Many nations will go and say, “Come! Let’s 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;
Parallel Translations
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Many nations will go and say, “Come! Let’s 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;
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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.
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And many nations shall go and say: 'Come ye, 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 out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Cross-references (29)
Passages linked to Micah 4:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, 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 out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 31:6 For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’ ”
- Isaiah 54:13 All your children will be taught by Yahweh; and your children’s peace will be great.
- Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
- Psalms 25:8-9 Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way. He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble his way.
- Psalms 25:12 What man is he who fears Yahweh? He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.
- Zechariah 14:8-9 It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. It will be so in summer and in winter. Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice. He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands wait for his law.”
- James 1:19-25 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
- John 7:17 If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
- Mark 16:20 They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
- Luke 24:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
- Acts 13:46-47 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’ ”
- Romans 10:12-18 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they didn’t all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
- Romans 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;
- Isaiah 51:4-5 “Listen to me, my people; and hear me, my nation, for a law will go out from me, and I will establish my justice for a light to the peoples. My righteousness is near. My salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples. The islands will wait for me, and they will trust my arm.
- Zechariah 14:16 It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, and to keep the feast of booths.
- Matthew 11:25-30 At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
- Mark 16:15-16 He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
- Deuteronomy 6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land that you go over to possess;
- Zechariah 8:20-23 Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, ‘Let’s go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of Armies. I will go also.’ Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Yahweh of Armies in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh.” Yahweh of Armies says: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”
- John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me.
- Acts 10:32-33 Send therefore to Joppa, and summon Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying in the house of a tanner named Simon, by the seaside. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ Therefore I sent to you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been commanded you by God.”
- Acts 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
- Psalms 110:2 Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
- Jeremiah 50:4-5 “In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on their way weeping, and will seek Yahweh their God. They will inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’
- Hosea 6:3 Let’s acknowledge Yahweh. Let’s press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
- Zechariah 2:11 Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you.
- Matthew 28:19-20 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain There follows, however, a fuller explanation, when he says,…
There follows, however, a fuller explanation, when he says, that many nations would come He said only before that nations would come: but as David, even in his age, made some nations tributary to himself, the Prophet here expresses something more, — that many nations would come; as if he had said, “Though David subjugated some people to himself, yet the borders of his kingdom were narrow and confined, compared with the largeness of that kingdom which the Lord will establish at the coming of his Messiah: for not a few nations but many shall assemble to serve him, and shall say,” etc. The Prophet now shows that it would be a spiritual kingdom. When David subdued the Moabites and the Amorites, and others, he imposed a certain tribute to be paid annually but he was not able to establish among them the pure and legitimate worship of God, nor was he able to unite them in one faith. Then the Moabites and other nations, though they paid a tribute to David, did not yet worship the true God, but continued ever alienated from the Church. But our Prophet shows that the kingdom, which God would set up at the coming of the Messiah, would be spiritual.
For they shall say, Let us you and ascend to the mount 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, go forth shall a law from Zion, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem Throughout this passage the Prophet teaches us, that people are not to be constrained by an armed force, or by the power of the sword, to submit to David’s posterity, but that they are to be really and thoroughly reformed, so that they submit themselves to God, unite with the body of the Church, and become one people with the children of Abraham; for they will yield a voluntary service, and embracing the teaching of the Law, they will renounce their own superstitions. This then is the Prophet’s meaning. But the remainder we shall defer till to-morrow.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He showeth that there is no true Church, but…
He showeth that there is no true Church, but where as the people are taught by God’s pure word.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say,…
Mic 4:2 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.
Ver. 2. And many nations shall come and say] The conversion of the Gentiles is here foretold, a piece of that mystery of godliness, 1Ti 3:16. The Jews usually call Christians in contempt Gozin (the word here used), and Mamzer Goi, bastard Gentiles. But, either they must come under this name themselves or deny that they are the posterity of Abraham, Gen 12:2, where God saith, "I will make of thee a great nation."
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Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord] The wicked have their Come, Pro 1:11, and would not go to hell alone. Should not the saints have theirs? should they not get what company they can toward heaven? The Greeks call goodness Kαλον, from καλειν; and Aγαθον, from Aγαν θεειν, because it doth, as it were, invite and call others to it; and every man is willingly to run after it.
