Micah 4:1–3

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future1 the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all;2

it will be more prominent than other hills.3

People will stream to it.

4:2 Many nations will come, saying,

“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple4 of Jacob’s God,

so he can teach us his commands5

and we can live by his laws.”6

For Zion will be the source of instruction;

the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem.7

4:3 He will arbitrate8 between many peoples

and settle disputes between many9 distant nations.10

They will beat their swords into plowshares,11

and their spears into pruning hooks.12

Nations will not use weapons13 against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

1	tn Heb “at the end of days.”
2	tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”
3	tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”
4	tn Heb “house.”
5	tn Heb “ways.”
6	tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”
7	tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
8	tn Or “judge.”
9	tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”
10	tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”
11	sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
12	sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117–18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
13	tn Heb “take up the sword.”