It shall come to pass in the latter days
        that the mountain of the house of the LORD
    shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
        and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
    and peoples shall flow to it,
        and many nations shall come, and say:
    “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
        to the house of the God of Jacob,
    that he may teach us his ways
        and that we may walk in his paths.”
    For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
        and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
    He shall judge between many peoples,
        and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;
    and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
        and their spears into pruning hooks;
    nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
        neither shall they learn war anymore;
    but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
        and no one shall make them afraid,
        for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
    For all the peoples walk
        each in the name of its god,
    but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God
        forever and ever.
    
    
        In that day, declares the LORD,
        I will assemble the lame
    and gather those who have been driven away
        and those whom I have afflicted;
    and the lame I will make the remnant,
        and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
    and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
        from this time forth and forevermore.
    
    
    And you, O tower of the flock,
        hill of the daughter of Zion,
    to you shall it come,
        the former dominion shall come,
        kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
    
    
    Now why do you cry aloud?
        Is there no king in you?
    Has your counselor perished,
        that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
    Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
        like a woman in labor,
    for now you shall go out from the city
        and dwell in the open country;
        you shall go to Babylon.
    There you shall be rescued;
        there the LORD will redeem you
        from the hand of your enemies.
    
    
    Now many nations
        are assembled against you,
    saying, “Let her be defiled,
        and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
    But they do not know
        the thoughts of the LORD;
    they do not understand his plan,
        that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
    Arise and thresh,
        O daughter of Zion,
    for I will make your horn iron,
        and I will make your hoofs bronze;
    you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
        and shall devote their gain to the LORD,
        their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
    
    
        Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
        siege is laid against us;
    with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
        on the cheek.
    But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
        who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
    from you shall come forth for me
        one who is to be ruler in Israel,
    whose coming forth is from of old,
        from ancient days.
    Therefore he shall give them up until the time
        when she who is in labor has given birth;
    then the rest of his brothers shall return
        to the people of Israel.
    And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
        in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
    And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
        to the ends of the earth.
    And he shall be their peace.
    
    
    When the Assyrian comes into our land
        and treads in our palaces,
    then we will raise against him seven shepherds
        and eight princes of men;
    they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
        and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
    and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
        when he comes into our land
        and treads within our border.
    
    
        Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
        in the midst of many peoples
    like dew from the LORD,
        like showers on the grass,
    which delay not for a man
        nor wait for the children of man.
    And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
        in the midst of many peoples,
    like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
        like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
    which, when it goes through, treads down
        and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
    Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
        and all your enemies shall be cut off.
    
    
    And in that day, declares the LORD,
        I will cut off your horses from among you
        and will destroy your chariots;
    and I will cut off the cities of your land
        and throw down all your strongholds;
    and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
        and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
    and I will cut off your carved images
        and your pillars from among you,
    and you shall bow down no more
        to the work of your hands;
    and I will root out your Asherah images from among you
        and destroy your cities.
    And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
        on the nations that did not obey. (ESV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

    “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
        we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
    
    
      No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)