Micah 4–5

Peace and Security through Obedience

⁴In days to come

the mountain of the Lord’s temple

shall be established as the highest of the mountains

and shall be raised up above the hills.

Peoples shall stream to it,^*

²and 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 that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.^*

³He shall judge between many peoples

and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

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;^*

⁴but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

and no one shall make them afraid,

for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.^*

⁵For all the peoples walk,

each in the name of its god,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God

forever and ever.^*

Restoration Promised after Exile

⁶On that day, says the Lord,

I will assemble the lame

and gather those who have been driven away

and those whom I have afflicted.^*

⁷The 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

now and forevermore.^*

⁸And you, O tower of the flock,

hill of daughter Zion,

to you it shall come,

the former dominion shall come,

the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem.^*

⁹Now why do you cry aloud?

Is there no king in you?

Has your counselor perished,

that pangs have seized you like a woman in labor?^*

¹⁰Writhe and groan,^j O daughter Zion,

like a woman in labor,

for now you shall go forth from the city

and camp in the open country;

you shall go to Babylon.

There you shall be rescued;

there the Lord will redeem you

from the hands of your enemies.^*

¹¹Now many nations

are assembled against you,

saying, “Let her be profaned,

and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”^*

¹²But 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.^*

¹³Arise and thresh,

O daughter Zion,

for I will make your horn iron

and your hoofs bronze;

you shall beat in pieces many peoples

and shall^k devote their gain to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.^*

^5lNow you are walled around with a wall;^m

siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel

upon the cheek.^*

The Ruler from Bethlehem

²ⁿBut you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to rule in Israel,

whose origin is from of old,

from ancient days.^*

³Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return

to the people of Israel.^*

⁴And 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 live secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth,^*

⁵and he shall be the one of peace.

If the Assyrians come into our land

and tread upon our soil,^o

we will raise against them seven shepherds

and eight rulers.^*

⁶They shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword

and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword;^p

they^q shall rescue us from the Assyrians

if they come into our land

or tread within our border.^*

The Future Role of the Remnant

⁷Then the remnant of Jacob,

surrounded by many peoples,

shall be like dew from the Lord,

like showers on the grass,

which do not depend upon people

or wait for any mortal.^*

⁸And among the nations the remnant of Jacob,

surrounded by many peoples,

shall be like a lion among the animals of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

which, when it goes through, treads down

and tears in pieces, with no one to deliver.^*

⁹Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,

and all your enemies shall be cut off.^*

¹⁰On that day, says the Lord,

I will cut off your horses from among you

and will destroy your chariots;^*

¹¹and I will cut off the cities of your land

and destroy all your strongholds;^*

¹²and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,

and you shall have no more soothsayers;^*

¹³and 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;

¹⁴and I will uproot your sacred poles^r from among you

and destroy your towns.^*

¹⁵And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance

on the nations that did not obey.^*