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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Isaiah 9: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 9
9
Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace
1But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish [for with judgment comes the promise of salvation]. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make them honored [by the presence of the Messiah], by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness
# Or have seen, Hebrew perfect tense. The perfect tense is used frequently in this passage and should probably be interpreted as the prophetic future, that is, the use of the perfect (past) tense to describe a future event as a certainty. Will see a great Light;
Those who live in the dark land,
The Light will shine on them.
3You [O God] will increase the nation,
You will multiply their joy;
They will rejoice before You
Like the joy and jubilation of the harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of victory].
4For You will break the yoke of Israel’s burden and the staff (goad) on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the #A reference to Gideon’s great victory over the Midianites (Judg 7:22-25).battle of Midian.
5For every boot of the marching warrior in the battle tumult,
And [every soldier’s] garment rolled in blood, will be used for burning, fuel for the fire.
6For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;
And the government shall be upon His shoulder,
And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,
[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From that time forward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance
8The Lord sends a word (message) against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel [the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim].
9And all the people know it,
That is, #The names “Israel” and “Ephraim” are used interchangeably to refer to the ten tribes of the northern kingdom.Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria [its capital],
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10“The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones);
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.”
11Therefore the Lord raises against Ephraim adversaries from Rezin [king of Aram]
And spurs their enemies on,
12The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;
And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
13Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts [as their most essential need].
14Therefore the Lord cuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel,
Both [the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day.
15The elderly and honorable man, he is the head;
And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16For those who lead this people are causing them to go astray;
And those who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up.
17Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows;
For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,
And every mouth is speaking foolishness.
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
18For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns,
It even sets the forest thickets ablaze;
And it swirls upward in a column of smoke.
19By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up,
And the people are like fuel for the fire;
No man spares his brother.
20They slice off [in discord] what is on the right hand but are still hungry,
And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
Each eats the flesh of his own arm.
21[The tribe of] Manasseh devours [the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David).
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
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