Old/New Testament

Birth and Rule of the Prince of Peace

9 But there will be no more heavy hearts for those who were suffering. In the past God allowed the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali to be put to shame. In the future He will honor Galilee where those who are not Jews live and where the road to the sea is. It is on the other side of the Jordan. ² The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. The light will shine on those living in the land of dark shadows. ³ You will make the nation great. You will give them great joy. They will be glad before You, as with the joy of gathering time, and as men have joy when they divide the riches taken after a battle. ⁴ For You will break the heavy load from their neck and shoulders. You will break the power of those who made it hard for them, as at the battle of Midian. ⁵ For every shoe of the soldiers in the battle, and every coat rolled in blood, will be burned in the fire. ⁶ For to us a Child will be born. To us a Son will be given. And the rule of the nations will be on His shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Teacher, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace. ⁷ There will be no end to His rule and His peace, upon the throne of David and over his nation. He will build it to last and keep it strong with what is right and fair and good from that time and forever. The work of the Lord of All will do this.

Punishment against Israel

⁸ The Lord sends word against Jacob, and it falls on Israel. ⁹ And all the people will know it, that is, Ephraim and the people of Samaria. They say with a proud spirit in their hearts, ¹⁰ “The clay blocks have fallen down, but we will build again with smooth stones. The sycamore trees have been cut down, but we will put cedar trees in their place.” ¹¹ So the Lord brings men from Rezin to fight against them. He makes those who hate them move to action. ¹² The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west swallow Israel with an open mouth. Even with this, the Lord’s anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.

¹³ Yet the people do not return to Him Who punished them. They do not look to the Lord of All. ¹⁴ So the Lord will cut off the head and tail from Israel, both palm branch and river-grass in one day. ¹⁵ The leaders and men of honor are the head, and the tail is the false preachers who teach lies. ¹⁶ For those who lead these people are leading them from the right way, and those who are led by them are going the wrong way. ¹⁷ So the Lord is not pleased with their young men. He does not have pity on their children who have no parents or on their women whose husbands have died. Every one of them is without God and does sinful things. Every mouth speaks foolish words. Even with all this, His anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.

¹⁸ For sin burns like a fire. It burns thistles and thorns. It sets the woods on fire, and they go up in smoke. ¹⁹ The land is burned up by the anger of the Lord, and the people are like wood for the fire. No man shows pity on his brother. ²⁰ They take what is on the right hand but still are hungry. They eat what is in the left hand but are not filled. Each of them eats the flesh of his own children. ²¹ Manasseh goes against Ephraim, and Ephraim goes against Manasseh. And together they are against Judah. Even with all this, the Lord’s anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.

10 It is bad for those who make laws that are not fair. It is bad for those who make it hard for people. ² They keep what is right and fair from those in need. They take away the rights of the poor of My people. They take from wives after their husbands die, and take what belongs to those who have no parents. ³ Now what will you do in the day of punishment, when the destroying power comes from far away? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? ⁴ Nothing will be left to do but to bow down among those who are being taken to prison, or fall among those who are killed. Even with all this, His anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.

Assyria Used to Punish Israel

⁵ It is bad for Assyria. I use Assyria like a stick to punish Israel. ⁶ I sent it against a nation without God, against the people of My anger. I sent it to take away the riches of battle, and to step hard on the people like dirt in the streets. ⁷ But this is not what is in Assyria’s mind. It does not plan this in its heart. It plans to destroy and to cut off many nations. ⁸ For it says, “Are not my princes all kings? ⁹ Is not Calno like Carchemish, or Hamath like Arpad, or Samaria like Damascus? ¹⁰ My hand took the nations of the false gods, whose false gods were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria. ¹¹ Should I not do to Jerusalem and her gods just as I have done to Samaria and her gods?”

¹² So when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish the proud heart of the king of Assyria and his proud spirit. ¹³ For the king has said, “I did this by the power of my hand and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. I moved the land-marks of the people and took their riches. Like a strong man I have brought down those who sat on thrones. ¹⁴ My hand has taken the riches of the people like one taken from a nest. I gathered all the earth as one gathers eggs that have been left. And there was not one that moved its wing or opened its mouth or made a sound.”

