4:2 Many nations will come, saying,
“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple 1 of Jacob’s God,
so he can teach us his commands 2
and we can live by his laws.” 3
For Zion will be the source of instruction;
the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. 4
4:3 He will arbitrate 5 between many peoples
and settle disputes between many 6 distant nations. 7
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 8
and their spears into pruning hooks. 9
Nations will not use weapons 10 against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
1 tn Heb “house.”
2 tn Heb “ways.”
3 tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”
4 tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the
5 tn Or “judge.”
6 tn Or “mighty” (NASB); KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “strong”; TEV “among the great powers.”
7 tn Heb “[for many nations] to a distance.”
8 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
9 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
10 tn Heb “take up the sword.”