Micah 4-5

New Catholic Bible

¹ In days to come,
    the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest of the mountains,
    towering above other hills.
Peoples will stream toward it;
²     many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
so that he may teach us his ways
    and we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion will instruction go forth,
    and from Jerusalem the word of the Lord.
³ He will judge between many peoples
    and serve as an arbiter,
    between mighty and distant nations.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
    nor will they ever again be trained for war.
⁴ Each man will sit under his own vine
    or under his own fig tree
with no cause for alarm,
    for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
⁵ For all the peoples go forth,
    each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord, our God,
    forever and ever.

⁶ On that day, says the Lord,
    I will gather the lame;
I will assemble those who have been driven away
    and those whom I have afflicted.
⁷ I will make the lame into a remnant,
    and turn into a strong nation those who were cast off.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion
    now and forevermore.
⁸ As for you, O tower of the flock,^[b]
    hill of daughter Zion,
the promises made to you
    will be fulfilled,
and your former security will be restored,
    the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem.

⁹ Why are you now crying out?
    Have you no king any longer,
    or has your counselor perished,
that you are afflicted with pains
    like a woman in labor?
¹⁰ Writhe in pain and cry aloud,
    O daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor.
For now you must go forth from the city
    and camp in the open country.
You will go to Babylon
    where you will be saved.
There the Lord will deliver you
    from the hands of your enemies.

¹¹ But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be profaned;
    let us gloat over Zion.”
¹² However, they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord
    or comprehend his plan.
For he has gathered them
    like sheaves on the threshing floor.
¹³ Arise and thresh,
    O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn like iron
    and your hooves like bronze
    so that you may crush many peoples.
You shall devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
    their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.

¹⁴ Now withdraw behind your walls,
    for they have laid siege against you.
With a rod they will strike on the cheek
    the ruler of Israel.

¹ But from you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,^[d]
    among the tiniest of the clans of Judah,
from you will come forth for me
    one who is to be a ruler in Israel,
one whose origins are from the distant past,
    from ancient times.
² Therefore, the Lord will abandon them
    only until she who is in labor has given birth.
Then those of the people who survive
    will be reunited with the Israelites.
³ He will rise up to shepherd his flock
    by the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name
    of the Lord his God.
And they will live in security,
    for then his greatness will be renowned
to the ends of the earth.
⁴     He will ensure their peace.

If the Assyrians invade our country
    and set foot upon our land,
we shall raise against them seven shepherds
    and appoint eight^[e] men to serve as rulers.
⁵ They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
    and the land of Nimrod with drawn swords.
And we will be delivered from Assyria
    if it invades our country
    or treads upon our borders.

⁶ Then the remnant of Jacob,
    surrounded by many peoples,
will be like dew from the Lord,
    like showers on the grass,
which do not depend upon man
    or wait for any man’s bidding.
⁷ And among the nations the remnant of Jacob
    will be surrounded by many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
    like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
trampling and tearing to pieces as it goes,
    with no one able to stop the carnage.
⁸ Your hand will be lifted up over your foes,
    and all your adversaries will be destroyed.
⁹ On that day, says the Lord,
    I will slaughter your horses
    and destroy your chariots.
¹⁰ I will demolish the cities of your land
    and raze all your fortresses to the ground.
¹¹ I will eliminate your sorcerers,
    and there will be no more soothsayers among you.
¹² I will cut down your images
    and the sacred pillars in your midst;
you will no longer worship
    the work of your hands.
¹³ I will uproot your sacred poles^[f]
    and destroy your cities.
¹⁴ In anger and fury, I will wreak vengeance
    on the nations that have disobeyed me.