Micah 4:13

Verse

Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

Up! and let the grain be crushed, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron and your feet brass, and a number of peoples will be broken by you, and you will give up their increase to the Lord and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Douay-Rheims 1899

Arise, and tread, O daughter of Sion: for I will make thy horn iron, and thy hoofs I will make brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples, and shalt immolate the spoils of them to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of the whole earth.

Free Bible Version

People of Zion, get up and start threshing, for I will make for you iron horns and bronze hooves so you can break many nations into pieces. You will present their stolen plunder to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Geneva Bible 1599

Arise, and thresh, O daughter Zion: for I will make thine horne yron, and I will make thine hooues brasse, and thou shalt breake in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their riches vnto the Lord, and their substance vnto the ruler of the whole worlde.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Translation for Translators

So, you people of Jerusalem, rise up and punish [MET] the nations who oppose you. I will cause you to be very strong, as if [MET] you had horns made of iron, as if [MET] you had hoofs made of bronze; and you will crush many nations. And then you will take from your enemies the valuable things that they have taken from other countries, and you will dedicate those things to me, the one who is the Lord of all the people on the earth.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn to be iron, and I will make your hooves to be bronze. You will crush many peoples and you will devote their unjust wealth to Yahweh, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.”

Noah Webster Bible

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 people: and I will consecrate their gain to JEHOVAH, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.

World English Bible

Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze. You will beat in pieces many peoples. I will devote their gain to Yahweh, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.

Young's Literal Translation

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!

Context

The Restoration of Zion

¹²But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. ¹³Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Summary

Micah 4:13 speaks of the victorious reign of the Lord over His people, symbolized by the image of threshing grain on the threshing floor. This imagery conveys the idea of separating the righteous from the wicked, with the righteous being preserved and the wicked being judged. The promise of restoration and deliverance is given to the remnant of Israel, assuring them of God's faithfulness and protection. Ultimately, this verse points to the sovereignty of God in establishing His kingdom and bringing about justice and righteousness in the world. It serves as a reminder of God's power to redeem and fulfill His promises to His people.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion - This refers to the subject of the preceding verse. When God shall have gathered together all thy enemies, as into the threshing-floor, he will give thee commission and power to get a complete victory over them, and reduce them to servitude. And that thou mayest be able to do this, he will be on thy side as a powerful helper; here signified by the metaphors, iron horns, and brazen hoofs. Thou shalt have power, authority, and unconquerable strength; for thine enemies shall be no more against thee than the corn against oxen shod with brass, or a puny animal against the horn of a fierce bull tipped with iron. I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord - What they have taken from thee in the way of spoil shall be restored; and again consecrated unto the service of him who will show himself to be the Lord, the Supreme Governor of the whole earth. Was not this prediction fulfilled when Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return to their own land, and gave them back the sacred vessels of the temple which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away? The Maccabees and their successors recovered much of the booty of which the neighboring nations had deprived the Jews; and the treasure taken was devoted to Jehovah. The first verse of the next chapter should conclude this.

John Gill Bible Commentary

Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion,.... The nations gathered against her, and now laid together on the floor as sheaves to be threshed. Here the people of God are aroused, and called out of a low and weak estate, and are animated and encouraged to exert themselves, and fall upon their enemies, and destroy them; alluding to the threshing of grain on the floor, the metaphor being here carried on from Mic 4:12. The Targum is, "arise, and kill, O congregation of Zion;'' for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; signifying that the Lord would give them strength sufficient to such work, and such power their enemies should not be able to resist and overcome; and that they should into their hands, and be crushed, trod, and trampled on by them, and utterly subdued. The allusion is to oxen that have horns and hoofs; and it suggests that they should be as strong as they; have horns like them, that is, power to push down their enemies and hoofs to trample upon them: or as these creatures have a horny substance on their feet, or hoofs, which are strong, and fit for the purposes of treading out corn, for which they were used in the eastern countries, drawing after them iron wheels, or planks stuck with flints; so horses and oxen that have strong feet, and hard hoofs, are said to have feet of brass (b); thus the Lord's people should have such courage, force, and power, as not only to withstand their enemies, but to obtain a conquest over them The Targum is, "I will make the people in them strong as iron, and their remnant firm as brass;'' which was true of, and accomplished in, Judas Maccabeus and his brethren; and will be more clearly fulfilled in the Christian kings and princes in the latter day, when engaged with the antichristian states; and thou shalt beat in pieces many people; as the Maccabees did subdue many people and nations, as all Palestine, Moab, Idumea, Samaria, and Iturea, as Josephus (c) relates; and as the Christian princes will beat in pieces, and utterly destroy, all the antichristian kings of the earth, their states and kingdoms, and bring them into subjection to them: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth; that is, to Christ, who in the last day will appear to be King and Lord of the whole earth; and all the riches of the antichristian nations, Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan, will be devolved to, and employed in, his interest and service; see Rev 21:24; these are the words of God the Father, with respect to his Son Jesus Christ; who will now have a dominion, glory, and kingdom given him, by the ancient of days, that so all people, nations, and languages, shall serve him, Dan 7:14; of which there might be some type and shadow in the times of the Maccabees. (b) "aeripedes equos", Homer. Iliad. 8. v. 41. (c) Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 4. Next: Micah Chapter 5