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Isaiah 9-10
The Message
Isaiah 9-10
The Message
A Child Has Been Born—for Us!
9 But there’ll be no darkness for those who were in trouble. Earlier he did bring the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali into disrepute, but the time is coming when he’ll make that whole area glorious—the road along the Sea, the country past the Jordan, international Galilee.
2-7 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation,
you expanded its joy.
Oh, they’re so glad in your presence!
Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
all their whips and clubs and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops,
along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned,
a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He’ll take over
the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He’ll rule from the historic David throne
over that promised kingdom.
He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing
and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living,
beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will do all this.
God Answered Fire with Fire
8-10 The Master sent a message against Jacob.
It landed right on Israel’s doorstep.
All the people soon heard the message,
Ephraim and the citizens of Samaria.
But they were a proud and arrogant bunch.
They dismissed the message, saying,
“Things aren’t that bad.
We can handle anything that comes.
If our buildings are knocked down,
we’ll rebuild them bigger and finer.
If our forests are cut down,
we’ll replant them with finer trees.”
11-12 So God incited their adversaries against them,
stirred up their enemies to attack:
From the east, Arameans; from the west, Philistines.
They made hash of Israel.
But even after that, he was still angry,
his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
13-17 But the people paid no mind to him who hit them,
didn’t seek God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
So God hacked off Israel’s head and tail,
palm branch and reed, both on the same day.
The bigheaded elders were the head,
the lying prophets were the tail.
Those who were supposed to lead this people
led them down blind alleys,
And those who followed the leaders
ended up lost and confused.
That’s why the Master lost interest in the young men,
had no feeling for their orphans and widows.
All of them were godless and evil,
talking filth and folly.
And even after that, he was still angry,
his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
18-21 Their wicked lives raged like an out-of-control fire,
the kind that burns everything in its path—
Trees and bushes, weeds and grasses—
filling the skies with smoke.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies answered fire with fire,
set the whole country on fire,
Turned the people into consuming fires,
consuming one another in their lusts—
Appetites insatiable, stuffing and gorging
themselves left and right with people and things.
But still they starved. Not even their children
were safe from their greedy hunger.
Manasseh ate Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
and then the two ganged up against Judah.
And after that, he was still angry,
his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
* * *
You Who Legislate Evil
10 1-4 Doom to you who legislate evil,
who make laws that make victims—
Laws that make misery for the poor,
that rob my destitute people of dignity,
Exploiting defenseless widows,
taking advantage of homeless children.
What will you have to say on Judgment Day,
when Doomsday arrives out of the blue?
Who will you get to help you?
What good will your money do you?
A sorry sight you’ll be then, huddled with the prisoners,
or just some corpses stacked in the street.
Even after all this, God is still angry,
his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
Doom to Assyria!
5-11 “Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger.
My wrath is a club in his hands!
I send him against a godless nation,
against the people I’m angry with.
I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind,
and then push their faces in the mud and leave them.
But Assyria has another agenda;
he has something else in mind.
He’s out to destroy utterly,
to stamp out as many nations as he can.
Assyria says, ‘Aren’t my commanders all kings?
Can’t they do whatever they like?
Didn’t I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish?
Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus?
I’ve eliminated kingdoms full of gods
far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria.
So what’s to keep me from destroying Jerusalem
in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?’”
12-13 When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he’ll say, “Now it’s Assyria’s turn. I’ll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing, the way he goes around saying,
13-14 “‘I’ve done all this by myself.
I know more than anyone.
I’ve wiped out the boundaries of whole countries.
I’ve walked in and taken anything I wanted.
I charged in like a bull
and toppled their kings from their thrones.
I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured
as easily as a boy taking a bird’s eggs from a nest.
Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse,
I gathered the world in my basket,
And no one so much as fluttered a wing
or squawked or even chirped.’”
15-19 Does an ax take over from the one who swings it?
Does a saw act more important than the sawyer?
As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger!
As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails!
Therefore the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters.
Under the canopy of God’s bright glory
a fierce fire will break out.
Israel’s Light will burst into a conflagration.
The Holy will explode into a firestorm,
And in one day burn to cinders
every last Assyrian thornbush.
God will destroy the splendid trees and lush gardens.
The Assyrian body and soul will waste away to nothing
like a disease-ridden invalid.
A child could count what’s left of the trees
on the fingers of his two hands.
* * *
20-23 And on that Day also, what’s left of Israel, the straggling survivors of Jacob, will no longer be fascinated by abusive, battering Assyria. They’ll lean on God, The Holy—yes, truly. The ragtag remnant—what’s left of Jacob—will come back to the Strong God. Your people Israel were once like the sand on the seashore, but only a scattered few will return. Destruction is ordered, brimming over with righteousness. For the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will finish here what he started all over the globe.
