Isaiah 9
English Standard Version
For to Us a Child Is Born
9 [a] But there will be no (A)gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he (B)brought into contempt the land of (C)Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he (D)has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.[b]
2 [c] (E)The people (F)who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of (G)deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 (H)You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with (I)joy at the harvest,
as they (J)are glad (K)when they divide the spoil.
4 (L)For the yoke of his burden,
(M)and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as (N)on the day of Midian.
5 (O)For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 (P)For to us a child is born,
to us (Q)a son is given;
(R)and the government shall be (S)upon[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called[e]
Wonderful (T)Counselor, (U)Mighty God,
(V)Everlasting (W)Father, Prince of (X)Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
(Y)there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
(Z)with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
(AA)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression
8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all the people will know,
(AB)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
and stirs up his enemies.
12 (AC)The Syrians on the east and (AD)the Philistines on the west
devour Israel with open mouth.
(AE)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
13 The people (AF)did not turn to him who struck them,
nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel (AG)head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day—
15 (AH)the elder and honored man is the head,
and (AI)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 (AJ)rejoice over their young men,
and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is (AK)godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks (AL)folly.[f]
(AM)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns like (AN)a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land is scorched,
and (AO)the people are like fuel for the fire;
(AP)no one spares another.
20 (AQ)They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
(AR)each devours the flesh of his own arm,
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are (AS)against Judah.
(AT)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
- Isaiah 9:1 Or of the Gentiles
- Isaiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
- Isaiah 9:6 Or is upon
- Isaiah 9:6 Or is called
- Isaiah 9:17 Or speaks disgraceful things
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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