Passage

Micah 4.13

Book: Micah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

11. And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see our desire upon Zion. 12. But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor.

13. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto Jehovah, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. (Micah 4:11-13, ASV)

WEB

11. Now many nations have assembled against you, that say, “Let her be defiled, and let our eye gloat over Zion.” 12. But they don’t know the thoughts of Yahweh, neither do they understand his counsel; for he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor.

13. Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs brass; and you will beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain to Yahweh, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth. (Micah 4:11-13, WEB)

KJV

11. Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. 12. But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

13. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. (Micah 4:11-13, KJV)

YLT

11. And now, gathered against thee have been many nations, who are saying: 'Let her be defiled, and our eyes look on Zion.' 12. They have not known the thoughts of Jehovah, Nor have they understood His counsel, For He hath gathered them as a sheaf [into] a threshing-floor.

13. Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion, For thy horn I make iron, And thy hoofs I make brass, And thou hast beaten small many peoples, And I have devoted to Jehovah their gain, And their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth! (Micah 4:11-13, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Jehovah through the prophet: "I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass."
Audience: Jerusalem, "O daughter of Zion," facing "many nations" assembled against her (4:11).
Location: Jerusalem, pictured as a threshing floor onto which God has gathered the nations "as the sheaves" (4:12).
Time period: Late eighth century BC (Micah 1:1), in a chapter that alternates Zion's present distress with what God will do afterward.

Theological reading

The threshing floor. The verse completes an image begun in 4:11-12. The nations gather against Zion saying "Let her be defiled," but "they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor." Those who think they have surrounded Zion have been brought in for threshing. Zion is then pictured as the threshing ox, given a horn of iron and hoofs of brass, strength that God supplies ("I will make").

Devoted, not plundered. "I will devote their gain unto Jehovah, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth." The verb rendered "devote" is the vocabulary of the ban (charam), in which spoil is given over wholly to God instead of being kept, as at Jericho: "all the silver, and gold... are holy unto Jehovah: they shall come into the treasury of Jehovah" (Joshua 6:19). The victory does not enrich Zion's people; the motive of plunder is excluded.

The Lord of the whole earth. The title appears at the Jordan crossing, "the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth" (Joshua 3:11), and in Zechariah 4:14. It names God as owner of every nation's wealth, so what the nations brought against Zion returns to its rightful owner.

The same order as 4:3. The chapter that has nations beating swords into plowshares also has Zion beating "in pieces many peoples." The two are not set against each other in the text: in 4:3 God first judges between the nations and then peace follows, and here the nations who come to defile Zion are judged. Final peace comes after God has dealt with those who oppose him.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H2763 - charam, charam, Strong's H2763
H0113 - adon, adon, Strong's H0113
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH, Strong's H3068

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.