Israel Restored

12 “I iwill surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;

I will put them together jlike sheep of 1the fold,

Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;

kThey shall make a loud noise because of so many people.

13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;

They will break out,

Pass through the gate,

And go out by it;

lTheir king will pass before them,

mWith the Lord at their head.”

Wicked Rulers and Prophets

3 And I said:

“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,

And you arulers of the house of Israel:

bIs it not for you to know justice?

2 You who hate good and love evil;

Who strip the skin from 1My people,

And the flesh from their bones;

3 Who also ceat the flesh of My people,

Flay their skin from them,

Break their bones,

And chop them in pieces

Like meat for the pot,

dLike flesh in the caldron.”

4 Then ethey will cry to the Lord,

But He will not hear them;

He will even hide His face from them at that time,

Because they have been evil in their deeds.

5 Thus says the Lord fconcerning the prophets

Who make my people stray;

Who chant 2“Peace”

3While they gchew with their teeth,

But who prepare war against him

hWho puts nothing into their mouths:

6 “Therefore iyou shall have night without 4vision,

And you shall have darkness without divination;

The sun shall go down on the prophets,

And the day shall be dark for jthem.

7 So the seers shall be ashamed,

And the diviners abashed;

Indeed they shall all cover their lips;

kFor there is no answer from God.”

8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,

And of justice and might,

lTo declare to Jacob his transgression

And to Israel his sin.

9 Now hear this,

You heads of the house of Jacob

And rulers of the house of Israel,

Who abhor justice

And 5pervert all equity,

10 mWho build up Zion with nbloodshed

And Jerusalem with iniquity:

11 oHer heads judge for a bribe,

pHer priests teach for pay,

And her prophets divine for 6money.

qYet they lean on the Lord, and say,

“Is not the Lord among us?

No harm can come upon us.”

12 Therefore because of you

Zion shall be rplowed like a field,

sJerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,

And tthe mountain of the 7temple

Like the bare hills of the forest.

The Lord’s Reign in Zion

4 Now ait shall come to pass in the latter days

That the mountain of the Lord’s house

Shall be established on the top of the mountains,

And shall be exalted above the hills;

And peoples shall flow to it.

2 Many nations shall come and say,

“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

He will teach us His ways,

And we shall walk in His paths.”

For out of Zion the law shall go forth,

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

3 He shall judge between many peoples,

And rebuke strong nations afar off;

They shall beat their swords into bplowshares,

And their spears into 1pruning hooks;

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

cNeither shall they learn war anymore.

4 dBut everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,

And no one shall make them afraid;

For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

5 For all people walk each in the name of his god,

But ewe will walk in the name of the Lord our God

Forever and ever.

Zion’s Future Triumph

6 “In that day,” says the Lord,

f“I will assemble the lame,

gI will gather the outcast

And those whom I have afflicted;

7 I will make the lame ha remnant,

And the outcast a strong nation;

So the Lord iwill reign over them in Mount Zion

From now on, even forever.

8 And you, O tower of the flock,

The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,

To you shall it come,

Even the former dominion shall come,

The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

9 Now why do you cry aloud?

jIs there no king in your midst?

Has your counselor perished?

For kpangs have seized you like a woman in 2labor.

10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,

O daughter of Zion,

Like a woman in birth pangs.

For now you shall go forth from the city,

You shall dwell in the field,

And to lBabylon you shall go.

There you shall be delivered;

There the mLord will nredeem you

From the hand of your enemies.

11 oNow also many nations have gathered against you,

Who say, “Let her be defiled,

And let our eye plook upon Zion.”

12 But they do not know qthe thoughts of the Lord,

Nor do they understand His counsel;

For He will gather them rlike sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Arise sand tthresh, O daughter of Zion;

For I will make your horn iron,

And I will make your hooves bronze;

You shall ubeat in pieces many peoples;

vI will consecrate their gain to the Lord,

And their substance to wthe Lord of the whole earth.”

5 Now gather yourself in troops,

O daughter of troops;

He has laid siege against us;

They will astrike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.