Isaiah 9
9
IX
1But yet there shall not always be darkness to that land wherein is now distress:
As in the former time be made no account of
The land of Zabulon and the land of Naphtali;
So in the latter time he hath exalted
The way of the sea beyond Jordan, the Galilee of the nations.
2The people that walked in darkness,
Have seen a great light;
They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them hath the light shined.
3Thou hast multiplied the nation,
Thou hast increased their joy:
They joy before thee as with the joy of harvest;
As they rejoice, who divide the spoil.
4For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor, hast thou broken, as in the day of Midian.
5For every greave of the warrior accoutred for battle,
And the garment rolled in blood,
Shall be for burning, as fuel for the fire.
6For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given;
And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
Mighty God, Father of eternity, Prince of peace.
7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom;
To establish it, and to support it,
With judgment and with justice, henceforth and for ever:
The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will do this.
8The Lord hath sent a word unto Jacob;
And it hath lighted upon Israel:
9And all the people shall know,
Even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria;
Who in the pride and arrogancy of heart do say:
10The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stone;
The sycamores are cut down, but we will substitute cedars.
11Therefore shall Jehovah set up the adversaries of Rezin against him,
And shall arm his enemies;
12Syria from before, and the Philistines from behind;
And they shall devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger is not turned away;
But his hand is still stretched out.
13For the people have not turned unto him who smote them;
And Jehovah of hosts have they not sought.
14Therefore shall Jehovah cut off from Israel head and tail;
Branch and rush in one day.
15The aged and honourable, they are the head;
And the prophet that teacheth falsehood, he is the tail.
16For the leaders of this people lead them astray,
And they that are led by them shall be devoured.
17Wherefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men,
Neither on their orphans, and on their widows, shall
he have compassion.
For every one of them is ungodly and an evil-doer:
And every mouth speaketh folly.
For all this his anger is not turned away;
But his hand is still stretched out.
18For wickedness burneth like a fire;
Brier and thorn it shall consume:
And it setteth on fire the thickets of the forest,
And they shall mount up in volumes of rising smoke.
19Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land darkened;
And the people are as the fuel of the fire;
No man spareth his brother:
20For he snatcheth on the right hand, yet is be hungry;
And devoureth on the left, yet is he not satisfied;
Each man devoureth the flesh of his own arm:
21Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
And they both are united together against Judah.
For all this his anger is not turned away;
But his hand is still stretched out.
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Isaiah 9: TEG
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 9
9
1The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
a light has shone.#Mt 4:15–16.
2You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
as they exult when dividing the spoils.
3For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
The rod of their taskmaster,
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.#Day of Midian: when God used the judge Gideon to deliver these northern territories from Midianite oppression (Jgs 6–7). #Is 10:26; Jgs 7:22–25.
4For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for fire.#Ps 46:10.
5For a child#A child: perhaps to be identified with the Emmanuel of 7:14 and 8:8; cf. 11:1–2, 9. This verse may reflect a coronation rather than a birth. Upon his shoulder: the reference may be to a particular act in the ritual in which a symbol of the king’s authority was placed on his shoulder (cf. 2 Kgs 11:12; Is 22:22). is born to us, a son is given to us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,#Is 10:21.
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
6His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
both now and forever.#Jer 23:5; Lk 1:32–33.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!
Judgment on the Northern Kingdom#9:7–20 + 5:25–30] These verses describe a series of judgments God sent against the Northern Kingdom of Israel because of its sins. Despite the judgments, however, Israel continued to rebel, and God’s anger remained unabated, as the recurring refrain emphasizes (9:11, 16, 20). The refrain ties Is 9:7–20 together as a unit, but 9:20 is far too abrupt to be the original conclusion to the oracle. With its series of past judgments and repeated refrain, the oracle resembles Am 4:6–12; by analogy with that model one expects a conclusion in which the prophet turns from the narration of past judgments to the announcement of a future judgment. Is 5:25–30 fits the pattern found in 9:7–20 and provides a suitable and possibly original conclusion for the whole oracle.
7The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it falls upon Israel;
8And all the people know it—
Ephraim and those who dwell in Samaria—
those who say in arrogance and pride of heart,
9“Bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stone;
Sycamores have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”#Mal 1:4.
10So the Lord raises up their foes against them
and stirs up their enemies to action—
11Aram#Aram: the Syrian kingdom, with its capital at Damascus. from the east and the Philistines from the west—
they devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
and his hand is still outstretched!
12The people do not turn back to the one who struck them,
nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
13So the Lord cuts off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day.#Is 19:15; Dt 28:13, 44.
14(The elder and the noble are the head,
the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.)#Is 28:7.
15Those who lead this people lead them astray,
and those who are led are swallowed up.#Is 3:12.
16That is why the Lord does not spare their young men,
and their orphans and widows he does not pity;
For they are totally impious and wicked,
and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
17For wickedness burns like fire,
devouring brier and thorn;
It kindles the forest thickets,
which go up in columns of smoke.#Is 5:24; 33:11–12.
18At the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land quakes,
and the people are like fuel for fire;
no one spares his brother.#Is 3:5.
19They hack on the right, but remain hungry;
they devour on the left, but are not filled.
Each devours the flesh of the neighbor;
20Manasseh devours Ephraim,#Manasseh…Ephraim: two of the leading tribes of the Northern Kingdom. The reference is to the civil wars that marked the final decades of the Northern Kingdom (2 Kgs 15:10, 14–16, 25; cf. Hos 7:3–7). and Ephraim Manasseh,
together they turn on Judah.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
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