Chapter 4

Peaceful Latter Days

1 And it will come about in the alast days

That the bmountain of the house of the Lord

Will be established 1as the chief of the mountains.

It will be raised above the hills,

And the cpeoples will stream to it.

2 aMany nations will come and say,

“bCome and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord

And to the house of the God of Jacob,

That cHe may teach us about His ways

And that we may walk in His paths.”

For dfrom Zion will go forth the law,

Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

3 And He will ajudge between many peoples

And render decisions for mighty, 1distant nations.

Then they will hammer their swords binto plowshares

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

And never again will they 2train for war.

4 Each of them will asit under his vine

And under his fig tree,

With bno one to make them afraid,

For the cmouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

5 Though all the peoples walk

Each in the aname of his god,

As for us, bwe will walk

In the name of the cLord our God forever and ever.

6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will assemble the alame

And bgather the outcasts,

Even those whom I have afflicted.

7 “I will make the lame a aremnant

And the outcasts a strong nation,

And the bLord will reign over them in Mount Zion

From now on and forever.

8 “As for you, 1atower of the flock,

2Hill of the daughter of Zion,

To you it will come—

Even the bformer dominion will come,

The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.

9 “Now, why do you acry out loudly?

Is there no king among you,

Or has your bcounselor perished,

That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?

10 “aWrithe and labor to give birth,

Daughter of Zion,

Like a woman in childbirth;

For now you will bgo out of the city,

Dwell in the field,

And go to Babylon.

cThere you will be rescued;

dThere the Lord will redeem you

From the hand of your enemies.

11 “And now amany nations have been assembled against you

Who say, ‘Let her be polluted,

And let our eyes 1gloat over Zion.’

12 “But they do not aknow the thoughts of the Lord,

And they do not understand His purpose;

For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Arise and athresh, daughter of Zion,

For your horn I will make iron

And your hoofs I will make bronze,

That you may bpulverize many peoples,

That you may cdevote to the Lord their unjust gain

And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Chapter 5

Birth of the King in Bethlehem

1 “1Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;

2They have laid siege against us;

With a rod they will asmite the judge of Israel on the cheek.

2 “1But as for ayou, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From byou One will go forth for Me to be cruler in Israel.

2His goings forth are dfrom long ago,

From the days of eternity.”

3 Therefore He will agive them up until the time

When she bwho is in labor has borne a child.

Then the cremainder of His brethren

Will return to the sons of Israel.

4 And He will arise and ashepherd His flock

In the strength of the Lord,

In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.

And they will 1remain,

Because 2at that time He will be great

To the bends of the earth.

5 This One awill be our peace.

When the bAssyrian invades our land,

When he tramples on our 1citadels,

Then we will raise against him

Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.

6 They will ashepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,

The land of bNimrod at its entrances;

And He will cdeliver us from the Assyrian

When he attacks our land

And when he tramples our territory.

7 Then the aremnant of Jacob

Will be among many peoples

Like bdew from the Lord,

Like cshowers on vegetation

Which do not wait for man

Or delay for the sons of men.

8 The remnant of Jacob

Will be among the nations,

Among many peoples

aLike a lion among the beasts of the forest,

Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,

Which, if he passes through,

bTramples down and ctears,

And there is dnone to rescue.

9 Your hand will be alifted up against your adversaries,

And all your enemies will be cut off.

10 “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,

“aThat I will cut off your bhorses from among you

And destroy your chariots.

11 “I will also cut off the acities of your land

And tear down all your bfortifications.

12 “I will cut off asorceries from your hand,

And you will have fortune-tellers no more.

13 “aI will cut off your carved images

And your sacred pillars from among you,

So that you will no longer bow down

To the work of your hands.

14 “I will root out your 1aAsherim from among you

And destroy your cities.

15 “And I will aexecute vengeance in anger and wrath

On the nations which have not obeyed.”

Chapter 6

God’s Indictment of His People

1 Hear now what the Lord is saying,

“Arise, plead your case 1before the mountains,

And let the hills hear your voice.

2 “Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord,

And you enduring afoundations of the earth,

Because the bLord has a case against His people;

Even with Israel He will dispute.

3 “aMy people, bwhat have I done to you,

And chow have I wearied you? Answer Me.

4 “Indeed, I abrought you up from the land of Egypt

And bransomed you from the house of slavery,

And I sent before you cMoses, Aaron and dMiriam.

5 “My people, remember now

What aBalak king of Moab counseled

And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,

And from bShittim to cGilgal,

So 1that you might know the drighteous acts of the Lord.”

What God Requires of Man

6 aWith what shall I come to the Lord

And bow myself before the God on high?

Shall I come to Him with bburnt offerings,

With yearling calves?

7 Does the Lord take delight in athousands of rams,

In ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I present my bfirstborn for my rebellious acts,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has atold you, O man, what is good;

And bwhat does the Lord require of you

But to cdo justice, to dlove 1kindness,

And to walk 2ehumbly with your God?

9 The voice of the Lord will call to the city—

And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:

“Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed 1its time?

10 “Is there yet a man in the wicked house,

Along with treasures of awickedness

And a 1bshort measure that is cursed?

11 “Can I justify wicked ascales

And a bag of deceptive weights?

12 “For the rich men of the 1city are full of aviolence,

Her residents speak blies,

And their ctongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 “So also I will make you asick, striking you down,

bDesolating you because of your sins.

14 “You will eat, but you will anot be satisfied,

And your 1vileness will be in your midst.

You will try to remove for safekeeping,

But you will bnot preserve anything,

And what you do preserve I will give to the sword.

15 “You will sow but you will anot reap.

You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil;

And the grapes, but you will bnot drink wine.

16 “The statutes of aOmri

And all the works of the house of bAhab are observed;

And in their devices you cwalk.

Therefore I will give you up for ddestruction

And 1your inhabitants for ederision,

And you will bear the freproach of My people.”