Isaiah 9
9
A New Day Is Coming
1But suddenly there will be no more gloom for the land that suffered. In the past God made the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali hang their heads in shame, but in the future those lands will be made great. They will stretch from the road along the Mediterranean Sea to the land beyond the Jordan River and north to Galilee, the land of people who are not Israelites.
2Before those people lived in darkness,
but now they have seen a great light.
They lived in a dark land,
but a light has shined on them.
3God, you have caused the nation to grow
and made the people happy.
And they have shown their happiness to you,
like the joy during harvest time,
like the joy of people
taking what they have won in war.
4Like the time you defeated Midian,
you have taken away their heavy load
and the heavy pole from their backs
and the rod the enemy used to punish them.
5Every boot that marched in battle
and every uniform stained with blood
has been thrown into the fire.
6A child has been born to us;
God has given a son to us.
He will be responsible for leading the people.
His name will be Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God,
Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.
7Power and peace will be in his kingdom
and will continue to grow forever.
He will rule as king on David’s throne
and over David’s kingdom.
He will make it strong
by ruling with justice and goodness
from now on and forever.
The Lord All-Powerful will do this
because of his strong love for his people.
God Will Punish Israel
8The Lord sent a message against the people of Jacob;
it says that God will judge Israel.
9Then everyone in Israel, even the leaders in Samaria,
will know that God has sent it.
Those people are proud and brag by saying,
10“These bricks have fallen,
but we will build again with cut stones.
These small trees have been chopped down,
but we will put great cedars there.”
11But the Lord has brought the enemies of Rezin against them;
he has stirred up their enemies against them.
12The Arameans came from the east
and the Philistines from the west,
and they ate up Israel with their armies.
But the Lord was still angry;
his hand was still raised to punish the people.
13But the people did not return to the one who had struck them;
they did not follow the Lord All-Powerful.
14So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
taking away both the branch and stalk in one day.
15The elders and important men were the head,
and the prophets who speak lies were the tail.
16Those who led the people led them in the wrong direction,
and those who followed them were destroyed.
17So the Lord is not happy with the young people,
nor will he show mercy to the orphans and widows.
All the people are separated from God and are very evil;
they all speak lies.
But the Lord is still angry;
his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
18Evil is like a small fire.
First, it burns weeds and thorns.
Next, it burns the larger bushes in the forest,
and they all go up in a column of smoke.
19The Lord All-Powerful is angry,
so the land will be burned.
The people are like fuel for the fire;
no one will try to save his brother or sister.
20People will grab something on the right,
but they will still be hungry.
They will eat something on the left,
but they will not be filled.
Then they will each turn and eat their own children.
21The people of Manasseh will fight against the people of Ephraim,
and Ephraim will fight against Manasseh.
Then both of them will turn against Judah.
But the Lord is still angry;
his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 9
9
Birth of the Prince of Peace
1Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.#Mt 4:15 But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
2The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;#Mt 4:16; Eph 5:8
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.#Lk 1:79
3You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.#9:3 Alt Hb tradition reads have not increased joy#Is 26:15
The people have rejoiced before you
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.#1Sm 30:16
4For you have shattered their oppressive yoke#Is 10:27; 14:25
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as you did on the day of Midian.#Jdg 7:25; Is 10:26
5For every trampling boot of battle
and the bloodied garments of war
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,#Is 7:14; 11:1–2; 53:2; Lk 2:11; Jn 3:16
and the government will be on his shoulders.#Is 22:22; Mt 28:18; 1Co 15:25
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor,#Is 28:29 Mighty God,#Dt 10:17; Neh 9:32; Is 10:21
Eternal Father,#Is 63:16; 64:8 Prince of Peace.#Is 26:3,12; 54:10; 66:12
7The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.#Ps 89:4; Dn 2:44; Lk 1:32–33
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.#Is 37:32; 59:17
The Hand Raised against Israel
8The Lord sent a message against Jacob;
it came against Israel.
9All the people —
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria#Ac 1:8 — will know it.
They will say with pride and arrogance,
10“The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11The Lord has raised up Rezin’s adversaries against him
and stirred up his enemies.
12Aram from the east and Philistia from the west
have consumed Israel with open mouths.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.#Is 5:25
13The people did not turn to him who struck them;
they did not seek the Lord of Armies.
14So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,#Is 19:15
palm branch and reed in a single day.
15The head is the elder, the honored one;#Is 3:2–3
the tail is the prophet, the one teaching lies.#Is 28:15; 59:3–4; Jr 23:14,32; Mt 24:24
16The leaders of the people mislead them,
and those they mislead are swallowed up.#9:16 Or are confused
17Therefore the Lord does not rejoice
over#9:17 DSS read not spare Israel’s young men
and has no compassion
on its fatherless and widows,
for everyone is a godless evildoer,#Is 1:4; 10:6; 14:20; 31:2; 32:6
and every mouth speaks folly.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.
18For wickedness burns like a fire#Ps 83:14; Is 1:7; Nah 1:10; Mal 4:1
that consumes thorns and briers
and kindles the forest thickets
so that they go up in a column of smoke.
19The land is scorched
by the wrath of the Lord of Armies,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.#Is 1:31; 24:6
No one has compassion on his brother.#Mc 7:2,6
20They carve meat on the right,
but they are still hungry;#Is 8:21–22
they have eaten on the left,
but they are still not satisfied.
Each one eats the flesh of his arm.#Dt 28:53–57; Is 49:26
21Manasseh eats Ephraim,
and Ephraim, Manasseh;
together, both are against Judah.#2Ch 28:6,8; Is 11:13
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.#Is 5:25
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