Micah 4–5

The ’s Universal Reign of Peace

4In days to come

the mountain where the Temple stands

will be the highest one of all,

towering above all the hills.

Many nations will come streaming to it,

²and their people will say,

“Let us go up the hill of the Lord,^f

to the Temple of Israel’s God.

He will teach us what he wants us to do;

we will walk in the paths he has chosen.

For the Lord’s teaching comes from Jerusalem;

from Zion he speaks to his people.”

^3*He will settle disputes

among the nations, among the great powers near and far.

They will hammer their swords into ploughs

and their spears into pruning knives.

Nations will never again go to war,

never prepare for battle again.

^4*Everyone will live in peace

among his own vineyards and fig trees,

and no one will make him afraid.

The Lord Almighty has promised this.

⁵Each nation worships and obeys its own god, but we will worship and obey the Lord our God for ever and ever.

Israel Will Return from Exile

⁶“The time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will gather together the people I punished, those who have suffered in exile. ⁷They are crippled and far from home, but I will make a new beginning with those who are left, and they will become a great nation. I will rule over them on Mount Zion from that time on and for ever.”

⁸And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd, watches over his people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours. ⁹Why do you cry out so loudly? Why are you suffering like a woman in labour? Is it because you have no king, and your counsellors are dead? ¹⁰Twist and groan,^g people of Jerusalem, like a woman giving birth, for now you will have to leave the city and live in the open country. You will have to go to Babylon, but there the Lord will save you from your enemies. ¹¹Many nations have gathered to attack you. They say, “Jerusalem must be destroyed! We will see this city in ruins!” ¹²But these nations do not know what is in the Lord’s mind. They do not realize that they have been gathered together to be punished in the same way that corn is brought in to be threshed.

¹³The Lord says, “People of Jerusalem, go and punish your enemies! I will make you as strong as a bull with iron horns and bronze hoofs. You will crush many nations, and the wealth they got by violence you will present to me, the Lord of the whole world.”

5People of Jerusalem, gather your forces!^h We are besieged! They are attacking the leader of Israel!

God Promises a Ruler from Bethlehem

^2*The Lord says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times.”

³So the Lord will abandon his people to their enemies until the woman who is to give birth has her son. Then those Israelites who are in exile will be reunited with their own people. ⁴When he comes, he will rule his people with the strength that comes from the Lord and with the majesty of the Lord God himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness, ⁵and he will bring peace.

Deliverance and Punishment

When the Assyrians invade our country and break through our defences, we will send our strongest leaders to fight them. ^6*By force of arms they will conquer Assyria, the land of Nimrod, and theyⁱ will save us from the Assyrians when they invade our territory.

⁷The people of Israel who survive will be like refreshing dew sent by the Lord for many nations, like showers on growing plants. They will depend on God, not human beings. ⁸Those who are left among the nations will be like a lion hunting for food in a forest or a pasture: it gets in among the sheep, pounces on them, and tears them to pieces—and there is no hope of rescue. ⁹Israel will conquer her enemies and destroy them all.

¹⁰The Lord says, “At that time I will take away your horses and destroy your chariots. ¹¹I will destroy the cities in your land and tear down all your defences. ¹²I will destroy the magic charms you use and leave you without any fortune tellers. ¹³I will destroy your idols and sacred stone pillars; no longer will you worship the things that you yourselves have made. ¹⁴I will pull down the images of the goddess Asherah in your land and destroy your cities. ¹⁵And in my great anger I will take revenge on all nations that have not obeyed me.”