The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

The Lord has sent a message(A) against Jacob;
    it will fall on Israel.
All the people will know it—
    Ephraim(B) and the inhabitants of Samaria(C)
who say with pride
    and arrogance(D) of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
    but we will rebuild with dressed stone;(E)
the fig(F) trees have been felled,
    but we will replace them with cedars.(G)
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s(H) foes against them
    and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans(I) from the east and Philistines(J) from the west
    have devoured(K) Israel with open mouth.

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

13 But the people have not returned(N) to him who struck(O) them,
    nor have they sought(P) the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
    both palm branch and reed(Q) in a single day;(R)
15 the elders(S) and dignitaries(T) are the head,
    the prophets(U) who teach lies(V) are the tail.
16 Those who guide(W) this people mislead them,
    and those who are guided are led astray.(X)
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,(Y)
    nor will he pity(Z) the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly(AA) and wicked,(AB)
    every mouth speaks folly.(AC)

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

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;(AE)
    it consumes briers and thorns,(AF)
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,(AG)
    so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath(AH) of the Lord Almighty
    the land will be scorched(AI)
and the people will be fuel for the fire;(AJ)
    they will not spare one another.(AK)
20 On the right they will devour,
    but still be hungry;(AL)
on the left they will eat,(AM)
    but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[a]:
21     Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;(AN)
    together they will turn against Judah.(AO)

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

10 Woe(AQ) to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,(AR)
to deprive(AS) the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(AT)
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.(AU)
What will you do on the day of reckoning,(AV)
    when disaster(AW) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(AX)
    Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(AY)
    or fall among the slain.(AZ)

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

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:20 Or arm

The Lord Will Punish Israel

The Lord has pronounced judgment on the kingdom of Israel, on the descendants of Jacob. All the people of Israel, everyone who lives in the city of Samaria, will know that he has done this. Now they are proud and arrogant. They say, 10 “The brick buildings have fallen down, but we will replace them with stone buildings. The beams of sycamore wood have been cut down, but we will replace them with the finest cedar.”

11 The Lord has stirred up their enemies[a] to attack them. 12 Syria on the east and Philistia on the west have opened their mouths to devour Israel. Yet even so the Lord's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

13 The people of Israel have not repented; even though the Lord Almighty has punished them, they have not returned to him. 14 In a single day the Lord will punish Israel's leaders and its people; he will cut them off, head and tail. 15 The old and honorable men are the head—and the tail is the prophets whose teachings are lies! 16 Those who lead these people have misled them and totally confused them. 17 And so the Lord will not let any of the young men escape, and he will not show pity on any of the widows and orphans, because all the people are godless and wicked and everything they say is evil. Yet even so the Lord's anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

18 The wickedness of the people burns like a fire that destroys thorn bushes and thistles. It burns like a forest fire that sends up columns of smoke. 19 Because the Lord Almighty is angry, his punishment burns like a fire throughout the land and destroys the people, and it is each of us for ourselves. 20 Everywhere in the country people snatch and eat any bit of food they can find, but their hunger is never satisfied. They even eat their own children! 21 The people of Manasseh and the people of Ephraim attack each other, and together they attack Judah. Yet even so the Lord's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

10 You are doomed! You make unjust laws that oppress my people. That is how you keep the poor from having their rights and from getting justice. That is how you take the property that belongs to widows and orphans. What will you do when God punishes you? What will you do when he brings disaster on you from a distant country? Where will you run to find help? Where will you hide your wealth? You will be killed in battle or dragged off as prisoners. Yet even so the Lord's anger will not be ended; his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:11 Probable text their enemies; Hebrew the enemies of Rezin.

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:(A)
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[a] against them
    and stirred up their enemies,(B)
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.(C)

13 The people did not turn to him who struck them
    or seek the Lord of hosts.(D)
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,
    palm branch and reed in one day—(E)
15 elders and dignitaries are the head,
    and prophets who teach lies are the tail,(F)
16 for those who led this people led them astray,
    and those who were led by them were left in confusion.(G)
17 That is why the Lord did not have pity on[b] 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.(H)

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.(I)
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.(J)
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;[c](K)
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.(L)

10 Woe to those who make iniquitous decrees,
    who write oppressive statutes,(M)
to turn aside the needy from justice
    and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
to make widows their spoil
    and to plunder orphans!(N)
What will you do on the day of punishment,
    in the calamity that will come from far away?
To whom will you flee for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth,(O)
so as not to crouch among the prisoners
    or fall among the slain?
For all this his anger has not turned away;
    his hand is stretched out still.(P)

Footnotes

  1. 9.11 Cn: Heb the adversaries of Rezin
  2. 9.17 Q ms: MT rejoice over
  3. 9.20 Or arm

God’s hand still stretched out

The Lord sent a word against Jacob;
    it fell upon Israel;
    the people all knew it—
    Ephraim and the one who rules in Samaria.
But with a proud and arrogant heart they said,
10     “Bricks have fallen,
        but let’s rebuild with stones.
    Sycamores were cut down,
        but let’s replace them with cedars.”
11 So the Lord raised up their foes against them,[a]
    and stirred up their enemies—
12     Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west—
    and they devoured Israel with an open mouth.
Even then God’s anger didn’t turn away;
    God’s hand was still extended.

13 But the people didn’t turn to the one who struck them.
    They didn’t seek the Lord of heavenly forces.
14 So the Lord cut off head and tail,
    palm branch and reed from Israel in one day.
15     (Elders and celebrities are the head;
    prophets who teach lies are the tail.)
16 But this people’s leaders were misleading,
    and those being led were confused.
17 So the Lord showed their youth no pity,
    and showed their orphans and widows no mercy;
    for everyone was godless and evil;
        every mouth spoke nonsense.
Even then God’s anger didn’t turn away;
    God’s hand was still extended.

18 Wickedness burned like fire,
    devouring thorn and thistle.
It kindled the thickets of the forest;
    they swirled in rising smoke.
19 The land was scorched by the rage of the Lord of heavenly forces;
    the people were like fuel for the fire.
Not one person pitied another:
20     they consumed on the right, but remained hungry;
    devoured on the left, and weren’t satisfied.
    They devoured the flesh of their own children.[b]
21 Manasseh devoured Ephraim and Ephraim Manasseh;
    together they turned against Judah.
Even then God’s anger didn’t turn away;
    God’s hand was still extended.

Wicked laws

10 Doom to those who pronounce wicked decrees,
    and keep writing harmful laws
    to deprive the needy of their rights
    and to rob the poor among my people of justice;
    to make widows their loot;
    to steal from orphans!
What will you do on the day of punishment
    when disaster comes from far away?
To whom will you flee for help;
    where will you stash your wealth?
How will you avoid crouching among the prisoners
    and falling among the slain?
Even so, God’s anger hasn’t turned away;
    God’s hand is still extended.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:11 Or the enemies of Rezin
  2. Isaiah 9:20 Or arm