Font Size
Micah 4-5
Contemporary English Version
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.
2 People 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.
5 Others may follow their gods,
but we will always follow
the Lord our God.
The Lord Will Lead His People Home
6 The 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.
7 Then 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.
8 Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
guardian of my people,
you will rule again.
9 Jerusalem, why are you crying?
Don't you have a king?
Have your advisors gone?
Are you suffering
like a woman in childbirth?
10 Keep 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.
11 Zion, because of your sins
you are surrounded
by many nations who say,
“We can hardly wait
to see you disgraced.”[a]
12 But they don't know
that I, the Lord,
have gathered them here
to grind them like grain.
13 Smash 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]
3 The Lord will abandon Israel
only until this ruler is born,
and the rest of his family[d]
returns to Israel.
4 Like 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,
5 because 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
7 A 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.
8 At 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;
9 they will be helpless,
completely destroyed.
Idols Will Be Destroyed in Israel
10 The Lord said:
At that time I will wipe out
your cavalry and chariots,
11 as well as your cities
and your fortresses.
12 I will stop you
from telling fortunes
and practicing witchcraft.
13 You will no longer worship
the idols or stone images
you have made—
I will destroy them,
14 together with the sacred poles[f]
and even your towns.
15 I 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.
Micah 4-5
New International Version
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)
2 Many 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.
3 He 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)
4 Everyone 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)
5 All 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)
7 I 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)
8 As 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)”
9 Why 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)
10 Writhe 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.
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat(AF) over Zion!”
12 But 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)
3 Therefore 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.
4 He 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.
5 And 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)
6 who 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)
7 The 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.
8 The 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)
9 Your 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)
11 I will destroy the cities(BH) of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.(BI)
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.(BJ)
13 I 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)
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[h](BN)
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance(BO) in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.