In days to come the mountain where the Temple stands will be the highest one of all, towering above all the hills. Many nations will come streaming to it,

He will settle disputes among great nations. They will hammer their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will never again go to war, never prepare for battle again.

A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor.

When that time comes, there will be a highway between Egypt and Assyria. The people of these two countries will travel back and forth between them, and the two nations will worship together.

The LORD Almighty will bless them and say, "I will bless you, Egypt, my people; you, Assyria, whom I created; and you, Israel, my chosen people."

The LORD says to Israel, "The wealth of Egypt and Ethiopia will be yours, and the tall men of Seba will be your slaves; they will follow you in chains. They will bow down to you and confess, 'God is with you---he alone is God.

The LORD said to me, "I have a greater task for you, my servant. Not only will you restore to greatness the people of Israel who have survived, but I will also make you a light to the nations--- so that all the world may be saved."

My people will come from far away, from the north and the west, and from Aswan in the south."

Kings will be like fathers to you; queens will be like mothers. They will bow low before you and honor you; they will humbly show their respect for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD; no one who waits for my help will be disappointed."

Jerusalem, you have been like a childless woman, but now you can sing and shout for joy. Now you will have more children than a woman whose husband never left her.

You will extend your boundaries on all sides; your people will get back the land that the other nations now occupy. Cities now deserted will be filled with people.

The LORD says, "I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. You will be like a child that is nursed by its mother, carried in her arms, and treated with love.

and will know that I am the one who punishes them. "But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya, and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness.

They will bring back all your people from the nations as a gift to me. They will bring them to my sacred hill in Jerusalem on horses, mules, and camels, and in chariots and wagons, just as Israelites bring grain offerings to the Temple in ritually clean containers.

Judah will hold the royal scepter, And his descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute And bow in obedience before him.

All nations will remember the LORD. From every part of the world they will turn to him; all races will worship him.

God, be merciful to us and bless us; look on us with kindness,

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!

May the king's name never be forgotten; may his fame last as long as the sun. May all nations ask God to bless them as he has blessed the king.

Praise his glorious name forever! May his glory fill the whole world. Amen! Amen!

The LORD announced his victory; he made his saving power known to the nations.

He kept his promise to the people of Israel with loyalty and constant love for them. All people everywhere have seen the victory of our God.

Praise the LORD, all nations! Praise him, all peoples!

His love for us is strong, and his faithfulness is eternal. Praise the LORD!

And so the people of Israel will conquer what is left of the land of Edom and all the nations that were once mine," says the LORD, who will cause this to happen.

In days to come the mountain where the Temple stands will be the highest one of all, towering above all the hills. Many nations will come streaming to it,

and their people will say, "Let us go up the hill of the LORD, to the Temple of Israel's God. He will teach us what he wants us to do; we will walk in the paths he has chosen. For the LORD's teaching comes from Jerusalem; from Zion he speaks to his people."

At that time many nations will come to the LORD and become his people. He will live among you, and you will know that he has sent me to you.

The LORD Almighty says, "The time is coming when people from many cities will come to Jerusalem.

Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the LORD Almighty and to pray for his blessing.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem

When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.

"In the town of Bethlehem in Judea," they answered. "For this is what the prophet wrote:

So Herod called the visitors from the East to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.

And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.

Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival.

They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."

When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me."

For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.' "

And so all the rest of the human race will come to me, all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own.

I ask, then: When the Jews stumbled, did they fall to their ruin? By no means! Because they sinned, salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make the Jews jealous of them.

I am speaking now to you Gentiles: As long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I will take pride in my work.

For when they were rejected, all other people were changed from God's enemies into his friends. What will it be, then, when they are accepted? It will be life for the dead!

and to enable even the Gentiles to praise God for his mercy. As the scripture says, "And so I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to you."

And again, "Praise the Lord, all Gentiles; praise him, all peoples!"

The LORD says to Jerusalem, "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, And their kings will serve you. In my anger I punished you, But now I will show you my favor and mercy.

Nations and kings will care for you As a mother nurses her child. You will know that I, the LORD, have saved you, That the mighty God of Israel sets you free.

Israel's holy God and savior says to the one who is deeply despised, who is hated by the nations and is the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you released and will rise to show their respect; princes also will see it, and they will bow low to honor you." This will happen because the LORD has chosen his servant; the holy God of Israel keeps his promises.

Kings will be like fathers to you; queens will be like mothers. They will bow low before you and honor you; they will humbly show their respect for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD; no one who waits for my help will be disappointed."

Now listen to this warning, you kings; learn this lesson, you rulers of the world:

from your Temple in Jerusalem, where kings bring gifts to you.

All kings will bow down before him; all nations will serve him.

All the kings in the world will praise you, LORD, because they have heard your promises.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The power to rule over the world belongs now to our Lord and his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever!"

The peoples of the world will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their wealth into it.