Micah 4-5

New International Version

The Mountain of the Lord^(A)

4 In the last days

the mountain^(B) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,^(C)
and peoples will stream to it.^(D)

²Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,^(E)
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.^(F)
He will teach us^(G) his ways,^(H)
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law^(I) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
³He will judge between many peoples
    and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.^(J)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.^(K)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war^(L) anymore.^(M)
⁴Everyone will sit under their own vine
    and under their own fig tree,^(N)
and no one will make them afraid,^(O)
    for the Lord Almighty has spoken.^(P)
⁵All the nations may walk
    in the name of their gods,^(Q)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
    our God for ever and ever.^(R)

The Lord’s Plan

⁶“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;^(S)
    I will assemble the exiles^(T)
    and those I have brought to grief.^(U)
⁷I will make the lame my remnant,^(V)
    those driven away a strong nation.^(W)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion^(X)
    from that day and forever.^(Y)
⁸As for you, watchtower of the flock,
    stronghold^[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored^(Z) to you;
    kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.^(AA)”

⁹Why do you now cry aloud—
    have you no king^[b]^(AB)?
Has your ruler^[c] perished,
    that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?^(AC)
¹⁰Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
    to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;^(AD)
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem^(AE) you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

¹¹But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat^(AF) over Zion!”
¹²But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,^(AG)
    that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
¹³“Rise and thresh,^(AH) Daughter Zion,
    for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
    and you will break to pieces many nations.”^(AI)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,^(AJ)
    their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

5 ^[d]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek^(AK) with a rod.

²“But you, Bethlehem^(AL) Ephrathah,^(AM)
    though you are small among the clans^[e] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler^(AN) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,^(AO)
    from ancient times.”^(AP)

³Therefore Israel will be abandoned^(AQ)
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.

⁴He will stand and shepherd his flock^(AR)
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness^(AS)
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

⁵And he will be our peace^(AT)
    when the Assyrians invade^(AU) our land
    and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
    even eight commanders,^(AV)
⁶who will rule^[f] the land of Assyria with the sword,
    the land of Nimrod^(AW) with drawn sword.^[g]^(AX)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
    when they invade our land
    and march across our borders.^(AY)

⁷The remnant^(AZ) of Jacob will be
    in the midst of many peoples
like dew^(BA) from the Lord,
    like showers on the grass,^(BB)
which do not wait for anyone
    or depend on man.
⁸The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
    in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,^(BC)
    like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles^(BD) as it goes,
    and no one can rescue.^(BE)
⁹Your hand will be lifted up^(BF) in triumph over your enemies,
    and all your foes will be destroyed.

¹⁰“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will destroy your horses from among you
    and demolish your chariots.^(BG)
¹¹I will destroy the cities^(BH) of your land
    and tear down all your strongholds.^(BI)
¹²I will destroy your witchcraft
    and you will no longer cast spells.^(BJ)
¹³I will destroy your idols^(BK)
    and your sacred stones from among you;^(BL)
you will no longer bow down
    to the work of your hands.^(BM)
¹⁴I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles^[h]^(BN)
    when I demolish your cities.
¹⁵I will take vengeance^(BO) in anger and wrath
    on the nations that have not obeyed me.”

Footnotes

Micah 4:8 Or hill
Micah 4:9 Or King
Micah 4:9 Or Ruler
Micah 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:14, and 5:2-15 is numbered 5:1-14.
Micah 5:2 Or rulers
Micah 5:6 Or crush
Micah 5:6 Or Nimrod in its gates
Micah 5:14 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

1 Peter 2-3

New International Version

2 Therefore, rid yourselves^(A) of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander^(B) of every kind. ²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,^(C) so that by it you may grow up^(D) in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.^(E)

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴As you come to him, the living Stone^(F)—rejected by humans but chosen by God^(G) and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built^(H) into a spiritual house^[a]^(I) to be a holy priesthood,^(J) offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.^(K) ⁶For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,^(L)
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”^[b]^(M)

⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,^(N)

“The stone the builders rejected^(O)
has become the cornerstone,”^[c]^(P)

⁸and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”^[d]^(Q)

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.^(R)

⁹But you are a chosen people,^(S) a royal priesthood,^(T) a holy nation,^(U) God’s special possession,^(V) that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.^(W) ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;^(X) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

¹¹Dear friends,^(Y) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,^(Z) to abstain from sinful desires,^(AA) which wage war against your soul.^(AB) ¹²Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds^(AC) and glorify God^(AD) on the day he visits us.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority:^(AE) whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong^(AF) and to commend those who do right.^(AG) ¹⁵For it is God’s will^(AH) that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.^(AI) ¹⁶Live as free people,^(AJ) but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;^(AK) live as God’s slaves.^(AL) ¹⁷Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers,^(AM) fear God, honor the emperor.^(AN)

¹⁸Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters,^(AO) not only to those who are good and considerate,^(AP) but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.^(AQ) ²⁰But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.^(AR) ²¹To this^(AS) you were called,^(AT) because Christ suffered for you,^(AU) leaving you an example,^(AV) that you should follow in his steps.

²²“He committed no sin,^(AW)
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”^[e]^(AX)

²³When they hurled their insults at him,^(AY) he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.^(AZ) Instead, he entrusted himself^(BA) to him who judges justly.^(BB) ²⁴“He himself bore our sins”^(BC) in his body on the cross,^(BD) so that we might die to sins^(BE) and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”^(BF) ²⁵For “you were like sheep going astray,”^[f]^(BG) but now you have returned to the Shepherd^(BH) and Overseer of your souls.^(BI)

3 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves^(BJ) to your own husbands^(BK) so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over^(BL) without words by the behavior of their wives, ²when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.^(BM) ⁴Rather, it should be that of your inner self,^(BN) the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.^(BO) ⁵For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God^(BP) used to adorn themselves.^(BQ) They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.^(BR) You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

⁷Husbands,^(BS) in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Suffering for Doing Good

⁸Finally, all of you, be like-minded,^(BT) be sympathetic, love one another,^(BU) be compassionate and humble.^(BV) ⁹Do not repay evil with evil^(BW) or insult with insult.^(BX) On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,^(BY) because to this^(BZ) you were called^(CA) so that you may inherit a blessing.^(CB) ¹⁰For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
¹¹They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”^[g]^(CC)

¹³Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?^(CD) ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.^(CE) “Do not fear their threats^[h]; do not be frightened.”^[i]^(CF) ¹⁵But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer^(CG) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope^(CH) that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶keeping a clear conscience,^(CI) so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.^(CJ) ¹⁷For it is better, if it is God’s will,^(CK) to suffer for doing good^(CL) than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered once^(CM) for sins,^(CN) the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.^(CO) He was put to death in the body^(CP) but made alive in the Spirit.^(CQ) ¹⁹After being made alive,^[j] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits^(CR)— ²⁰to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently^(CS) in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.^(CT) In it only a few people, eight in all,^(CU) were saved^(CV) through water, ²¹and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you^(CW) also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience^(CX) toward God.^[k] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,^(CY) ²²who has gone into heaven^(CZ) and is at God’s right hand^(DA)—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.^(DB)