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!
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 9: NABRE
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 9
9
1 #
Mt 4.15
There will be no way for them to escape from this time of trouble.
The Future King
The land of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali was once disgraced, but the future will bring honour to this region, from the Mediterranean eastwards to the land on the other side of the Jordan, and even to Galilee itself, where the foreigners live.
2 #
Mt 4.16; Lk 1.79 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
They lived in a land of shadows,
but now light is shining on them.
3You have given them great joy,#9.3 Probable text You have given them great joy; Hebrew You have increased the nation. LORD;
you have made them happy.
They rejoice in what you have done,
as people rejoice when they harvest their corn
or when they divide captured wealth.
4For you have broken the yoke that burdened them
and the rod that beat their shoulders.
You have defeated the nation
that oppressed and exploited your people,
just as you defeated the army of Midian long ago.
5The boots of the invading army
and all their bloodstained clothing
will be destroyed by fire.
6A child is born to us!
A son is given to us!
And he will be our ruler.
He will be called, “Wonderful#9.6 Wonderful; or Wise. Counsellor”,
“Mighty God”, “Eternal Father”,
“Prince of Peace”.
7 #
Lk 1.32–33
His royal power will continue to grow;
his kingdom will always be at peace.
He will rule as King David's successor,
basing his power on right and justice,
from now until the end of time.
The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this.
The LORD will Punish Israel
8The Lord has pronounced judgement on the kingdom of Israel, on the descendants of Jacob. 9All the people of Israel, everyone who lives in the city of Samaria, will know that he has done this. Now they are proud and arrogant. They say, 10“The brick buildings have fallen down, but we will replace them with stone buildings. The beams of sycomore wood have been cut down, but we will replace them with the finest cedar.”
11The LORD has stirred up their enemies#9.11 Probable text their enemies; Hebrew the enemies of Rezin. to attack them. 12Syria on the east and Philistia on the west have opened their mouths to devour Israel. Yet even so the LORD's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.
13The people of Israel have not repented; even though the LORD Almighty has punished them, they have not returned to him. 14In a single day the LORD will punish Israel's leaders and its people; he will cut them off, head and tail. 15The old and honourable men are the head — and the tail is the prophets whose teachings are lies! 16Those who lead these people have misled them and totally confused them. 17And so the Lord will not let any of the young men escape, and he will not show pity to any of the widows and orphans, because all the people are godless and wicked and everything they say is evil. Yet even so the LORD's anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.
18The wickedness of the people burns like a fire that destroys thorn bushes and thistles. It burns like a forest fire that sends up columns of smoke. 19Because the LORD Almighty is angry, his punishment burns like a fire throughout the land and destroys the people, and it is everyone for himself. 20Everywhere in the country people snatch and eat any bit of food they can find, but their hunger is never satisfied. They even eat their own children! 21The people of Manasseh and the people of Ephraim attack each other, and together they attack Judah. Yet even so the LORD's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.