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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Isaiah 9: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 9
9
New Light: The Birth of a King
1#Isaiah 9:1–21 in the English Bible is 8:23–9:20 in the Hebrew Bible But there will be no gloom for those who were in distress.#Literally “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her”
In former times he#That is, Yahweh treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt, but in the future he will honor the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness.
3You have made the nation numerous;
you have not#The written text (Kethib) is “not,” but the reading tradition (Qere) is “for it” made the joy great.
They rejoice in your presence as with joy at the harvest,
as they rejoice when they divide plunder.
4For you have shattered the yoke of its burden
and the stick of its shoulder,
the rod of its oppressor, on#Hebrew “like”; the Hebrew letters for “like” and “on” look alike the day of Midian.
5For every boot that marches and shakes the earth#Literally “marching with shaking,” which might mean “marching is with shaking”
and garment rolled in blood
will#Literally “and it will” be for burning—fire fuel.
6For a child has been born for us;
a son has been given to us.
And the dominion will be on his shoulder,
and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7His dominion will grow continually,
and to peace there will be no end#Literally “There is no end to the increase of the dominion and to peace”
on#Or “for” the throne of David and over#Or “for” his kingdom,
to establish it#That is, the kingdom and sustain it
with justice and righteousness
now and forever.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.
Yahweh’s Anger against Arrogance
8The Lord has sent out a word against Jacob,
and it fell on Israel.
9And all of the people knew it,
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria
in pride and arrogance of heart, saying,
10“The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stone.
The sycamore-fig trees were felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”
11So Yahweh strengthened the adversaries of Rezin#Or “his adversaries” if a copyist added “of Rezin” in error against him,
and he provoked his enemies—
12Aram from the east
and Philistines#Hebrew “Philistine” from the west—
and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth.
He has not turned away his anger in all of this,
and his hand is still stretched out.
13And the people did not turn to the one who struck it,#That is, the people
and they did not seek Yahweh of hosts.
14So Yahweh cut off head and tail from Israel,
palm branch and reed in one day.
15Elders#Hebrew “Elder” and the respectable#Literally “one lifted up of face” are the head,
and prophets#Hebrew “prophet” who teach lies#Hebrew “lie” are the tail.
16And the leaders of this people were misleading them,
and those who were led were confused.
17Therefore the Lord did not rejoice over its young men,
and he did not have compassion on its orphans and widows,
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth was speaking folly.
In all of this his anger did not turn away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
18For wickedness burned like fire;
it consumed brier and thorn.
And it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.
19The land was burned through the wrath of Yahweh of hosts,
and the people became like fire fuel.
People had no compassion toward each other.#Literally “A man does not have compassion toward his brother”
20They devoured on the right but still were hungry
and devoured on the left but they were not satisfied.
Each one devoured the flesh of his arm,
21Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
together they were against Judah.
In all of this his anger has not turned away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
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