Isaiah 9
Christian Standard Bible
Birth of the Prince of Peace
9 Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.(A) But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;(B)
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.(C)
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.[a](D)
The people have rejoiced before you
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.(E)
4 For you have shattered their oppressive yoke(F)
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as you did on the day of Midian.(G)
5 For every trampling boot of battle
and the bloodied garments of war
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,(H)
and the government will be on his shoulders.(I)
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor,(J) Mighty God,(K)
Eternal Father,(L) Prince of Peace.(M)
7 The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.(N)
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.(O)
The Hand Raised against Israel
8 The Lord sent a message against Jacob;
it came against Israel.
9 All the people—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria(P)—will know it.
They will say with pride and arrogance,
10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 The Lord has raised up Rezin’s adversaries against him
and stirred up his enemies.
12 Aram from the east and Philistia from the west
have consumed Israel with open mouths.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.(Q)
13 The people did not turn to him who struck them;
they did not seek the Lord of Armies.
14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,(R)
palm branch and reed in a single day.
15 The head is the elder, the honored one;(S)
the tail is the prophet, the one teaching lies.(T)
16 The leaders of the people mislead them,
and those they mislead are swallowed up.[b]
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice
over[c] Israel’s young men
and has no compassion
on its fatherless and widows,
for everyone is a godless evildoer,(U)
and every mouth speaks folly.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire(V)
that consumes thorns and briers
and kindles the forest thickets
so that they go up in a column of smoke.
19 The land is scorched
by the wrath of the Lord of Armies,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.(W)
No one has compassion on his brother.(X)
20 They carve meat on the right,
but they are still hungry;(Y)
they have eaten on the left,
but they are still not satisfied.
Each one eats the flesh of his arm.(Z)
21 Manasseh eats Ephraim,
and Ephraim, Manasseh;
together, both are against Judah.(AA)
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.(AB)
Isaiah 9
International Standard Version
The Prince of Peace
9 [a]But there will be no gloom for her who was[b] in distress. Formerly, he brought contempt to the region of Zebulun and the region of Naphtali, but in the future[c] he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan—Galilee of the nations.[d]
2 [e]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
for those living in a land of deep darkness,
a light has shined upon them.
3 You have increased the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as they rejoice at the harvest,
as they are glad
when they’re dividing the spoils of war.[f]
4 Now as to the yoke that has been[g] his burden,
and the bar laid[h] on his shoulder—
the rod of his oppressor—
you have broken it[i] as on the day of Midiam.[j]
5 For every boot of the tramping soldier in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be used for burning as fuel for a fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulder,
and his name is[k] called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the growth of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will rule[l] over his kingdom,
sitting on the throne of David,
to establish it and to uphold it[m]
with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
A Rebuke to Jacob and Israel
8 “The Lord[n] has sent a plague[o] against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all of the people were evil[p]—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
saying proudly with arrogant hearts:
10 ‘The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed[q] stones;
the sycamore[r] trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.’[s]
11 But the Lord has raised adversaries[t] from Rezin[u] against him,
and he stirs up his enemies—
12 Arameans from the east
and Philistines from the west—
and they devour Israel with open mouths!
“Yet[v] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[w]
Judgment for Not Repenting
13 “But the people have not returned to rely[x] on[y] him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
14 So the Lord has cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed
in[z] a single day—
15 the elder and the dignitary is the head,
and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not have pity on[aa] their young men,
and has no compassion on their orphans[ab] and widows,
because each of them was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
“Yet[ac] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.[ad]
18 “For wickedness has burned like a blaze
that consumes briers and thorns;
it sets thickets of the forest on fire,
and skyward[ae] they swirl
in a column of smoke.
19 From[af] the wrath of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
the land has been scorched,
and the people have become like fuel for the fire;
no one will spare his neighbor.
20 They cut meat on the right,
but they’re still hungry,
and they devour also[ag] on the left,
but they’re not satisfied;
each devours the flesh of his own children.[ah]
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim,
and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are against Judah.
“Yet[ai] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[aj]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 This v. is 8:23 in the MT
- Isaiah 9:1 So DSS; MT reads those who were
- Isaiah 9:1 So DSS; MT reads the latter time
- Isaiah 9:1 Or gentiles
- Isaiah 9:2 This v. is 9:1 in the MT
- Isaiah 9:3 1QIsaa MT lack of war
- Isaiah 9:4 Lit. yoke of
- Isaiah 9:4 DSS The Heb. lacks laid
- Isaiah 9:4 1QIsaa MT lack it
- Isaiah 9:4 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Midian; cf. Judg 7:8-25 2King 15:19; 16:8
- Isaiah 9:6 So 1QIsaa; MT 4QIsac read name will be
- Isaiah 9:7 DSS MT lack He will rule
- Isaiah 9:7 So 1QIsaa, referring to the throne; MT reads it, referring to the kingdom
- Isaiah 9:8 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Lord
- Isaiah 9:8 So LXX; MT reads word; 1QIsaa can mean plague or word.
- Isaiah 9:9 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read knew
- Isaiah 9:10 Or quarried
- Isaiah 9:10 The sycamore fruit tree native to Israel bears figs
- Isaiah 9:10 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae
- Isaiah 9:11 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; other MT mss. read princes
- Isaiah 9:11 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks from Rezin
- Isaiah 9:12 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; the Heb. lacks Yet
- Isaiah 9:12 DSS MT lack ready to strike
- Isaiah 9:13 1QIsaa MT LXX lack to rely
- Isaiah 9:13 So 1QIsaa; MT reads toward; LXX reads until
- Isaiah 9:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; the The Heb. lacks in
- Isaiah 9:17 So 1QIsaa;MT LXX read rejoice over
- Isaiah 9:17 Or fatherless
- Isaiah 9:17 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; the Heb. lacks Yet
- Isaiah 9:17 DSS MT lack ready to strike
- Isaiah 9:18 Lit. upward
- Isaiah 9:19 So 1QIsaa; MT reads By
- Isaiah 9:20 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lacks also
- Isaiah 9:20 So 4QIsae; or arms; 1QIsaa MT read offspring or arm; LXX reads arm
- Isaiah 9:21 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack Yet
- Isaiah 9:21 DSS MT lack ready to strike
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