ישעיהו פרק ב:ב-ד
והיה באחרית הימים נכון יהיה הר בית יהוה בראש ההרים ונשא מגבעות ונהרו אליו כל הגוים׃ והלכו עמים רבים ואמרו לכו ונעלה אל הר יהוה אל בית אלהי יעקב וירנו מדרכיו ונלכה בארחתיו כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר יהוה מירושלם׃ ושפט בין הגוים והוכיח לעמים רבים וכתתו חרבותם לאתים וחניתותיהם למזמרות לא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב ולא ילמדו עוד מלחמה׃
In the days to come, the Mount of the Lord's House shall stand firm above the mountains and tower above the hills; and all the nations shall gaze on it with joy. And the many peoples shall go and say: "Come, let us go up to the Mount of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob; that God may instruct us in God's ways, and that we may walk in God's paths." For instruction shall come forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Thus God will judge among the nations and arbitrate for the many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not take up sword against nation; they shall never again know war. [JPS translation]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. What does it mean to be "in the house of God"?
2. Is God's direct intervention necessary for nations to stop fighting? Is it possible for nations to engage with each other or do we just presume they will always be fighting?
3. What is the significance of weapons turning into plowshares and pruning hooks? What is the opposite of war?
Time Period: Biblical (early ancestors to 165 BCE)