ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Micah 4.4
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Passage

Micah 4.4

Book: Micah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

2. And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem; 3. and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off: 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 any more.

4. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it.

  1. For all the peoples walk every one in the name of his god; and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and ever. 6. In that day, saith Jehovah, will I assemble that which is lame, and I will gather that which is driven away, and that which I have afflicted; (Micah 4:2-6, ASV)
WEB

2. Many nations will go and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem; 3. and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more.

4. But they will sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and no one will make them afraid: For the mouth of Yahweh of Armies has spoken.

  1. Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods; but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever. 6. “In that day,” says Yahweh, “I will assemble that which is lame, and I will gather that which is driven away, and that which I have afflicted; (Micah 4:2-6, WEB)
KJV

2. And many nations shall come, 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 teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. pruninghooks: or, scythes

4. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

  1. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. 6. In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; (Micah 4:2-6, KJV)
YLT

2. And gone have many nations and said, Come and we go up to the mount of Jehovah, And unto the house of the God of Jacob, And He doth teach us of His ways, And we do walk in His paths, For from Zion doth go forth a law, And a word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. 3. And He hath judged between many peoples, And given a decision to mighty nations afar off, They have beaten their swords to ploughshares, And their spears to pruning-hooks, Nation lifteth not up sword unto nation, Nor do they learn war any more.

4. And they have sat each under his vine, And under his fig-tree, And there is none troubling, For the mouth of Jehovah of Hosts hath spoken.

  1. For all the peoples do walk, Each in the name of its god, and we, We do walk in the name of Jehovah our God, To the age and for ever. 6. In that day, an affirmation of Jehovah, I do gather the halting one, And the driven away one I bring together, And she whom I have afflicted. (Micah 4:2-6, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: The prophet, sealing the oracle of the latter days: "for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it."
  • Audience: Judah and Jerusalem, and by extension the peoples who come to Zion in Micah 4:1-3.
  • Location: The land of Israel, pictured as farms and family plots at peace.
  • Time period: Late eighth century BC (Micah 1:1). This verse has no counterpart in the parallel oracle of Isaiah 2:2-4.

Theological reading

The vine and the fig tree. "Every man under his vine and under his fig-tree" is Israel's picture of settled peace. It describes the days of Solomon, when "Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba" (1 Kings 4:25), and Zechariah uses it for the day of the LORD's servant, the Branch: "shall ye invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree" (Zechariah 3:10).

His own vine. The vine and the fig tree belong to the man who sits under them. Micah has condemned those who "covet fields, and seize them" (Micah 2:2), and he will announce the curse "thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt not drink the wine" (Micah 6:15). The latter-days promise reverses both: what a man plants, he keeps and enjoys. "None shall make them afraid" echoes the covenant blessing of Leviticus 26:6.

A counterfeit offer. In Micah's own lifetime the Assyrian officer at Jerusalem's wall offered the same picture as the price of surrender: "Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree" (2 Kings 18:31). Micah's promise comes with a different guarantee: "the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it." The title "Jehovah of hosts," the LORD of armies, stands behind the promise that war will end.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

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.