Sturz, 58). Third, the child has been taken as a symbol of the messianic age, which comes through pain (Gollinger, Das “grosse,” 166; Roloff), but since none of the other figures in the vision represents time periods, it is unlikely that the child does. who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. This line recalls what was said of God’s anointed king in Ps 2:9. The wording fits the LXX, which says that God’s king is to rule, or “shepherd” (poimanein), the nations. The MT differs and says that