Isaiah 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Righteous Reign of the Coming King
9 [a]But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.(A)
2 [b]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.(B)
3 You have multiplied exultation;[c]
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.(C)
4 For the yoke of their burden
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.(D)
5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.(E)
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.(F)
7 Great will be his authority,[d]
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.(G)
Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression
8 The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
and it fell on Israel,
9 and all the people knew it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
but in pride and arrogance of heart they said:(H)
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 So the Lord raised adversaries[e] against them
and stirred up their enemies,(I)
12 the Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west,
and they devoured Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(J)
13 The people did not turn to him who struck them
or seek the Lord of hosts.(K)
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day—(L)
15 elders and dignitaries are the head,
and prophets who teach lies are the tail,(M)
16 for those who led this people led them astray,
and those who were led by them were left in confusion.(N)
17 That is why the Lord did not have pity on[f] their young people
or compassion on their orphans and widows,
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(O)
18 For wickedness burned like a fire,
consuming briers and thorns;
it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.(P)
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land was burned,
and the people became like fuel for the fire;
no one spared another.(Q)
20 They gorged on the right but still were hungry,
and they devoured on the left but were not satisfied;
they devoured the flesh of their own kindred;[g](R)
21 Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
and together they were against Judah.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(S)
Isaiah 9
Lexham English Bible
New Light: The Birth of a King
9 [a] But there will be no gloom for those who were in distress.[b]
In former times he[c] treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt, but in the future he will honor the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness.
3 You have made the nation numerous;
you have not[d] made the joy great.
They rejoice in your presence as with joy at the harvest,
as they rejoice when they divide plunder.
4 For you have shattered the yoke of its burden
and the stick of its shoulder,
the rod of its oppressor, on[e] the day of Midian.
5 For every boot that marches and shakes the earth[f]
and garment rolled in blood
will[g] be for burning—fire fuel.
6 For a child has been born for us;
a son has been given to us.
And the dominion will be on his shoulder,
and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His dominion will grow continually,
and to peace there will be no end[h]
on[i] the throne of David and over[j] his kingdom,
to establish it[k] and sustain it
with justice and righteousness
now and forever.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.
Yahweh’s Anger against Arrogance
8 The Lord has sent out a word against Jacob,
and it fell on Israel.
9 And all of the people knew it,
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria
in pride and arrogance of heart, saying,
10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stone.
The sycamore-fig trees were felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 So Yahweh strengthened the adversaries of Rezin[l] against him,
and he provoked his enemies—
12 Aram from the east
and Philistines[m] from the west—
and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth.
He has not turned away his anger in all of this,
and his hand is still stretched out.
13 And the people did not turn to the one who struck it,[n]
and they did not seek Yahweh of hosts.
14 So Yahweh cut off head and tail from Israel,
palm branch and reed in one day.
15 Elders[o] and the respectable[p] are the head,
and prophets[q] who teach lies[r] are the tail.
16 And the leaders of this people were misleading them,
and those who were led were confused.
17 Therefore the Lord did not rejoice over its young men,
and he did not have compassion on its orphans and widows,
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth was speaking folly.
In all of this his anger did not turn away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
18 For wickedness burned like fire;
it consumed brier and thorn.
And it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.
19 The land was burned through the wrath of Yahweh of hosts,
and the people became like fire fuel.
People had no compassion toward each other.[s]
20 They devoured on the right but still were hungry
and devoured on the left but they were not satisfied.
Each one devoured the flesh of his arm,
21 Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
together they were against Judah.
In all of this his anger has not turned away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 Isaiah 9:1–21 in the English Bible is 8:23–9:20 in the Hebrew Bible
- Isaiah 9:1 Literally “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her”
- Isaiah 9:1 That is, Yahweh
- Isaiah 9:3 The written text (Kethib) is “not,” but the reading tradition (Qere) is “for it”
- Isaiah 9:4 Hebrew “like”; the Hebrew letters for “like” and “on” look alike
- Isaiah 9:5 Literally “marching with shaking,” which might mean “marching is with shaking”
- Isaiah 9:5 Literally “and it will”
- Isaiah 9:7 Literally “There is no end to the increase of the dominion and to peace”
- Isaiah 9:7 Or “for”
- Isaiah 9:7 Or “for”
- Isaiah 9:7 That is, the kingdom
- Isaiah 9:11 Or “his adversaries” if a copyist added “of Rezin” in error
- Isaiah 9:12 Hebrew “Philistine”
- Isaiah 9:13 That is, the people
- Isaiah 9:15 Hebrew “Elder”
- Isaiah 9:15 Literally “one lifted up of face”
- Isaiah 9:15 Hebrew “prophet”
- Isaiah 9:15 Hebrew “lie”
- Isaiah 9:19 Literally “A man does not have compassion toward his brother”
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