Isaiah 9:13-17
New English Translation
13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,
they did not seek reconciliation[a] with the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
both the shoots and stalk[b] in one day.
15 The leaders and the highly respected people[c] are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,
and the people being led were destroyed.[d]
17 So the Lord was not pleased[e] with their young men,
he took no pity[f] on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless[g] and did wicked things,[h]
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words.[i]
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.[j]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:13 tn This verse describes the people’s response to the judgment described in vv. 11-12. The perfects are understood as indicating simple past.
- Isaiah 9:14 sn The metaphor in this line is that of a reed being cut down.
- Isaiah 9:15 tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.
- Isaiah 9:16 tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mebullaʿim) from בָּלַע (balaʿ, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.
- Isaiah 9:17 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
- Isaiah 9:17 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yerakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
- Isaiah 9:17 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
- Isaiah 9:17 tn מֵרַע (meraʿ) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (raʿaʿ, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
- Isaiah 9:17 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
- Isaiah 9:17 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”sn See the note at 9:12.
Isaiah 9:13-17
English Standard Version
13 The people (A)did not turn to him who struck them,
nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel (B)head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day—
15 (C)the elder and honored man is the head,
and (D)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 (E)rejoice over their young men,
and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is (F)godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks (G)folly.[a]
(H)For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:17 Or speaks disgraceful things
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
