[1] But in the last days it will come about that the mountain of the Lord's
house will be placed on the top of the mountains, and be lifted up over the
hills; and peoples will be flowing to it. [2] And a number of nations will
go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will give us knowledge of his ways and we
will be guided by his word: for from Zion the law will go out, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem. [3] And he will be judge between great peoples,
and strong nations far away will be ruled by his decisions; their swords
will be hammered into plough-blades and their spears into vine-knives:
nations will no longer be lifting up their swords against one another, and
knowledge of war will have gone for ever. [4] But every man will be seated
under his vine and under his fig-tree, and no one will be a cause of fear
to them: for the mouth of the Lord of armies has said it. [5] For all the
peoples will be walking, every one in the name of his god, and we will be
walking in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. [6] In that day,
says the Lord, I will get together her who goes with uncertain steps, I
will get together her who has been sent away, and her on whom I have sent
evil; [7] And I will make her whose steps were uncertain a small band, and
her who was feeble a strong nation: and the Lord will be their King in
Mount Zion from now and for ever. [8] And you, O tower of the flock, Ophel
of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come, even the earlier authority,
the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. [9] Now why are you crying so
loudly? is there no king in you? has destruction come on your wise helper?
so that pains have taken you like the pains of a woman in childbirth: [10]
Be in pain, make sounds of grief, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in
childbirth: for now you will go out of the town, living in the open
country, and will come even to Babylon; there you will have salvation;
there the Lord will make you free from the hands of your haters. [11] And
now a number of nations have come together against you, and they say, Let
her be made unclean and let our eyes see the fate of Zion. [12] But they
have no knowledge of the thoughts of the Lord, their minds are not able to
see his purpose: for he has got them together like stems of grain to the
crushing-floor. [13] Up! and let the grain be crushed, O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron and your feet brass, and a number of peoples
will be broken by you, and you will give up their increase to the Lord and
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. [14] \5:1\Now you will give
yourselves deep wounds for grief; they will put up a wall round us: they
will give the judge of Israel a blow on the face with a rod.
