Old/New Testament
9 The people walking in darkness
will see a great light.
Upon those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death,
light will shine.[a]
2 You will multiply the nation.
You will increase the joy.
They will rejoice before You
like the joy in the harvest,
as they revel when they divide spoil.
3 For You will break the burdensome yoke
and the rod on his shoulder—
the war-club of his oppressor—
as in the day of Midian.
4 For every stomping boot quaking
and cloak rolled in blood
will be for burning—
fuel for the fire.
Prince of Peace
5 For to us a child is born,
a son will be given to us,[b]
and the government will be upon His shoulder.[c]
His Name will be called
Wonderful Counselor,[d]
Mighty God
My Father of Eternity,
Prince of Peace.[e]
6 Of the increase of His government
and shalom there will be no end—
on the throne of David and over His kingdom—
to establish it and uphold it
through justice and righteousness
from now until forevermore.[f]
The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot
will accomplish this.
Warning About Defiance
7 Adonai sent a word to Jacob,
and it fell upon Israel.
8 All the people will know what Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria
say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
9 “The bricks are fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stones.
The sycamores are cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
10 Therefore Adonai raises up
Rezin’s adversaries against them,
and spurs on his enemies.
11 The Arameans from the east
and the Philistines from the west—
they will devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is still outstretched.
12 Yet the people will not turn back
to the One who strikes them,
nor will they seek Adonai-Tzva’ot.
13 So Adonai will cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
14 The elder and the man of rank—
he is the head.
The prophet who teaches falsehood—
he is the tail.
15 The leaders of this people lead them astray.
Those they mislead are swallowed up.
16 Therefore Adonai will have no joy in their young men,
nor will He have compassion on their orphans and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks foolishness.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is still outstretched.
17 For wickedness burns like a fire
and consumes the briers and thorns
It kindles the thickets of the forest,
so they roll up in a column of smoke.
18 By the wrath of Adonai-Tzva’ot
is the land burnt up;
The people are as fuel for the fire.
No one spares his brother.
19 One grabs with the right hand
but is hungry,
and eats with the left hand
but is not satisfied.
Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm—
20 Manasseh will devour Ephraim,
and Ephraim, Manasseh,
both are against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is outstretched.
Oy to Unjust Legislators
10 Oy to those enacting unjust decrees
and recording corrupt legislation,
2 to deprive the helpless of justice
and rob the rights of the poor of My people,
so that widows may be their spoil
and orphans their prey!
3 What will you do in the day of visitation,
when desolation comes from afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
4 One can only crouch among the captives
or collapse among the slain.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is still outstretched.
Assyria, the Rod
5 Oy to Assyria, the rod of My anger—
the club in their hand is My indignation!
6 I am sending it against an ungodly nation,
and against the people of My fury I am commissioning it,
to take spoil and plunder,
to trample them down
like mud in the streets.
7 Yet that is not what Assyria intends,
nor is that what he is thinking about.
Rather his heart is to destroy,
and to cut down nations—only a few!
8 For he says: “Aren’t all my princes kings?
9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached the kingdoms of the idols—
with more graven images than Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 as I’ve done to Samaria and her idols,
won’t I also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”
12 Therefore it will come to pass, when Adonai finishes all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glorying of his haughty eyes.” 13 For he said:
“By the strength of my own hand I’ve done it,
and my own wisdom,
for I am shrewd!
I abolished the borders of peoples,
and plundered their treasures.
As a mighty one I cast down inhabitants.
14 My hand found the riches of the peoples as a nest—
like gathering forsaken eggs,
I have gathered the entire earth.
Not a wing fluttered,
not a beak opened or chirped!”
15 Should the axe boast against the One who chops with it?
Should the saw magnify itself against the One who wields it?
It would be like a rod waving the One who lifts it,
or like a staff hoisting up the One who is not wood!
16 Therefore will the Lord Adonai-Tzva’ot,
send leanness among his fat ones.
Under its glory He will kindle a burning
like a blazing fire.
17 So the light of Israel will become a fire,
and its Holy One a flame.
He will burn and consume
its thorns and briers in one day.
18 Both the glory of his forest
and his fruitful field,
he will consume, both soul and body.
It will be like a sick man wasting away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few,
a child could record them.
A Remnant Will Return
20 Yet it will come about in that day
that the remnant of Israel—
those of the house of Jacob who escaped—
will never again depend on the one
who struck them down,
but will depend upon Adonai,
the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 A remnant will return,
even the remnant of Jacob,[g]
to the Mighty God.
22 For though your people, O Israel,
be as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant of them will return.[h]
Destruction has been decreed.
Justice overflows.
23 For a complete destruction, as decreed,
will Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot make throughout the whole land.[i]
24 Therefore thus says Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot:
“O My people dwelling in Zion,
do not be afraid of Assyria,
though he strike you with the war-club,
and lift up his rod against you, as Egypt did.
25 “For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent, and My anger will turn to their destruction.” 26 Adonai-Tzva’ot will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the Rock of Oreb. As His staff was over the sea, so will He lift it up, as He did in Egypt.
27 In that day his burden will be taken off your shoulders,
and his yoke off your neck.
Indeed, the yoke will be broken
because of fatness.
Assyria Advancing
28 He has come to Aiath,
and passed through Migron.
At Michmas he deposited his supplies.
29 They have crossed over the pass.
They have taken up lodging at Geba.
Ramah is terrified;
Gibeath-shaul has fled.
30 Shriek your cry, daughter of Gallim!
Listen, O Laish! O poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim take cover.
32 This very day he will halt at Nob.
He shakes his fist at the mountain
of the Daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord, Adonai-Tzva’ot
will lop off the branches with terror!
So the tall ones will be cut down
and the lofty ones laid low.
34 Yes, He will hack down the thickets of the forest with iron,
and Lebanon with its majesty will fall.
The Mystery of the Gentiles Revealed
3 For this reason I, Paul, am a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua for the sake of you Gentiles. 2 Surely you have heard about the plan of God’s grace given to me for you— 3 that the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote before briefly. 4 When you read this, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Messiah— 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations, as it has now been revealed by the Ruach to His holy emissaries and prophets. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are joint heirs and fellow members of the same body and co-sharers of the promise in Messiah Yeshua through the Good News. 7 I became a servant of this Good News by the gift of God’s favor given to me through the exercise of His power.
8 This favor was given to me, the very least of His kedoshim, to proclaim to the Gentiles the endless riches of the Messiah 9 and to bring to light the plan of the mystery—which for ages was hidden in God, who created all things. 10 The purpose is that through Messiah’s community the multi-faceted wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, 11 which is in keeping with the eternal purpose that He carried out in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. 12 In Him we have boldness and access with confidence through trusting in Him. [a] 13 So I ask you not to be discouraged by my troubles on your behalf—they are your glory.
Prayer for Power and Understanding
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father[b]— 15 from Him every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. 16 I pray that from His glorious riches He would grant you to be strengthened in your inner being with power through His Ruach, 17 so that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to grasp with all the kedoshim what is the width and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled up with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far beyond all that we ask or imagine, by means of His power that works in us, 21 to Him be the glory in the community of believers and in Messiah Yeshua throughout all generations[c] forever and ever! Amen.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.