2ND CHAPTER

The Lord Will Teach the Nations—Micah 4:1–3

1 This is the message which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem. 

2  In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house 

will be established as the highest of the mountains 

and raised above the hills. 

All the nations will stream to it. 

3  Then many people will come and say, 

“Let’s go to the mountain of the Lord, 

to the house of the God of Jacob. 

He will teach us his ways so that we may live by them.” 

The teachings will go out from Zion. 

The Lord’s word will go out from Jerusalem. 

4  Then he will judge disputes between nations 

and settle arguments between many people. 

They will hammer their swords into plowblades 

and their spears into pruning shears. 

Nations will never fight against each other, 

and they will never train for war again. 

5  Come, descendants of Jacob, 

let’s live in the light of the Lord. 

Israel’s Sins

6  Lord, you have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob, 

because they are filled with Eastern influences. 

They are fortunetellers like the Philistines, 

and they make deals with foreigners. 

7  Their land is filled with silver and gold, 

and there is no end to their treasures. 

Their land is filled with horses, 

and there is no end to their chariots. 

8  Their land is filled with idols, 

and they worship what their hands have shaped 

and what their fingers have molded. 

9  People will be brought down. Everyone will be humbled. 

Do not forgive them. 

10  Go in among the rocks and hide underground 

because of the Lord’s terrifying presence 

and the honor of his majesty. 

11  The eyes of arrogant people will be humbled. 

High and mighty people will be brought down. 

On that day the Lord alone will be honored. 

The Day of the Lord’s Judgment

12  The Lord of Armies will have his day 

against all who are arrogant and conceited 

and all who are proud of themselves (they will be humbled), 

13  against all the towering and mighty cedars of Lebanon 

and all the oaks of Bashan, 

14  against all the high mountains 

and all the lofty hills, 

15  against every high tower 

and every fortified wall, 

16  against all the large ships of Tarshish 

and all the beautiful boats. 

17  Then arrogant people will be brought down, 

and high and mighty people will be humbled. 

On that day the Lord alone will be honored. 

18  Then idols will disappear completely. 

19  People will go into caves in the rocks 

and into holes in the ground 

because of the Lord’s terrifying presence 

and the honor of his majesty 

when he rises to terrify the earth. 

20  On that day people will throw to the moles and the bats 

the silver and gold idols that they made 

for themselves to worship. 

21  They will go into caves in the rocks 

and into cracks in the cliffs 

because of the Lord’s terrifying presence 

and the honor of his majesty 

when he rises to terrify the earth. 

22  Stop trusting people. 

Their life is in their nostrils. 

How can they be worth anything?