1 Peaceful Latter Days But it shall come about in the last daysThat the mountain of the house of the LShall be established as the highestandchief of the mountains;It shall be above the hills,And peoples shall flow [like a river] to it.
2 And many nations shall come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the L,To the house of the God of Jacob,That He may teach us about His waysAnd that we may walk in His paths.”For the law shall go forward from Zion,And the word of the L[the revelation about Him and His truth] from Jerusalem.
3 And He will judge between many peoplesAnd render decisions for strong and distant nations.Then they shall hammer their swords into plowsharesAnd their spears into pruning hooks [so that the implements of war may become the tools of agriculture];Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,Nor shall they ever again train for war.
4 Each of them shall sit [in security and peace] under his vineAnd under his fig tree,With no one to make them afraid,For the mouth of the [omnipotent] Lof hosts has spoken it.
5 For all the peoples [now] walkEach in the name of his god [in a transient relationship],As for us, we shall walk [securely]In the name of the Lour [true] God forever and ever.
6 “In that day,” says the L,“I shall assemble the lame,And gather the outcasts [from foreign captivity],Even those whom I have caused pain.
7 I shall make the lame a [godly] remnantAnd the outcasts a strong nation;And the Lshall reign over them in Mount ZionFrom this time on and forever.
8 As for you [Jerusalem], tower of the flock [of Israel],Hillandstronghold of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem’s inhabitants),To you the former dominion shall come,The kingdom of the Daughter of Jerusalem [when the Messiah reigns in Jerusalem, and the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled].
9 “Now, why do you cry out loudly?Is there no king among you?Has your counselor perished?For agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.
10 Writhe in pain and labor to give birth,O Daughter of Zion,Like a woman in childbirth;For now you shall go out of the city,Live in the field,And go to Babylon.There you will be rescued;There the Lshall redeem youFrom the hand of your enemies.
11 Now many [conquering] nations are assembled against you,Who say, ‘Let her be profaned [through Gentile presence and the temple’s destruction],And let our eyes gaze onandgloat over Zion.’
12 But they (Gentile nations) do not know the thoughts of the L,Nor do they understand His purposeandplan;For He has gathered them (Gentiles) like sheaves to the threshing floor [for destruction].
13 Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion!For I will make your horn ironAnd I will make your hoofs bronze;That you may beat many peoples in pieces [trampling down your enemies],That you may devote to the Ltheir unjust gain (pagan possessions)And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.