24-27 Therefore the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says: “My dear, dear people who live in Zion, don’t be terrorized by the Assyrians when they beat you with clubs and threaten you with rods like the Egyptians once did. In just a short time my anger against you will be spent and I’ll turn my destroying anger on them. I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will go after them with a cat-o’-nine-tails and finish them off decisively—as Gideon downed Midian at the rock Oreb, as Moses turned the tables on Egypt. On that day, Assyria will be pulled off your back, and the yoke of slavery lifted from your neck.”
* * *
27-32 Assyria’s on the move: up from Rimmon,
on to Aiath,
through Migron,
with a bivouac at Micmash.
They’ve crossed the pass,
set camp at Geba for the night.
Ramah trembles with fright.
Gibeah of Saul has run off.
Cry for help, daughter of Gallim!
Listen to her, Laishah!
Do something, Anathoth!
Madmenah takes to the hills.
The people of Gebim flee in panic.
The enemy’s soon at Nob—nearly there!
In sight of the city he shakes his fist
At the mount of dear daughter Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33-34 But now watch this: The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
swings his ax and lops the branches,
Chops down the giant trees,
lays flat the towering forest-on-the-march.
His ax will make toothpicks of that forest,
that Lebanon-like army reduced to kindling.
Isaiah 9-10
New International Version
Isaiah 9-10
New International Version
9 [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—
2 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)
3 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)
4 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)
5 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.
6 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)
7 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
8 The Lord has sent a message(AG) against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
9 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.
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)
10 Woe(BW) to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,(BX)
2 to deprive(BY) the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(BZ)
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.(CA)
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,(CB)
when disaster(CC) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(CD)
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(CE)
or fall among the slain.(CF)
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(CG)
his hand is still upraised.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
5 “Woe(CH) to the Assyrian,(CI) the rod(CJ) of my anger,
in whose hand is the club(CK) of my wrath!(CL)
6 I send him against a godless(CM) nation,
I dispatch(CN) him against a people who anger me,(CO)
to seize loot and snatch plunder,(CP)
and to trample(CQ) them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,(CR)
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders(CS) all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Kalno(CT) fared like Carchemish?(CU)
Is not Hamath(CV) like Arpad,(CW)
and Samaria(CX) like Damascus?(CY)
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,(CZ)
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?(DA)’”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work(DB) against Mount Zion(DC) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria(DD) for the willful pride(DE) of his heart and the haughty look(DF) in his eyes. 13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand(DG) I have done this,(DH)
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;(DI)
like a mighty one I subdued[c] their kings.(DJ)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(DK)
so my hand reached for the wealth(DL) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;(DM)
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.(DN)’”
15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(DO)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club(DP) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
will send a wasting disease(DQ) upon his sturdy warriors;(DR)
under his pomp(DS) a fire(DT) will be kindled
like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,(DU)
their Holy One(DV) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
his thorns(DW) and his briers.(DX)
18 The splendor of his forests(DY) and fertile fields
it will completely destroy,(DZ)
as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests(EA) will be so few(EB)
that a child could write them down.
The Remnant of Israel
20 In that day(EC) the remnant of Israel,
the survivors(ED) of Jacob,
will no longer rely(EE) on him
who struck them down(EF)
but will truly rely(EG) on the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.(EH)
21 A remnant(EI) will return,[d](EJ) a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God.(EK)
22 Though your people be like the sand(EL) by the sea, Israel,
only a remnant will return.(EM)
Destruction has been decreed,(EN)
overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
the destruction decreed(EO) upon the whole land.(EP)
24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“My people who live in Zion,(EQ)
do not be afraid(ER) of the Assyrians,
who beat(ES) you with a rod(ET)
and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon(EU) my anger against you will end
and my wrath(EV) will be directed to their destruction.(EW)”
26 The Lord Almighty will lash(EX) them with a whip,
as when he struck down Midian(EY) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff(EZ) over the waters,(FA)
as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day(FB) their burden(FC) will be lifted from your shoulders,
their yoke(FD) from your neck;(FE)
the yoke(FF) will be broken
because you have grown so fat.[e]
28 They enter Aiath;
they pass through Migron;(FG)
they store supplies(FH) at Mikmash.(FI)
29 They go over the pass, and say,
“We will camp overnight at Geba.(FJ)”
Ramah(FK) trembles;
Gibeah(FL) of Saul flees.(FM)
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!(FN)
Listen, Laishah!
Poor Anathoth!(FO)
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;(FP)
they will shake their fist(FQ)
at the mount of Daughter Zion,(FR)
at the hill of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.
- Isaiah 9:20 Or arm
- Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,
- Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22
- Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.