And to the house of the God of Jacob] To the public ordinances, where we may hear and believe, and be sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, as those Ephesians were, Eph 1:13. We read that Marcellinus, Secundanus, and some others were converted to Christianity by reading Sibylla’s oracles of Christ’s birth; and that by Chaucer’s book some were brought to the knowledge of the truth. But either this was not so, or not ordinary; for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word preached, which therefore the people of God do so prize as Luther did, who said, He would not take all the world for one leaf of the Bible; and that without the preaching of the word he could not live comfortably in paradise; as with it, he could live and enjoy himself, though it were in hell.
And he will teach us of his ways] Cathedram in coelis habet qui corda docet, saith Austin. All true converts are taught of God, Joh 6:45, and then quam cito discitur quod docetur? saith the same Father: how soon are men discipled! how soon learn they the ways of God, whereby to serve him here, and be saved by him hereafter! For it is false that some contend for; sc. that every man may be saved in his own faith, be it right or wrong. For none can come to the Father but by the Son, Joh 14:6. Neither is there any other name but his under heaven, whereby men must be saved, Act 4:12. See Joh 17:3; Joh 6:40 Heb 11:6, whatsoever the Huberians affirm of universal election, or the Puccians of a natural faith.
And we will walk in his paths] Which are all paved with mercy and love; so that the saints run therein and faint not; walk, and are not weary, Isa 40:31. They are all peripatetics, ever in action, Gen 17:1; they are currists caretakers, not quaerists, seekers, saith Luther elegantly; they do not reason, but run the paths of God’s precepts. Nescit tarda molimina Spiritus Sancti gratis (Ambrose).
For the law shall go forth of Zion] The law, or doctrine, as Pro 13:14. Understand here the gospel, that law of God, Psa 19:7, that law of Christ, Gal 6:2, that perfect law of liberty, Jas 1:25, a counterpane whereof God putteth into the hearts of his people, Jer 31:33, whereby they become (as it was once said of the Thracians) αυτονομοι, a law to themselves; as being transformed into the same image with the gospel, like as the pearl, by the often beating of the sunbeams upon it, becometh radiant as the sun (Herod.).
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem] Not from Africa at first (as the brethren of the Rosycross would have it), though it is thought the gospel was received and the Christian faith professed even from the apostles’ time, in that large region of Nubia, in Africa. But repentance and remission of sins was preached "among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem," Luk 24:47. The Jews were God’s library keepers, and the apostles sent and went from Jerusalem to plant Churches abroad the world, and to gather into one the children of God that were dispersed, Joh 11:52.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This was in part, and as a type, fulfilled…
This was in part, and as a type, fulfilled when so many proselyted and circumcised servants of several nations, amassed in the Babylonish kingdom, left their native country, and in love to their Jewish masters, and more to the God of the Jews and his law, came up with them to Jerusalem and the temple. Afterwards, when the wonderful deliverance of the Jews, and the advancement of their countryman Mordecai in the Persian court, brought the people and their religion into request and credit, many turned Jews, through the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, Est 8:17, were circumcised, became-proselytes of righteousness. And in the times succeeding through the reigns of five kings, for ninety years, the Jewish affairs and religion continued in a tolerably good condition. In Alexander’s time, and under the Maccabees, also, this prophecy was partly fulfilled, when Ishmaelites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Idumeans submitted to the Maccabees, and by Hyrcanus’s command, and with their own consent, the Idumeans were circumcised; as Josephus, Antiq. lib. 13. cap. 17. This, notwithstanding the words, had a fuller accomplishment, and still shall have, under the gospel days in these times of the Messiah, to which, as to the antitype and principal mark, they are levelled, no doubt. Come; so the captive Jews, by the decrees of Cyrus and Darius released from captivity, did certainly call, persuade, and encourage each other to leave the strange lands in which they had been captives, and to go up to Jerusalem, and to build that and the temple, and to restore the worship of