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Isaiah 8:19-9:7
New Living Translation
Isaiah 8:19-9:7
New Living Translation
19 Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
20 Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. 21 They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven 22 and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.
Hope in the Messiah
9 [a]Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.
2 [b]The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,[c]
a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
5 The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,[d] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
Isaiah 8:19-9:7
New International Version
Isaiah 8:19-9:7
New International Version
The Darkness Turns to Light
19 When someone tells you to consult(A) mediums and spiritists,(B) who whisper and mutter,(C) should not a people inquire(D) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(E) and the testimony of warning.(F) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(G) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(H) they will roam through the land;(I) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(J) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(K) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(L)
9 [a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom(M) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,(N) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness(O)
have seen a great light;(P)
on those living in the land of deep darkness(Q)
a light has dawned.(R)
3 You have enlarged the nation(S)
and increased their joy;(T)
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.(U)
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,(V)
you have shattered(W)
the yoke(X) that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,(Y)
the rod of their oppressor.(Z)
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,(AA)
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,(AB)
to us a son is given,(AC)
and the government(AD) will be on his shoulders.(AE)
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,(AF) Mighty God,(AG)
Everlasting(AH) Father,(AI) Prince of Peace.(AJ)
7 Of the greatness of his government(AK) and peace(AL)
there will be no end.(AM)
He will reign(AN) on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice(AO) and righteousness(AP)
from that time on and forever.(AQ)
The zeal(AR) of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.