Micah 4-5

Contemporary English Version

Peace and Prosperity

4 In the future, the mountain
with the Lord's temple
    will be the highest of all.
It will reach above the hills,
and every nation
    will rush to it.
²People of many nations
    will come and say,
“Let's go up to the mountain
of the Lord God of Jacob
    and worship in his temple.”

The Lord will teach us his Law
from Jerusalem,
    and we will obey him.
³^(A) He will settle arguments
between distant
    and powerful nations.
They will pound their swords
and their spears
    into rakes and shovels;
they will never again make war
    or attack one another.
⁴^(B) Everyone will find rest
beneath their own fig trees
    or grape vines,
and they will live in peace.
This is a solemn promise
    of the Lord All-Powerful.

⁵Others may follow their gods,
but we will always follow
the Lord our God.

The Lord Will Lead His People Home

⁶The Lord said:
At that time
    I will gather my people—
the lame and the outcasts,
and all others into whose lives
    I have brought sorrow.
⁷Then the lame and the outcasts
will belong to my people
    and become a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will rule them
    from Mount Zion forever.
⁸Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
guardian of my people,
    you will rule again.

⁹Jerusalem, why are you crying?
Don't you have a king?
    Have your advisors gone?
Are you suffering
    like a woman in childbirth?
¹⁰Keep on groaning with pain,
    you people of Jerusalem!
If you escape from your city
    to the countryside,
you will still be taken
    as prisoners to Babylonia.
But later I will rescue you
    from your enemies.

¹¹Zion, because of your sins
you are surrounded
    by many nations who say,
“We can hardly wait
    to see you disgraced.”^[a]
¹²But they don't know
    that I, the Lord,
have gathered them here
    to grind them like grain.
¹³Smash them to pieces, Zion!
I'll let you be like a bull
    with iron horns
    and bronze hoofs.
Crush those nations
and bring their wealth to me,
    the Lord of the earth.

A Promised Ruler

5 Jerusalem, enemy troops
have surrounded you;^[b]
they have struck Israel's ruler
in the face with a stick.

²^(C) Bethlehem Ephrath,
you are one of the smallest towns
    in the nation of Judah.
But the Lord will choose
one of your people
    to rule the nation—
someone whose family
    goes back to ancient times.^[c]
³The Lord will abandon Israel
    only until this ruler is born,
and the rest of his family^[d]
    returns to Israel.
⁴Like a shepherd
    taking care of his sheep,
this ruler will lead
    and care for his people
by the power and glorious name
    of the Lord his God.
His people will live securely,
and the whole earth will know
    his true greatness,
⁵because he will bring peace.

Assyria Will Be Defeated

Let Assyria attack our country
    and our palaces.
We will counterattack,
    led by a number of rulers
⁶^(D) whose strong army will defeat
    the nation of Assyria.^[e]
Yes, our leaders will rescue us,
if those Assyrians
    dare to invade our land.

The Survivors Will Be Safe

⁷A few of Jacob's descendants
survived and are scattered
    among the nations.
But the Lord will let them
cover the earth like dew and rain
    that refreshes the soil.
⁸At present they are scattered,
    but later they will attack,
as though they were fierce lions
    pouncing on sheep.
Their enemies will be torn
to shreds,
    with no one to save them;
⁹they will be helpless,
    completely destroyed.

Idols Will Be Destroyed in Israel

¹⁰The Lord said:
At that time I will wipe out
    your cavalry and chariots,
¹¹as well as your cities
    and your fortresses.
¹²I will stop you
from telling fortunes
    and practicing witchcraft.
¹³You will no longer worship
the idols or stone images
    you have made—
I will destroy them,
¹⁴together with the sacred poles^[f]
    and even your towns.
¹⁵I will become furious
and take revenge on the nations
    that refuse to obey me.

Footnotes

4.11 We … disgraced: Or “We'll pull up your skirt and expose your nakedness!”
5.1 Jerusalem … you: Or “Jerusalem, you are slashing yourself in sorrow, because of the enemy troops.”
5.2 family … times: Or “kingdom is eternal.”
5.3 family: Or “people.”
5.6 the nation of Assyria: The Hebrew text uses both “land of Assyria” and “land of Nimrod,” which was a poetic name for Assyria.
5.14 sacred poles: Used in the worship of Asherah, the fertility goddess.