God; and zealous proselytes did, as the eunuch lord treasurer to queen Candace came up to Jerusalem to worship. So that we meet many proselytes at Jerusalem, Act 2:5,10,11, whither they were wont to come before the gospel was published. Now as this was a fulfilling of this prophecy in part, so the conversion of the multitude of the Gentiles to Christ Is much more eminently a fulfilling of it. To the mountain of the Lord; to the temple at Jerusalem, type of Christ and the gospel church. To the house of the God of Jacob: this explains the former passage, and doth, as that, respectively look to the worship of God at Jerusalem, and in gospel days. He will teach us of his ways, out of his law, both in points of worship and judicature, by such as Ezra and Nehemiah, by such as Zechariah and Haggai, and by scribes acquainted with the law of God; this to last till Elias, forerunner to Christ, should prepare his way, and the Messiah should come to teach his people, and publish the gospel of the kingdom, by apostles and succeeding preachers. We will walk in his paths; as was the duty of returning captives, and as, indeed, many of them did after their return walk more exactly in the ways of God, and especially kept themselves from idolatry; yet this was a fulfilling of this prophecy in type, presignifying what hath been done this one thousand six hundred years and more, under the preaching of the gospel; before Jacob only, now all nations see the salvation of God. For the law shall go forth of Zion; in Jerusalem and Zion is declared the only way of worshipping God before Messiah comes, and from thence the only law of right worshipping God shall go forth. when Messiah is come. And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; an elegant ingemination of the same thing in somewhat different words, which as they respect both type and antitype, so must be applied to each respectively.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And many nations shall come, and say, come, and…
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,.... In Isa 2:3; it is, "many people", &c. the sense is the same; See Gill on Isa 2:3;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; the teacher is the King Messiah, as Kimchi observes; the great Prophet of his people, the teacher sent from God; and will in the last days teach men by his Spirit and word, in a very plentiful manner, and with great success:
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for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; these, according to Kimchi, are the words of the prophet, and not of the people, that encourage one another to go up to the house of the Lord; but the sense is much the same; for they contain a reason why the people of different nations would encourage one another to go to the house of the Lord, that they might learn his ways, and walk in his statutes, because here the word of the Lord is preached; the word which comes from God, and is concerning him, his love and grace to men; the word of peace and righteousness, of life and salvation, by Jesus Christ: and each of the doctrines of grace intended by the "law" or "doctrine" of the Lord; the doctrines of God's everlasting love, of election in Christ, and redemption by him; of justification by his righteousness, pardon by his blood, and satisfaction by his atonement; as well as of regeneration by the Spirit of God, and of perseverance in grace: in these, and others, now shall all the Lord's people be taught more clearly, distinctly, and comfortably; all shall know him, from the least to the greatest; and not only their light and knowledge, under such a teacher and such will be very great, but their practice will be answerable to it; as they will be instructed in all the ways of the Lord, and in the methods of his grace, so they will walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless; See Gill on Isa 2:3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Many nations - This was in part fulfilled when…
Many nations - This was in part fulfilled when so many proselyted servants of several nations, in love to their Jewish masters, and more to the God of the Jews, came up with them from Jerusalem. Come - So the Jews, released from captivity, encouraged each other; which was a fulfilling of this prophecy in part; the conversion of the multitude of the Gentiles to Christ, was a more eminent fulfilling of it. To the mountain - To the temple at Jerusalem, a type of Christ and the gospel church. From Jerusalem - In Jerusalem is declared the only way of worshipping God, and from thence the only law of right worship shall go forth, when the Messiah is come.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. See Clarke on Mic 4:1.
Verse 2. See Clarke on Mic 4:1.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And many nations shall come - Isaiah Isa 2:2…
And many nations shall come - Isaiah Isa 2:2 added the world all to Micah’s prophecy. So our Lord said, “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations” Mat 24:14; and the elect are to be gathered out “of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues” Rev 7:9. All nations shall flow into it. The all might be many or few. Both prophets say that those all should be many. Judah probably knew already of many. The history of Genesis gave them a wide-expanding knowledge of the enlargement of mankind alter the flood, in Europe, Asia, Africa, as they then existed in their nations. The sons of Japhet had already spread over the whole coast of our Western sea, and far North; the Cimmerians , or Cwmry, Scandinavians , Carpathians , (probably Celts,) Armenians ; (including the kindred Phrygians,) Scythians , Medes, Ionians , Aeolians , Iberians , Cypriotes , Dardani , Tybarenes , Moschi , and the Turseni , or perhaps the Thracians. On the East, the sons of Shem had spread in Elam, Asshur, Arrapachitis ; they occupied the intervening tract of Aram; in the northwest they reached to Lydia. Southward the sons of Joktan were in Arabia. Micah’s hearers knew how, of the sons of Ham, Cush had spread far to the southeast and south from Babylonia to Aethiopia; Egypt they remembered too well, and, beyond it, they knew of the far-scattered tribes of the Libyans, who extended along the coast of Africa. Phoenician trade filled up this great outline.
They themselves had, in Solomon’s time, traded with India ; about this time, we know that they were acquainted with the furthest East, China . Such was the sight before the human mind of the prophet; such the extent of the nations whom his people knew of.
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Some were the deadly enemies of his people; some were to be its conquerors. He knew that the the ten tribes were to be abidingly wanderers among the nations , despised by them ; “a people, the strangers and sojourners of the whole world” . He knew many of those nations to be sunk in idolatry, viciousness; proud, contemptuous, lawless; he saw them fixed in their idolatries. “All people will walk every one in the name of his god.” But he saw what eye of man could not see, what the will of man could not accomplish, that He, whom now Judah alone partially worshiped, would turn the hearts of His creatures to Himself, to seek Him, not in their own ways, but as He should reveal Himself at Jerusalem. Micah tells them distinctly, that those who should believe would be a great multitude from many nations. In like way Isaiah expresses the great multitude of those for whom Christ should atone Isa 53:12. He bare the sin of many Isa 53:11. By knowledge of Him shall My righteous Servant make many righteous. And our Lord Himself says Mat 20:28; The Son of man came to give His life a ransom for many (Mat 26:28, add Rom 5:15). This is my Blood - which is shed for many for the remission of sins. In Micah’s time not one people, scarcely some poor fragments of the Jewish people, went up to worship God at Zion, to call to remembrance His benefits, to learn of Him. Those who should thereafter worship Him, should be many nations.
And say - Exhorting one another, in fervor and mutual love, as Andrew exhorted his brother Simon, and Philip Nathanael, and the woman of Samaria those of her city, to come to Christ: and so all since, who have been won by Him, by word or example, by preaching or by deed, in public or in private, bear along with them others to seek Him whom they themselves have found.
Let us go up - leaving the lowness and earthliness of their former conversation, and mounting upward on high where Christ is, desiring righteousness, and athirst to know His ways.
To the house of the God of Jacob - They shall seek Him as Jacob sought Him, , “who left his father’s house and removed into another land, was a man of heavy toils and served for hire, but obtained special help from God, and, undistinguished as he was, became most glorious. So too the Church, leaving all pagan wisdom, and having its conversation in Heaven, and therefore persecuted and enduring many hardships, enjoys now glory with God.”
And He - , that is, the God of Jacob of whom he had just spoken, shall teach us of His ways They do not go to God, because they know Him, but that they may know Him. They are drawn by a mighty impulse toward Him. Howsoever attracted, they come, not making bargains with God, (as some now would,) what they should be taught, that He should reveal to them nothing transcending reason, nothing exceeding or contradicting their notions of God; they do not come with reserves, that God should not take away this or that error, or should not disclose anything of His incomprehensibleness. They come in holy simplicity, to learn whatever He will condescend to tell them; in holy confidence, that He, the Infallible Truth, will teach them infallibly. They say, “of His ways.” For all learning is by degrees, and all which all creatures could learn in all eternity falls infinitely short of His truth and Holiness. Nay, in all eternity the highest creature which He has made and which He has admitted most deeply into the secrets of His Wisdom will be as infinitely removed as ever from the full knowledge of His Wisdom and His Love. For what is finite, enlarged, expanded, accumulated to the utmost degree possible, remains finite still.
It has no proportion to the Infinite. But even here, all growth in grace implies growth in knowledge. The more we love God, the more we know of Him; and with increased knowledge of Him come higher perceptions of worship, praise, thanksgiving, of the character of faith, hope, charity, of our outward and inward acts and relations to God, the unboundedness of God’s love to us and the manifoldness of the ways of pleasing Him, which, in His love, He has given us. Since then the whole Christian life is a growth in grace, and even Paul Phi 3:13-14, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those which are before, pressed toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, then Paul too was ever learning, in intensity, what he knew certainly by revelation, of His ways. Again, as each blade of grass is said to differ from another, so, and much more, each soul of man which God has created for Himself. No one ever saw or could imagine two human beings, in whom the grace of God had unfolded itself in exactly the same way.
Each saint will have his distinct beauty around the throne. But then each will have learnt “of His ways,” in a different proportion or degree. His greatest saints, yea His Apostles, have been pre-eminent, the one in one grace, another in another. John the Immerser came as a pattern of repentance and contempt of self; John the Evangelist stood out pre-eminent in deep tender burning personal love; Paul was known for his zeal to spread the knowledge of Christ Crucified; Mary Magdelene was famous for her loving penitence. Even the Blessed Virgin herself, under inspiration, seems, in part, to speak of her lowly lowness , as that which God specially regarded in her, when He made her the Mother of God. Eternity only will set forth the fullness of the two words “He will teach us of His ways.” For eternity will shew, how in all 1Co 12:11 worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will; and how the countless multitude of the redeemed have corresponded to His gifts and drawings. : “The way of the life to God-ward is one, in that it looketh to one end, to please God; but there are many tracks along it, as there are many modes of life;” and each several grace is a part of the way to God.
And we will walk in His paths - o: “By believing, hoping, loving, well-doing, and bearing patiently all trouble.” Rup.: “For it sufficeth not to believe, unless we act as He commandeth, and strive to enter on His ways, the strait and narrow path which leadeth unto life. He Himself then, when He had said, “Go, teach all nations,” baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, added, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” Mat 28:19-20. They say too, “we will walk,” that is, go on from strength to strength, not stand still after having labored for a while to do His Will, but hold on to all His ways and to Himself who is the Way, until they appear before the Lord in Zion.
For the law - (literally, law,) shall go forth from Zion These are the prophet’s words, declaring why the nations should so flock to Zion. For he says, “shall go forth,” but the nations were not gathered to Zion, until the Gospel was already gone forth. He speaks of it as law simply, not the Jewish law as such, but a rule of life Man’s better nature is ill at ease, being out of harmony with God. It cannot be otherwise. Having been made in His likeness, it must be distressed by its unlikeness; having been made by Him for Himself, it must be restless without Him. What they indistinctly longed for, what drew them, was the hope to be conformed by Him to Him. The sight of superhuman holiness, life, love, endurance, ever won and wins those without to the Gospel or the church. Our Lord Himself gives it, as the substance of prophecy Luk 24:47, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. The image may be that of a stream, issuing forth from Jerusalem and watering the whole world. Theodoret: “The law of the Gospel and the word of the Apostles, beginning from Jerusalem, as from a fountain, ran through the whole world, watering those who approached with faith.” But in that it “went forth,” it may be meant, that it left those from among whom it “went forth,” and Cyril, “Zion was indeed desolate of the law and Jerusalem bared of the divine word.” Jerome: “The word of God passed from Jerusalem to the Gentiles.” Rup.: “For the shadow was done away, and the types ceased, and sacrifices were abolished, and everything of Moses was, in the letter, brought to a close.”
