Isaiah 9

Complete Jewish Bible

9 ⁽²⁾The people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those living in the land that lies
in the shadow of death, light has dawned.
²⁽³⁾You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as if rejoicing at harvest time,
the way men rejoice
when dividing up the spoil.
³⁽⁴⁾For the yoke that weighed them down,
the bar across their shoulders,
and their driver’s goad
you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].
⁴⁽⁵⁾For all the boots of soldiers marching
and every cloak rolled in blood
is destined for burning,
fuel for the fire.

⁵⁽⁶⁾For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us;
dominion will rest on his shoulders,
and he will be given the name
Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor
Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom
[Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God,
Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace],
⁶⁽⁷⁾in order to extend the dominion
and perpetuate the peace
of the throne and kingdom of David,
to secure it and sustain it
through justice and righteousness
henceforth and forever.
The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot
will accomplish this.

⁷⁽⁸⁾Adonai sent a word to Ya‘akov,
and it has fallen on Isra’el.
⁸⁽⁹⁾All the people know it,
Efrayim and the inhabitants of Shomron.
But they say in pride,
in the arrogance of their hearts,
⁹⁽¹⁰⁾“The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stone;
the sycamore-fig trees have been chopped down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
¹⁰⁽¹¹⁾So Adonai has raised up Retzin’s foes against him
and spurred on his enemies —
¹¹⁽¹²⁾Aram from the east, P’lishtim from the west;
and they devour Isra’el with an open mouth.

Even after all this, his anger remains,
his upraised hand still threatens.

¹²⁽¹³⁾Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them,
they don’t seek Adonai-Tzva’ot.
¹³⁽¹⁴⁾Therefore Adonai will cut off
Isra’el’s head and tail,
[tall] palm frond and [lowly] reed in a single day.
¹⁴⁽¹⁵⁾The old and the honored are the head,
while prophets teaching lies are the tail.
¹⁵⁽¹⁶⁾For those leading this people lead them astray,
and those led by them are destroyed.
¹⁶⁽¹⁷⁾Therefore Adonai takes no joy in their young men
and has no compassion on their orphans and widows;
for everyone is ungodly and does evil,
every mouth speaks foolishly.

Even after all this, his anger remains,
his upraised hand still threatens.
¹⁷⁽¹⁸⁾For wickedness burns like fire,
it devours briars and thorns;
it sets the forest underbrush ablaze,
with clouds of smoke whirling upward.
¹⁸⁽¹⁹⁾The anger of Adonai-Tzva’ot
is burning up the land;
the people, too, are fuel for the fire —
no one spares even his brother.
¹⁹⁽²⁰⁾The one on the right grabs but stays hungry,
the one on the left eats but is unfilled.
Everyone devours his own arm’s flesh —
²⁰⁽²¹⁾M’nasheh devours Efrayim;
and Efrayim, M’nasheh;
while together they oppose Y’hudah.

Even after all this, his anger remains,
his upraised hand still threatens.

Isaiah 9

Contemporary English Version

9 ^(A) But those who have suffered will no longer be in pain.^[a] The territories of Zebulun and Naphtali in Galilee were once hated. But this land of the Gentiles across the Jordan River and along the Mediterranean Sea will be greatly respected.

War Is Over

²^(B) Those who walked in the dark
    have seen a bright light.
And it shines upon everyone
who lives in the land
    of darkest shadows.
³Our Lord, you have made
    your nation stronger.^[b]
Because of you, its people
    are glad and celebrate
like workers at harvest time
or like soldiers dividing up
    what they have taken.

⁴You have broken the power
of those who abused
    and enslaved your people.
You have rescued them
just as you saved your people
    from Midian.^[c]
⁵The boots of marching warriors
and the blood-stained uniforms
    have been fed to flames
    and eaten by fire.

A Child Has Been Born

⁶A child has been born for us.
We have been given a son
    who will be our ruler.
His names will be
Wonderful Advisor
    and Mighty God,
Eternal Father
    and Prince of Peace.
⁷^(C) His power will never end;
    peace will last forever.
He will rule David's kingdom
    and make it grow strong.
He will always rule
    with honesty and justice.
The Lord All-Powerful
will make certain
    that all of this is done.

God Will Punish Israel

⁸The Lord had warned the people of Israel, ⁹and all of them knew it, including everyone in the capital city of Samaria. But they were proud and stubborn and said,

¹⁰“Houses of brick and sycamore
have fallen to the ground,
but we will build houses
with stones and cedar.”

¹¹The Lord made their enemies^[d] attack them. ¹²He sent the Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west, and they swallowed up Israel. But even this did not stop him from being angry, so he kept on punishing them.^[e] ¹³The people of Israel still did not turn back to the Lord All-Powerful and worship him.

¹⁴In one day he cut off their head and tail, their leaves and branches. ¹⁵Their rulers and leaders were the head, and the lying prophets were the tail. ¹⁶They had led the nation down the wrong path, and the people were confused. ¹⁷The Lord was angry with his people and kept punishing them, because they had turned against him.^[f] They were evil and spoke foolishly. That's why he did not have pity on their young people or on their widows and orphans.

¹⁸Evil had spread like a raging forest fire sending thornbushes up in smoke. ¹⁹The Lord All-Powerful was angry and used the people as fuel for a fire that scorched the land. They turned against each other ²⁰like wild animals attacking and eating everyone around them, even their own relatives.^[g] But still they were not satisfied. ²¹The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh turned against each other, then joined forces to attack Judah. But the Lord was still angry and ready to punish the nation even more.

Footnotes

9.1 will … pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
9.3 stronger: Or “happy” or “larger.”
9.4 rescued … from Midian: The time when Gideon defeated the people of Midian in Jezreel Valley (see Judges 6–8).
9.11 their enemies: Hebrew “the enemies of Rezin.”
9.12 so … them: Or “but he hasn't given up on them yet.”
9.17 and kept … against him: Or “but even though they had turned against him, he still had not given up on them.”
9.20 their own relatives: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Isaiah 9 Complete Jewish Bible