Psalms 47:8

47:8 God reigns over the nations!

God sits on his holy throne!

Psalms 99:9

99:9 Praise the Lord our God!

Worship on his holy hill,

for the Lord our God is holy!

Isaiah 2:2-3

2:2 In the future

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills.

All the nations will stream to it,

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so he can teach us his requirements,

and we can follow his standards.”

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 10 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 11 

Isaiah 27:13

27:13 At that time 12  a large 13  trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost 14  in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in 15  the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. 16 

Jeremiah 31:23

Judah Will Be Restored

31:23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 17  says,

“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.

When I do, they will again say 18  of Jerusalem, 19 

‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,

the place where righteousness dwells.’ 20 

Obadiah 1:17

1:17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, 21 

and it will be a holy place once again.

The descendants 22  of Jacob will conquer 23 

those who had conquered them. 24 

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future 25  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; 26 

it will be more prominent than other hills. 27 

People will stream to it.

Zechariah 8:3

8:3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. 28  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’

Matthew 24:15

The Abomination of Desolation

24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation 29  – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),


tn When a new king was enthroned, his followers would acclaim him king using this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3ms מָלַךְ, malakh, “to reign,” followed by the name of the king). See 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13, as well as Isa 52:7. In this context the perfect verbal form is generalizing, but the declaration logically follows the historical reference in v. 5 to the Lord’s having ascended his throne.

tn Or “exalt.”

tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

10 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

11 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

12 tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

13 tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”

14 tn Or “the ones perishing.”

15 tn Or “the ones driven into.”

16 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

17 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See 7:3 and the study note of 2:19 for the rendering of this title and an explanation of its significance.

18 tn Heb “They [i.e., people (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will again say in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes.” For the meaning of the idiom “to restore the fortunes” see the translator’s note on 29:14.

19 tn The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but it is implicit in the titles that follow. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity to aid in identifying the referent.

20 sn The blessing pronounced on the city of Zion/Jerusalem by the restored exiles looks at the restoration of its once exalted state as the city known for its sanctity and its just dealing (see Isa 1:21 and Ps 122). This was a reversal of the state of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah where wickedness not righteousness characterized the inhabitants of the city (cf. Isa 1:21; Jer 4:14; 5:1; 13:27). The blessing here presupposes the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple which gave the city its sanctity.

21 tn Heb “will be a fugitive.” This is a collective singular. Cf. NCV “some will escape the judgment.”

22 tn Heb “house” (so most English versions); NCV, TEV “the people of Jacob.” The word “house” also occurs four times in v. 18.

23 tn Heb “dispossess.” This root is repeated in the following line to emphasize poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime.

24 tc The present translation follows the reading מוֹרִשֵׁיהֶם (morishehem; literally, “those dispossessing them”; cf. NAB, NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹרָשֵׁיהֶם (morashehem, “their possessions”) of the MT (cf. LXX, Syriac, and Vg, followed by KJV, ASV, NASB).

25 tn Heb “at the end of days.”

26 tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

27 tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

28 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

29 sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:14, 19, 24; Rev 3:10).