Micah 4

1 In the last days, the mountain where the Lord's Temple stands will be recognized as the highest of all mountains, rising above other hills. Crowds of people from many places will travel to it.

And it has come to pass, In the latter end of the days, The mountain of the house of YHWH Is established above the top of the mountains, And it has been lifted up above the hills, And flowed to it have peoples.

2 Many nations will come and say, “Let's go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob. There God will teach us his ways and we will follow his directions.” God's teachings will spread out from Zion, his word from Jerusalem.

And gone have many nations and said, “Come and we go up to the mountain of YHWH, And to the house of the God of Jacob, And He teaches us of His ways, And we walk in His paths,” For a law goes forth from Zion, And a word of YHWH from Jerusalem.

3 The Lord will decide the cases of the nations, he will settle arguments between distant powerful nations. They will hammer their swords and turn them into plough blades, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not fight against each other anymore; they will no longer learn methods of warfare.

And He has judged between many peoples, And given a decision to mighty nations far off, They have beaten their swords to plowshares, And their spears to pruning-hooks, Nation does not lift up sword to nation, Nor do they learn war anymore.

4 Everyone will be able to sit under their own vine and their own fig tree, for there will be no one to make them afraid. I the Lord Almighty has spoken!

And they have sat each under his vine, And under his fig tree, And there is none troubling, For the mouth of YHWH of Hosts has spoken.

5 Even though all the other nations follow their gods, we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

For all the peoples walk, Each in the name of its god—and we, We walk in the Name of our God YHWH, For all time and forever.

6 On that day, declares the Lord, I will gather those who are lame, I will bring together those who have been scattered in exile, those whom I punished.

“In that day,” a declaration of YHWH, “I gather the halting one, And the driven away one I bring together, And she whom I have afflicted.

7 I will make those who remain, crippled and driven far away, into a strong nation, and the Lord will rule them from Mount Zion forever and ever.

And I have set the halting for a remnant, And the far-off for a mighty nation, And YHWH has reigned over them in Mount Zion, From now on, and for all time.

8 And as for you, Jerusalem, watchtower of the flock, your former royal rule and power will be returned to you: the kingdom will be given back to Jerusalem.

And you, O Tower of Eder, Fort of the daughter of Zion, to you it comes, Indeed, the former rule has come in, The kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem.”

9 So why are you screaming aloud? Don't you have a king? Has the king who advises you died so that pain has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?

Now why do you shout aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, That pain as of a travailing woman has taken hold of you?

10 Thrash around in agony like a woman giving birth, people of Zion—for you will be expelled from the city, forced to camp out in the open, and exiled to Babylon. But the Lord will bring you back, and rescue you from the power of your enemies.

Be pained, and bring forth, O daughter of Zion, As a travailing woman, For now you go forth from the city, And you have dwelt in the field, And you have gone to Babylon, There you are delivered, There YHWH redeems you from the hand of your enemies.

11 Right now many enemies are gathered against you, saying, “Let us attack and violate her, so we can look with gloating over Zion!”

And now, many nations have gathered against you, who are saying: “Let her be defiled, and our eyes look on Zion.”

12 But they don't know what the Lord is thinking, and don't understand what he is planning. He has brought them together like bundles of grain to the threshing floor.

They have not known the thoughts of YHWH, Nor have they understood His counsel, For He has gathered them as a sheaf [into] a threshing-floor.

13 People of Zion, get up and start threshing, for I will make for you iron horns and bronze hooves so you can break many nations into pieces. You will present their stolen plunder to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion, For I make your horn iron, And I make your hooves bronze, And you have beaten small many peoples, And I have devoted to YHWH their gain, And their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth!