Isaiah 9
English Standard Version
For to Us a Child Is Born
9 [a] But there will be no (A)gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he (B)brought into contempt the land of (C)Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he (D)has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.[b]
2 [c] (E)The people (F)who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of (G)deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 (H)You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with (I)joy at the harvest,
as they (J)are glad (K)when they divide the spoil.
4 (L)For the yoke of his burden,
(M)and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as (N)on the day of Midian.
5 (O)For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 (P)For to us a child is born,
to us (Q)a son is given;
(R)and the government shall be (S)upon[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called[e]
Wonderful (T)Counselor, (U)Mighty God,
(V)Everlasting (W)Father, Prince of (X)Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
(Y)there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
(Z)with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
(AA)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression
8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all the people will know,
(AB)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 dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
and stirs up his enemies.
12 (AC)The Syrians on the east and (AD)the Philistines on the west
devour Israel with open mouth.
(AE)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
13 The people (AF)did not turn to him who struck them,
nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel (AG)head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day—
15 (AH)the elder and honored man is the head,
and (AI)the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
16 for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not (AJ)rejoice over their young men,
and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is (AK)godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks (AL)folly.[f]
(AM)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns like (AN)a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land is scorched,
and (AO)the people are like fuel for the fire;
(AP)no one spares another.
20 (AQ)They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
(AR)each devours the flesh of his own arm,
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are (AS)against Judah.
(AT)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
- Isaiah 9:1 Or of the Gentiles
- Isaiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
- Isaiah 9:6 Or is upon
- Isaiah 9:6 Or is called
- Isaiah 9:17 Or speaks disgraceful things
Isaiah 9
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.
* * *
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson