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.
Parallel translations
- WEB and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
- NASB And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift a sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.
- NLT The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will judge between the nations, and they will turn weapons into farming tools and learn war no more. It promises an age of true and lasting peace.
Overview
Under God's righteous arbitration, the instruments of war become instruments of cultivation, and conflict ceases. This beloved image of swords into plowshares portrays the peace God's reign brings. It finds its source in Christ, the Prince of Peace, and its full realization in His everlasting kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 36
- Isa 2:4Then 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 3:9–16Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
- Matt 25:31–32When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
- Hos 2:18On 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 weapons of war in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.
- Acts 17:31For 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.”
- John 5:27–29And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
- Ps 110:5–6The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
- Isa 65:25The 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.
- John 5:22–23Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
- Zech 14:12–19And 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.
- Ps 96:13before 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.
- Ps 98:9before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
- Joel 3:2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land.
- Zech 9:10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- Rev 20:8–9and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.
- John 16:8–11And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
- Ps 82:8Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.
- Isa 51:5My righteousness draws near, My salvation is on the way, and My arms will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look for Me and wait in hope for My arm.
- Ps 2:5–12Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury:
- Ps 46:9He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
- Isa 60:17–18Instead of bronze I will bring you gold; I will bring silver in place of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stones. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness as your ruler.
- Dan 2:44In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
- Isa 60:12For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.
- Zech 14:3Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
- Isa 25:3Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
- Rev 19:17–21Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
- Rev 19:11Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.
- Isa 9:7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
- Mic 7:16–17Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.
- Isa 11:3–9And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear,
- Ps 110:1–2A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
- Ps 72:7May the righteous flourish in his days and prosperity abound, until the moon is no more.
- Ps 68:30–31Rebuke the beast in the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations, until it submits, bringing bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
- 1 Sam 2:10Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
- Mic 5:15I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”
- Zech 12:3–6On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.
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