

7 Then the lame and the outcasts
will belong to my people
and become a strong nation.
I, the [Lord], will rule them
from Mount Zion forever.

8 Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
guardian of my people,
you will rule again.

9 Jerusalem, why are you crying?
Don't you have a king?
Have your advisors gone?
Are you suffering
like a woman in childbirth?

10 Keep on groaning with pain,
you people of Jerusalem!
If you escape from your city
to the countryside,
you will still be taken
as prisoners to Babylonia.
But later I will rescue you
from your enemies.

11 Zion, because of your sins
you are surrounded
by many nations who say,
“We can hardly wait
to see you disgraced.”t

12 But they don't know
that I, the [Lord],
have gathered them here
to grind them like grain.

13 Smash them to pieces, Zion!
I'll let you be like a bull
with iron horns
and bronze hoofs.
Crush those nations
and bring their wealth to me,
the [Lord] of the earth.