¹⁵ Can an ax say it is more important than the one who uses it? Is the saw more important than the one who saws with it? A stick of wood does not lift up a man. A man lifts up a stick. ¹⁶ So the Lord, the Lord of All, will send a wasting disease among the strong Assyrian soldiers. Under the king’s greatness a fire will be started that will burn and burn. ¹⁷ The light of Israel and his Holy One will become a fire. And it will burn and destroy his thorns and thistles in one day. ¹⁸ The Lord will destroy the greatness of the trees and the fields that give much fruit, both soul and body. It will be as when a sick man wastes away. ¹⁹ And the rest of his trees will be so few that a child could write them down.

A Few of Israel Will Return

²⁰ In that day those of Israel and of the family of Jacob who are still alive will never again trust in the one who destroyed them. But they will trust in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ²¹ Some people, those who are left of Jacob, will return to the powerful God. ²² Even if there are as many Jews as the sand by the sea, only a few of them will return. The plan is to destroy them and it will be right and complete. ²³ For the Lord of All will destroy everything in the whole land and do what He planned.

Assyria Will Be Punished

²⁴ So the Lord, the Lord of All, says, “O My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they come to fight against you as the Egyptians did. ²⁵ For in a very little while My anger against you will come to an end and it will be turned to destroy them.” ²⁶ The Lord of All will punish them like He punished Midian at the rock of Oreb. His special stick will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. ²⁷ In that day the Assyrian’s load will be taken from your shoulders and neck, and it will be broken because you are so fat. ²⁸ He has come against Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he left his bags. ²⁹ They have gone through a narrow path. They stayed in Geba during the night. Ramah is afraid, and Gibeah of Saul has run away. ³⁰ Cry out with your voice, O people of Gallim! See, Laishah! Answer her, O Anathoth! ³¹ Madmenah has run away. The people of Gebim have looked for a safe place. ³² Yet today he will stop at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the people of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³ See, the Lord, the Lord of All, will cut off the branches with a great noise. Those who stand tall will be cut down. And those who are high will be brought low. ³⁴ He will cut down the many trees with an iron ax. And Lebanon will fall by the Powerful One.

3 I, Paul, am in prison because I am a missionary for Jesus Christ to you who are not Jews. ² I am sure you have heard that God trusted me with His loving-favor. ³ I wrote a little about this to you before. In a special way, God showed me His secret plan. ⁴ When you read this, you will understand how I know about the things that are not easy to understand about Christ. ⁵ Long ago men did not know these things. But now they have been shown to His missionaries and to the early preachers by the Holy Spirit. ⁶ Let me tell you that the Good News is for the people who are not Jews also. They are able to have life that lasts forever. They are to be a part of His church and family, together with the Jews. And together they are to receive all that God has promised through Christ.

⁷ God asked me to preach this Good News. He gave me the gift of His loving-favor. He gave me His power to preach it. ⁸ Of all those who belong to Christ, I am the least important. But this loving-favor was given to me to preach to the people who are not Jews. I was to tell them of the great riches in Christ which do not come to an end. ⁹ I was to make all men understand the meaning of this secret. God kept this secret to Himself from the beginning of the world. And He is the One Who made all things. ¹⁰ This was done so the great wisdom of God might be shown now to the leaders and powers in the heavenly places. It is being done through the church. ¹¹ This was the plan God had for all time. He did this through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² We can come to God without fear because we have put our trust in Christ. ¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart because of my suffering for you. It is to help you.

Paul’s Prayer for the Church

¹⁴ For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father. ¹⁵ It is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name. ¹⁶ I pray that because of the riches of His shining-greatness, He will make you strong with power in your hearts through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love. ¹⁸ I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is. ¹⁹ I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself.

²⁰ God is able to do much more than we ask or think through His power working in us. ²¹ May we see His shining-greatness in the church. May all people in all time honor Christ Jesus. Let it be so.