He does not say here, through whom God would so teach, but he does speak of a direct teaching of God. He does not say only, “God will give us a law,” or “will make a revelation of Himself.” He speaks of a Personal, direct, continuous act of teaching by God, carried on upon earth, whether the teacher be our Lord’s word spoken once on earth, which does “not pass away” Mat 24:35, or God the Holy Spirit, as teaching in the Church and in the hearts which receive Him. The words which follow speak of a personal reign, as these speak of personal teaching.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Jerusalem. No other nation ever embraced the Jewish law.…
Jerusalem. No other nation ever embraced the Jewish law. But all received the gospel, (Calmet) which was first preached at, Jerusalem, by people of that country. (Haydock) --- "We are of yesterday, and we fill all your places." (Tertullian)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. many nations …] ‘Many,’ in contrast to the…
2. many nations …] ‘Many,’ in contrast to the single nation (as yet hardly reckoned as such) at whose mouth the Gentiles receive instruction. The picture of Jerusalem as the religious metropolis of the world is familiar to us in the prophets (comp. Isa_11:10; Isa_60:3, Jer_3:17, Zec_2:11; Zec_8:22-23). The Christian reason, enlightened by the course of Providence, sees that the picture is ideal.
of his ways] Rather, out of his ways. Comp. Psa_94:12, ‘teachest out of thy law.’ God’s ‘law’ and God’s ‘ways’ are revealed in full to the prophets, and they bring out ‘here a little, and there a little’ according to the needs of the time.
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the law] Auth. Vers., however, is misleading. The Hebrew simply has Tôrâh, which means ‘direction’ or ‘instruction,’ and is “the suitable term for the authoritative counsel given orally by the priests (Deu_17:11) and prophets to those who consulted them on points of ritual and practice respectively.” Comp. above, on Mic_3:11, and Prof. Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, pp. 292, 3. Not that the Tôrâh of the latter days is to be restricted within the old boundaries; the Spirit is to ‘guide into all the truth,’ and probably the best equivalent (if we do not insist on an unnatural uniformity of rendering) would here be revelation.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) Many nations shall come.—This prepares. the way to…
(2) Many nations shall come.—This prepares. the way to the more definitive prophecies, that there shall be a common consent among the nations journeying forth to the house of the Lord: asking the way thither in this world—finding the house itself in the eternal world. Even to this day the hearts of Jews and Christians alike yearn towards Jerusalem—a physical representative of the love which turns spontaneously to the Messiah.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The prophet further explains his last statement The new…
The prophet further explains his last statement The new revelation shall be so conspicuous and so attractive that all men shall hear, and desire to become partakers of it. Many nations. In contrast to the one nation from whom the Leer emanated. They shall exhort one another to resort to the great religious metropolis, i.e. to the true religion. Of his ways. His plans in the moral government of the world, and the way in which he would have men walk in order to please him. For the law (torah); teaching, direction; not the Mosaic Law, but a rule of life. (Pro_6:23) This is the reason given by the prophet for the eagerness of the nations to resort to Jerusalem. They would seek instruction at the hand of those authorized to give it. (see note on Mic_3:11) The word of the Lord. The revelation of Jehovah, the gospel. From Jerusalem. It is obvious that in a defined sense the gospel sprang from Jerusalem, the place where Christ exercised his ministry, died, rose, ascended; where the apostles received their commission and the gift of the Holy Ghost; (Luk_24:47 Act_1:8) the gospel being not set up in opposition to the Law, but being its fulfilment and development.
Enthusiasm in religion.
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I THE SPIRIT OF ENTHUSIASM IN RELATION TO RELIGION IS EMINENTLY DESIRABLE. It is SO:
1. As indicating the possession of loving devotion to God.
2. As prompting to endeavour with a view to the spiritual well being of others. (Ver. 2, "Come, and let us go up," etc.; Joh_1:41, Joh_1:42, Joh_1:45, 46 4:28, 29)
3. As being contagious. For, all aglow themselves, they will be the means of inspiring others with the same fervour.
II THIS SPIRIT, UNLESS UNDER WISE CONTROL, MAY PROVE INJURIOUS. It may seem a very simple matter to invite others to God, to say to them, "Come, let us go up," etc.; but it is possible, by undue familiarity of approach, or by extravagance of language, to alienate those it is desired to win.
III THIS SPIRIT IS IN SAFE KEEPING IF ITS POSSESSOR CULTIVATES THE DISPOSITIONS HERE EXPRESSED (ver. 2), viz.:
1. Of seeking to understand Gods truth more dearly. "And he will teach us of his ways." The consciousness of his imperfect attainments will keep him humble, and preserve him from mere dogmatism and self-conceit.
