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Peaceful Latter Days

¹ But it shall come about in the ^(C1)last days
That the ^(C2)mountain of the house of the LORD
Shall be established as the highest and chief of the mountains;
It shall be above the hills,
And ^(C3)peoples shall flow like a river to it.

² And ^(C1)many nations shall come and say,
"^(C2)Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob,
That ^(C3)He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths."
For the law shall go forward ^(C4)from Zion,
And the word of the LORD the revelation about Him and His truth from Jerusalem.

³ And He will ^(C1)judge between many peoples
And render decisions for strong and distant nations.
Then they shall hammer their swords ^(C2)into plowshares
And 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. ^(VR1)

⁴ Each of them shall ^(C1)sit in security and peace under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With ^(C2)no one to make them afraid,
For the ^(C3)mouth of the omnipotent LORD of hosts has spoken it. ^(VR1)

⁵ For all the peoples now walk
Each in the ^(C1)name of his god in a transient relationship,
As for us, ^(C2)we shall walk securely
In the name of the ^(C3)LORD our true God forever and ever.

⁶ "In that day," says the LORD,
"I shall assemble the ^(C1)lame,
And ^(C2)gather the outcasts from foreign captivity,
Even those whom I have caused pain.

⁷ "I shall make the lame a godly ^(C1)remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation;
And the ^(C2)LORD shall reign over them in Mount Zion
From this time on and forever.

⁸ "As for you Jerusalem, ^(C1)tower of the flock of Israel,
Hill and stronghold of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem's inhabitants),
To you the ^(C2)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. ^(VR1)

⁹ "Now, why do you ^(C1)cry out loudly?
Is there no king among you?
Has your ^(C2)counselor perished?
For agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.

¹⁰ "^(C1)Writhe in pain and labor to give birth,
O Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you shall ^(C2)go out of the city,
Live in the field,
And go to Babylon.
^(C3)There you will be rescued;
^(C4)There the LORD shall redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.

¹¹ "Now ^(C1)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 on and gloat over Zion.'

¹² "But they (Gentile nations) do not ^(C1)know the thoughts of the LORD,
Nor do they understand His purpose and plan;
For He has gathered them (Gentiles) like sheaves to the threshing floor for destruction.

¹³ "Arise and ^(C1)thresh, O Daughter of Zion!
For I will make your horn iron
And I will make your hoofs bronze;
That you may ^(C2)beat many peoples in pieces trampling down your enemies,
That you may ^(C3)devote to the LORD their unjust gain (pagan possessions)
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. ^(VR1)