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 at the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, established on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and the peoples shall hasten 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 shall go, and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and they shall show us his way, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Sion shall go forth a law, 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 shall judge among many peoples, and shall rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; and nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war any more.

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 every one shall rest under his vine, and every one under his fig tree; and there shall be none to alarm [them]: for the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these [words].

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 [other] nations shall walk everyone in his own way, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever 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 her that is bruised, and will receive her that is cast out, and those whom I rejected.

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 make her that was bruised a remnant, and her that was rejected a mighty nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Sion from henceforth, even for ever.

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, dark tower of the flock, daughter of Sion, on you the dominion shall come and enter in, [even] the first kingdom from Babylon 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.

And now, why have you known calamities? was there not a king to you? or has your counsel perished that pangs as of a woman in travail have seized upon you?

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 in pain, and strengthen yourself, and draw near, O daughter of Sion, as a woman in travail: for now you shall go forth out of the city, and shall lodge in the plain, and shall reach even to Babylon: thence shall the Lord your God deliver you, and thence shall he redeem you out of the hand of your enemies.

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 have many nations gathered against you, saying, We will rejoice, and our eyes shall look upon Sion.

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 know not the thought of the Lord, and have not understood his counsel: for he has gathered them as sheaves of the 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.”

Arise, and thresh them, O daughter of Sion: for I will make your horns iron, and I will make your hoofs brass: and you shall utterly destroy many nations, and shall consecrate their abundance to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth.