Micah 4
1 Yahweh [says that] some day his temple will be on top of a mountain, and that mountain will be the most important [MET] one on the earth; it will be [as though it is] higher than all the hills, and huge groups of people from all over the world will come there [to worship].
And this shall be: In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be prepared at the top of the mountains and high above the hills. And the people will flow to it.
2 [People from] many nations will say [to each other], “Let’s go to the mountain where Yahweh is, to the temple where we can worship the God whom Jacob [worshiped]. There God will teach us how he wants us to conduct our lives, and we will do what he wants us to do.” Zion [Hill] is the place where he will teach [people]; and [people will go] out from Jerusalem [to tell others] his messages.
And many nations will hurry, and will say: “Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 Yahweh will settle disputes between many people, and he will [also] settle disputes between powerful nations that are far away. Then people will hammer their swords to cause them to become plow blades, and [hammer] their spears to cause them to become pruning knives. [Armies of] nations will no [longer] fight against [armies of other] nations, and they will no longer train [men how to fight] in wars.
And he will judge among the many peoples, and he will correct strong nations, even from afar. And they will cut up their swords into plows, and their spears into hoes. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to wage war.
4 Everyone will sit [peacefully] under his own grapevines, and under his own fig trees; no one will cause them to be afraid. [That is what will surely happen] because the Commander of the armies of angels has said it.
And a man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one to fear, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 Many [HYP] [of the people of other] nations will worship [IDM] their own gods, but we will worship Yahweh our God always, forever.
For all people will walk, each one in the name of his god. But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, forever and ever.
6 Yahweh says, “There will soon be a time when I will gather the people whom I have punished, who have been (exiled/forced to go to other countries), all those whom [I have caused to] suffer much.
In that day, says the Lord, I will gather together the lame. And I will recover her whom I had rejected, and her whom I had afflicted.
7 My people who did not die while they were exiled will become a strong nation [again]. Then [I], Yahweh, will be their king, and I will rule from Jerusalem forever.
And I will place the lame within the remnant, and she who had been in distress, within a healthy people. And the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion, from the present time and even unto eternity.
8 As for you people of Jerusalem [MET], you who [guard all of my people] like [MET] [a shepherd guards his sheep] from a tower, you [who live on] Zion [Hill], will have great power again. You people who live in Jerusalem will again rule like you did previously.
And you, cloudy tower of the flock of the daughter of Zion, even to you it will come. And the first power will arrive, the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 [So] why [RHQ] are you wailing now? Is it because you have no king? Have all your wise people died? You are groaning loudly like [SIM] a woman who is giving birth to a baby.
Now, why have you come together in grief? Is there not a king in you, or has your counselor gone away? For sorrow has overtaken you, like the pain of giving birth.
10 [Well], you people of Jerusalem should writhe and groan like [SIM] a woman who is having birth pains, because now you must leave this city, and [while you are traveling], you will set up tents in open fields [at night]; you will go to [live in] Babylon. [But while you are] there, [I], Yahweh, will rescue you; I will free you from the power/control [MTY] of your enemies.
Be grieved and overwhelmed, daughter of Zion, like a woman giving birth. For now you must depart from the city and dwell in the countryside, and you will approach even to Babylon. There you will be delivered. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your adversaries.
11 Now [the armies of] many nations have gathered to attack you. They are saying, ‘Jerusalem must be destroyed! We want to see this city [when it becomes ruins]!’
And now many peoples have been gathered together against you, and they say, “Let her be stoned and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know what [I], Yahweh, think, and they do not understand what I plan: I will gather them [and punish them] like [SIM] [farmers] thresh grain on the ground.
But they have not known the thoughts of the Lord, and they have not understood his counsel. For he has gathered them together like hay on a threshing floor.
13 So, you people of Jerusalem, rise up and punish [MET] [the nations who oppose you]. I will cause you [to be very strong], [as if] [MET] you had horns made of iron, [as if] [MET] you had hoofs made of bronze; and you will crush many nations. And [then you will take] from your enemies the valuable things that they have taken [from other countries], and you will dedicate those things to [me, the one who is] the Lord of all [the people on] the earth.”
Rise and thresh, daughter of Zion. For I will set your horn like iron, and I will set your hoofs like brass. And you will shatter many peoples, and you will immolate their spoils for the Lord, and their strength for the Lord of the whole earth.
