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But there shall be no more gloom for her who was 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 has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

    The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.
You have multiplied the nation.
    You have increased their joy.

They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian. For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

The Lord sent a word into Jacob,

    and it falls on Israel.
All the people will know,
    including 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 cut stone.
The sycamore fig trees have been cut down,
    but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin,
    and will stir up his enemies,
12     The Syrians in front,
    and the Philistines behind;
    and they will devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this, his anger is not turned away,
    but his hand is stretched out still.

13 Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them,
    neither have they sought Yahweh of Armies.
14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail,
    palm branch and reed, in one day.
15 The elder and the honorable man is the head,
    and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
16 For those who lead this people lead them astray;
    and those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men,
    neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is profane and an evildoer,
    and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this his anger is not turned away,
    but his hand is stretched out still.

18 For wickedness burns like a fire.
    It devours the briers and thorns;
    yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest,
    and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through Yahweh of Armies’ wrath, the land is burned up;
    and the people are the fuel for the fire.
    No one spares his brother.
20 One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry;
    and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied.
Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:
21     Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah.
For all this his anger is not turned away,
    but his hand is stretched out still.

The Righteous Reign of the Coming King

[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)

[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)
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)
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)
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
    and all the garments rolled in blood
    shall be burned as fuel for the fire.(E)
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)
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

The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
    and it fell on Israel,
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)

Footnotes

  1. 9.1 8.23 in Heb
  2. 9.2 9.1 in Heb
  3. 9.3 Cn: Heb multiplied the nation not
  4. 9.7 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 9.11 Cn: Heb the adversaries of Rezin
  6. 9.17 Q ms: MT rejoice over
  7. 9.20 Or arm

[a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom(A) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,(B) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

The people walking in darkness(C)
    have seen a great light;(D)
on those living in the land of deep darkness(E)
    a light has dawned.(F)
You have enlarged the nation(G)
    and increased their joy;(H)
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.(I)
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,(J)
    you have shattered(K)
the yoke(L) that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,(M)
    the rod of their oppressor.(N)
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,(O)
    will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,(P)
    to us a son is given,(Q)
    and the government(R) will be on his shoulders.(S)
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor,(T) Mighty God,(U)
    Everlasting(V) Father,(W) Prince of Peace.(X)
Of the greatness of his government(Y) and peace(Z)
    there will be no end.(AA)
He will reign(AB) on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice(AC) and righteousness(AD)
    from that time on and forever.(AE)
The zeal(AF) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

The Lord has sent a message(AG) against Jacob;
    it will fall on Israel.
All the people will know it—
    Ephraim(AH) and the inhabitants of Samaria(AI)
who say with pride
    and arrogance(AJ) of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
    but we will rebuild with dressed stone;(AK)
the fig(AL) trees have been felled,
    but we will replace them with cedars.(AM)
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s(AN) foes against them
    and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans(AO) from the east and Philistines(AP) from the west
    have devoured(AQ) Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his anger(AR) is not turned away,
    his hand is still upraised.(AS)

13 But the people have not returned(AT) to him who struck(AU) them,
    nor have they sought(AV) the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
    both palm branch and reed(AW) in a single day;(AX)
15 the elders(AY) and dignitaries(AZ) are the head,
    the prophets(BA) who teach lies(BB) are the tail.
16 Those who guide(BC) this people mislead them,
    and those who are guided are led astray.(BD)
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,(BE)
    nor will he pity(BF) the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly(BG) and wicked,(BH)
    every mouth speaks folly.(BI)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
    his hand is still upraised.(BJ)

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;(BK)
    it consumes briers and thorns,(BL)
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,(BM)
    so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath(BN) of the Lord Almighty
    the land will be scorched(BO)
and the people will be fuel for the fire;(BP)
    they will not spare one another.(BQ)
20 On the right they will devour,
    but still be hungry;(BR)
on the left they will eat,(BS)
    but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[b]:
21     Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;(BT)
    together they will turn against Judah.(BU)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
    his hand is still upraised.(BV)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.
  2. Isaiah 9:20 Or arm