Isaiah 9
9
1Even so, there will be no more darkness for those who suffered. In the past he humiliated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will bring honor to Galilee of the foreigners that is on the route that leads from Jordan to the sea.
2People walking in the dark will see a bright light; a light will shine on those living in a land of total darkness. 3You will make the nation grow enormously, and will make it extremely happy.#9:3. The verbs in this section (9:2-7) are in the past tense, but are translated here in the future tense, since this is an example of the “prophetic perfect” tense in which future actions are considered so definite they are stated as if they had already happened. The people will celebrate before you as people celebrate at harvest-time, as soldiers celebrate when dividing up what has been looted. 4For you will smash the yoke that burdens them down, the bar across their shoulders, and the oppressors' rod used to beat them just as you did when you defeated the Midianite army. 5For every army boot that noisily trampled people down, and every uniform soaked in blood—they are going to be burned, fuel for the fire.
6For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us. He will bear the responsibility to rule. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7His rule and the peace he brings know no limits and will never come to an end. He will sit on David's throne and rule his kingdom, making it secure. He will operate from principles of justice and goodness, from the time he begins his rule and for all eternity. The Lord Almighty is determined to make this happen.
8The Lord has sent a message directed against Jacob, and its consequences will fall upon Israel. 9All the people will soon realize it—Ephraim and the people who live in Samaria. Proudly and arrogantly they say, 10“The brick buildings have collapsed, but we will rebuild them with dressed stone; the sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.”
11But the Lord has strengthened Rezin's enemies#9:11. Rezin's enemies would be the Assyrians. against Israel#9:11. “Israel”: supplied for clarity. and has encouraged them. 12Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have greedily swallowed Israel up. In all of this he is still angry and his hand is still raised.#9:12. Meaning that in these events God is still displaying his anger and it is not over yet. Also in verses 17 and 21.
13But the people didn't return to the one who punished them; they didn't come to worship the Lord Almighty. 14So in just a single day the Lord will chop off Israel's head and tail, palm branch and reed. 15Elders and honorable people are the head, and prophets who teach lies are the tail. 16The people's leaders have misled them; those who were guided by them are confused. 17As a result the Lord isn't pleased with their young men, he has no compassion for their orphans and widows, because all of them are hypocrites and do what's evil—they all talk stupidly. In all of this he is still angry and his hand is still raised.
18For wickedness blazes like a fire, burning up brambles and thorns, setting the forest on fire, sending a column of smoke swirling upwards. 19The anger of the Lord Almighty burns the land. People are like fuel for the fire, and nobody tries to help anyone else.
20People destroy#9:20. “Destroy”: literally, “devour.” others on the right, yet they're still hungry for more; people destroy others on the left, but they're still not satisfied. In the end they even destroy themselves!#9:20. “Destroy themselves”: literally, “devour the flesh of their own arm.” 21Manasseh destroys Ephraim, and Ephraim destroys Manasseh. Together they turn to destroy Judah. In all of this he is still angry and his hand is still raised.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 9
9
1But there won’t be any more sadness for those who were suffering. In the past the Lord brought shame on the land of Zebulun. He also brought shame on the land of Naphtali. But in days to come he will honor Galilee, where people from other nations live. He will honor the land along the Mediterranean Sea. And he will honor the territory east of the Jordan River.
2The people who are now living in darkness
will see a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
But a light will shine on them.
3 Lord, you will make our nation larger.
You will increase their joy.
They will show you how glad they are.
They will be as glad as people are at harvest time.
They will be as glad as warriors are
when they share the things they’ve taken after a battle.
4You set Israel free from Midian long ago.
In the same way, you will break
the heavy yoke that weighs Israel down.
You will break the wooden beams that are on their shoulders.
You will break the rods of those who strike them down.
5Every fighting man’s boot that he wore in battle will be burned up.
So will every piece of clothing covered with blood.
All of them will be thrown into the fire.
6A child will be born to us.
A son will be given to us.
He will rule over us.
And he will be called
Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God.
He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever
and Prince Who Brings Peace.
7There will be no limit to how great his authority is.
The peace he brings will never end.
He will rule on David’s throne
and over his kingdom.
He will make the kingdom strong and secure.
His rule will be based on what is fair and right.
It will last forever.
The Lord’s great love will make sure that happens.
He rules over all.
The Lord Is Angry With Israel
8The Lord has sent a message against Jacob’s people.
He will punish Israel.
9All the people will know about it.
Ephraim’s people and those who live in Samaria will know about it.
Their hearts are very proud.
They say,
10“The brick buildings have fallen down.
But we will rebuild them with blocks of stone.
The fig trees have been chopped down.
But we’ll plant cedar trees in place of them.”
11In spite of that, the Lord has made Rezin’s enemies stronger.
He has stirred up Assyria to fight against Israel.
12Arameans from the east
have opened their mouths and swallowed up Israel.
So have Philistines from the west.
Even then, the Lord is still angry.
His hand is still raised against them.
13But his people have not returned
to the God who struck them down.
They haven’t turned for help
to the Lord who rules over all.
14So he will cut off from Israel heads and tails alike.
In a single day he will cut off palm branches and tall grass alike.
The palm branches are the people who rule over others.
The tall grass is the people who bow down to them.
15The elders and important leaders are the heads.
The prophets who teach lies are the tails.
16Those who guide the people of Israel are leading them down the wrong path.
So those who follow them aren’t on the right road.
17The Lord will not be pleased with the young men.
He won’t take pity on widows and on children whose fathers have died.
All of them are ungodly and evil.
They say foolish things with their mouths.
Even then, the Lord is still angry.
His hand is still raised against them.
18What is evil burns like a fire.
It burns up bushes and thorns.
It sets the forest on fire.
It sends up a huge column of smoke.
19The Lord rules over all.
When he gets angry, he will burn up the land.
The people will burn in the fire.
They will not spare one another.
20People will eat up everything they can find on their right.
But they’ll still be hungry.
They will eat everything they can find on their left.
But they won’t be satisfied.
So they will eat the dead bodies of their children.
21That’s what Manasseh’s people will do to Ephraim.
And that’s what Ephraim’s people will do to Manasseh.
Together they will turn against Judah.
Even then, the Lord is still angry.
His hand is still raised against them.
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