Micah 4:3

Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Micah, a prophet in Judah, declares a future era in which God settles disputes between nations. The immediate context (4:2) frames this as the outcome of nations coming to Zion to learn God's ways.

The words — שָׁפַט (shaFat, "judge") is a general judicial act, while הוֹכִיחַ (hoKhiach, "decide, arbitrate") specifies settling a dispute between parties. The verse moves from broad judgment to specific mediation.

The thread — Isaiah 2:4 is a near-verbatim parallel, suggesting shared prophetic tradition. Joel 3:9 presents the opposite scene: nations rousing warriors for attack.

Why it lands — The verse states an end: a time when nations stop training for war. It asks the reader to hold present conflict against that stated end.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְשָׁפַ֗טve./sha.Fatand/ he will judge בֵּ֚יןbeinbetween עַמִּ֣ים'a.Mimpeoples רַבִּ֔יםra.Bimmany וְהוֹכִ֛יחַve./ho.Khi.achand/ he will decide לְגוֹיִ֥םle./go.Yimfor/ nations עֲצֻמִ֖ים'a.tzu.Mimmighty עַד־'ad-to רָח֑וֹקra.Chokfar away וְכִתְּת֨וּve./khi.te.Tuand/ they will beat חַרְבֹתֵיהֶ֜םchar.vo.tei./Hemswords/ their לְאִתִּ֗יםle./'i.Timinto/ plowshares וַחֲנִיתֹֽתֵיהֶם֙va./cha.ni.to.tei./Hemand/ spears/ their לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹתle./maz.me.Rotinto/ pruning knives לֹֽא־lo'-not יִשְׂא֞וּyis.'Uthey will lift up גּ֤וֹיGoynation אֶל־'el-against גּוֹי֙goynation חֶ֔רֶבChe.reva sword וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not יִלְמְד֥וּןyil.me.Du/nthey will learn/ !ע֖וֹדodagain מִלְחָמָֽה׃mil.cha.Mahwarfare

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Isaiah 2:4 Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war.
Joel 3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
Hosea 2:18 On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and battle in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.
Acts 17:31 For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
Psalms 96:13 before the LORD, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
Psalms 98:9 before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
Psalms 110:5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
Zechariah 14:12 And this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.