2. Of endeavouring to be obedient in heart and life to Gods will. "And we will walk in his paths." His realization of the importance of ethical practical life will preserve him from either thinking or advocating the false notion that piety consists in profuse verbal declarations and mere outward professions.
Higher spiritual life.
"Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord." We are too prone to be content with living at a very low level of spiritual attainment. We need to hear and heed the voice of God"s own Spirit addressing us through our own consciences, and through all the holy influences encompassing us, and bidding us leave the ordinary plain on which we have been content to dwell, and to ascend the mount of the Lord, and thus to rise to the nobler heights of spiritual privilege and goodness. "Let us go up," etc.
I WHAT IS THIS HIGHER SPIRITUAL LIFE? It is a life of obedience to God and of faith in him. It is a life of holy and hallowed fellowship with the invisible. It is a life sustained and strengthened by hidden Divine springs. It is not perfect life, but life characterized by constant endeavour after the perfect. It is a life characterized by the patient endurance of trial, the successful resistance of temptation, and the cheerful performance of duty. It is a life animated by hopes entering "within the veil," and in which is increasingly realized union with the spiritual world.
II HOW MAY IT BE REACHED?
2. The ministration of the truth is designed to this end. The advancement of the good in Divine knowledge and in the varied graces of the Christian character is one aim of the Christian ministry. (Eph_5:11-13)
3. The commonest duties of our daily life may be so discharged as to be made to contribute to our spiritual elevation. The aim should be to make every duty subservient to the great end of our spiritual advancement.
4. The sorrowful experiences of our life are all designed to secure to us "more life and fuller." These constitute the threshings of the spiritual man by means of which God would separate his servants from evil, and enable them to enter into the higher joys of his kingdom.
5. And this soul elevation is to be secured not only by receiving, but also by imparting, holy influences. We rise ourselves as we invite others to rise; as we speak to them the encouraging word, and hold out to them the helping hand. Ruskin reminds us that the name which of all others is most expressive of the being of God is that of "the Helpful One," or, in our softer Saxon, "the Holy One." And we may each know what one has beautifully called the holiness of helpfulness (Dr. Robert Collyer"s "The Life that now is," pp. 63, 64).
III WHAT ADVANTAGES WILL ACCRUE FROM ITS ATTAINMENT?
1. There will be greater enjoyment in connection with religious privileges than can otherwise be experienced.
2. Tranquillity will possess the heart amidst the disappointments, changes, and bereavements of life.
3. A clearer apprehension of the truth of God will be gained. (Ver. 2)
4. More effective service to God in the world will be rendered. Certain saints of God belonging to the past are sometimes set forth as having been specially eminent, and as though the same altitude could not be reached nowadays; whereas we are to be "followers" of such, (Heb_6:12) and the "helps" they used am as available to us. Use them, and say "Go up, go up, my heart! Be not a trifler here; Ascend above these clouds, Dwell in a higher sphere. Let not thy love go out To things so soiled and dim: Go up to heaven, and God Take up thy love to him.
God our Teacher.
"And he will teach us of his ways." How?
I BY WORKING IN OUR HEARTS THE SPIRIT OF TRUE HUMILITY. There must be humility in order that we may apprehend spiritual things. We must become "as little children" would we enter the kingdom of truth. And this disposition is fitting; for what, after all, are we but children in relation to such knowledge? "Embryos we are all." Too many, forgetting this, and cherishing the opposite spirit, misapprehend or pervert the meaning of God"s truth. Pride of intellect is cherished, and, strong and dogmatic in their adherence to false intellectual conceptions, they miss the highest truth. "The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way." As low trees and shrubs are free from many violent gusts and blasts of wind which shake and rend the taller trees, so humble souls are free from those gusts and blasts of error that rend and tear proud lofty souls." "The high tide quickly ebbs." "The valleys laugh with fatness when the hills are bare." "I thank thee, O Father," etc. (Mat_11:25, Mat_11:26)
II BY CONSTRAINING US TO CHERISH THE SPIRIT OF HEARTY OBEDIENCE. By the gentle constraints of Divine love the will is brought into harmony with the higher and perfect will of God; and to the man thus obedient there is unfolded the glorious treasures of Divine wisdom and knowledge. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant"; (Psa_25:14) "Then shall we know, if we follow on," etc. (Hos_6:3)
III BY IMPARTING UNTO US SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. The heart being rendered humble and obedient, light springs up within; a spiritual insight is imparted; the unction of the Holy One rests upon the man; higher perceptions are his; he apprehends and understands truths which formerly were unperceived or distorted by him. "Pure in heart," he "sees God;" spiritually minded, he discovers spiritual things. God"s ways stand revealed to him, and God"s Word is no longer a dead letter, but is instinct with life and power to his soul. Then, with an earnest desire to enter into the full significance of spiritual realities, and with a deep consciousness of our own weakness and need of guidance, we do well to cry, "Lead us in thy truth and teach us;" and to rejoice in the encouraging assurance, "And he will teach us of his ways.
