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

Revelation 12

New International Version

The Woman and the Dragon

12 A great sign^(A) appeared in heaven:^(B) a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars^(C) on her head. ²She was pregnant and cried out in pain^(D) as she was about to give birth. ³Then another sign appeared in heaven:^(E) an enormous red dragon^(F) with seven heads^(G) and ten horns^(H) and seven crowns^(I) on its heads. ⁴Its tail swept a third^(J) of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.^(K) The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child^(L) the moment he was born. ⁵She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”^[a]^(M) And her child was snatched up^(N) to God and to his throne. ⁶The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.^(O)

⁷Then war broke out in heaven. Michael^(P) and his angels fought against the dragon,^(Q) and the dragon and his angels^(R) fought back. ⁸But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent^(S) called the devil,^(T) or Satan,^(U) who leads the whole world astray.^(V) He was hurled to the earth,^(W) and his angels with him.

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven^(X) say:

“Now have come the salvation^(Y) and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,
    and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,^(Z)
    who accuses them before our God day and night,
    has been hurled down.
¹¹They triumphed over^(AA) him
    by the blood of the Lamb^(AB)
    and by the word of their testimony;^(AC)
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.^(AD)
¹²Therefore rejoice, you heavens^(AE)
    and you who dwell in them!
But woe^(AF) to the earth and the sea,^(AG)
    because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

¹³When the dragon^(AH) saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.^(AI) ¹⁴The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle,^(AJ) so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time,^(AK) out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵Then from his mouth the serpent^(AL) spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war^(AM) against the rest of her offspring^(AN)—those who keep God’s commands^(AO) and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.^(AP)