Obedience to the Divine will.
"And we will walk in his paths." The idea is living obediently to the will of God. Observe
I GOD HAS REVEALED HIS WILL UNTO MAN. "The Law has gone forth," etc. (ver. 8). The revelation of what God requires of his creatures has been given
(1) in the commandments unfolded to Moses on Sinai;
(2) in the full and perfect exposition of those commandments given in the teaching of Christ;
(3) in the complete transcript of them presented in the Divine Teacher"s spotless character and life.
II TO OBEY THAT WILL INDICATES THE POSSESSION OF TRUE PIETY. Sincere piety does not consist in outward observances, although these have so high a value that we are not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together" for Christian fellowship and teaching; nor does it consist in Church association, although there are many advantages resulting from Christians banding themselves together that thus they may be helpful to each other in the spiritual life, and by combined, action the more effectually do God"s work; nor does it consist in the repetition of a Creed, however admirably conceived and expressed, and however desirable it may be for us to be well grounded in the foundation doctrines of our holy religion; but it consists in obedience to the will of God, and in seeking, like the great Exemplar, to act in harmony with God"s holy Law. "Nor name, nor form, nor ritual, But simply following thee.
III IN THIS OBEDIENCE LIES THE TRUEST WELL BEING BOTH OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND OF THE RACE. Walking in these paths, it is found that they are "right paths," that they yield "peace" and "pleasantness;" "mercy and truth" also abound to the obedient, whilst the wide adoption of this course by the children of men is pointed to as the token of the coming of "the latter day glory." "A world wide Christ-likeness is the great necessity. If, in imitation of him, there were truth on every tongue and kindness in every heart, gentleness in every spirit and obedience to God in every will, purity in every life and blamelessness in every character, the bloom and blessedness of Eden would be seen tomorrow," Too many, alas I still resolve that "they will walk every one in the name of his god" (ver. 5); but our hope for humanity lies in the growing number whose feet are being turned into "the ways of righteousness," and who are impelled to say, "And we will walk in his paths." "We will walk in the Name of the Lord our God forever and ever" (ver. 5).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Many nations
Many nations
The word "nations" is a metonym for the people of the nations. AT: "The people from many nations" (See: Metonymy)
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Come
This is plural. (See: Forms of You)
He will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths
Here "his ways" and "his paths" refer to what God wants the people to do. "Walk" means they will obey what he says. (See: Metaphor)
from Zion the law will go out, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem
The law and the word going out is a metaphor for people hearing it and then being messengers to tell other people about it in other places. AT: "people will listen to the law in Zion and go out and tell others; they will listen to the word of Yahweh in Jerusalem and go out and tell others" (See: Metaphor)
and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem
The words "will go out" are understood from the previous phrase. They can be repeated here. AT: "and the word of Yahweh will go out from Jerusalem" (See: Ellipsis)
plowshares
a blade that people use to dig into soil so they can plant seeds
pruning hooks
a metal tool that people use to cut off branches or stems from plants
will not lift up sword
will not threaten to start a war
translationWords
nation
Yahweh
house
God
Jacob
walk
Zion
law
word
Jerusalem
judge
people group
sword
spear
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.