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Isaiah 9
International Standard Version
Isaiah 9
International Standard Version
The Prince of Peace
9 [a]But there will be no gloom for her who was[b] in distress. Formerly, he brought contempt to the region of Zebulun and the region of Naphtali, but in the future[c] he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan—Galilee of the nations.[d]
2 [e]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
for those living in a land of deep darkness,
a light has shined upon them.
3 You have increased the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as they rejoice at the harvest,
as they are glad
when they’re dividing the spoils of war.[f]
4 Now as to the yoke that has been[g] his burden,
and the bar laid[h] on his shoulder—
the rod of his oppressor—
you have broken it[i] as on the day of Midiam.[j]
5 For every boot of the tramping soldier in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be used for burning as fuel for a fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulder,
and his name is[k] called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the growth of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will rule[l] over his kingdom,
sitting on the throne of David,
to establish it and to uphold it[m]
with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
A Rebuke to Jacob and Israel
8 “The Lord[n] has sent a plague[o] against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all of the people were evil[p]—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
saying proudly with arrogant hearts:
10 ‘The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed[q] stones;
the sycamore[r] trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.’[s]
11 But the Lord has raised adversaries[t] from Rezin[u] against him,
and he stirs up his enemies—
12 Arameans from the east
and Philistines from the west—
and they devour Israel with open mouths!
“Yet[v] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[w]
Judgment for Not Repenting
13 “But the people have not returned to rely[x] on[y] him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
14 So the Lord has cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed
in[z] a single day—
15 the elder and the dignitary is the head,
and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not have pity on[aa] their young men,
and has no compassion on their orphans[ab] and widows,
because each of them was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
“Yet[ac] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.[ad]
18 “For wickedness has burned like a blaze
that consumes briers and thorns;
it sets thickets of the forest on fire,
and skyward[ae] they swirl
in a column of smoke.
19 From[af] the wrath of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
the land has been scorched,
and the people have become like fuel for the fire;
no one will spare his neighbor.
20 They cut meat on the right,
but they’re still hungry,
and they devour also[ag] on the left,
but they’re not satisfied;
each devours the flesh of his own children.[ah]
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim,
and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are against Judah.
“Yet[ai] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[aj]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 This v. is 8:23 in the MT
- Isaiah 9:1 So DSS; MT reads those who were
- Isaiah 9:1 So DSS; MT reads the latter time
- Isaiah 9:1 Or gentiles
- Isaiah 9:2 This v. is 9:1 in the MT
- Isaiah 9:3 1QIsaa MT lack of war
- Isaiah 9:4 Lit. yoke of
- Isaiah 9:4 DSS The Heb. lacks laid
- Isaiah 9:4 1QIsaa MT lack it
- Isaiah 9:4 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Midian; cf. Judg 7:8-25 2King 15:19; 16:8
- Isaiah 9:6 So 1QIsaa; MT 4QIsac read name will be
- Isaiah 9:7 DSS MT lack He will rule
- Isaiah 9:7 So 1QIsaa, referring to the throne; MT reads it, referring to the kingdom
- Isaiah 9:8 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Lord
- Isaiah 9:8 So LXX; MT reads word; 1QIsaa can mean plague or word.
- Isaiah 9:9 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read knew
- Isaiah 9:10 Or quarried
- Isaiah 9:10 The sycamore fruit tree native to Israel bears figs
- Isaiah 9:10 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae
- Isaiah 9:11 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; other MT mss. read princes
- Isaiah 9:11 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks from Rezin
- Isaiah 9:12 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; the Heb. lacks Yet
- Isaiah 9:12 DSS MT lack ready to strike
- Isaiah 9:13 1QIsaa MT LXX lack to rely
- Isaiah 9:13 So 1QIsaa; MT reads toward; LXX reads until
- Isaiah 9:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; the The Heb. lacks in
- Isaiah 9:17 So 1QIsaa;MT LXX read rejoice over
- Isaiah 9:17 Or fatherless
- Isaiah 9:17 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; the Heb. lacks Yet
- Isaiah 9:17 DSS MT lack ready to strike
- Isaiah 9:18 Lit. upward
- Isaiah 9:19 So 1QIsaa; MT reads By
- Isaiah 9:20 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lacks also
- Isaiah 9:20 So 4QIsae; or arms; 1QIsaa MT read offspring or arm; LXX reads arm
- Isaiah 9:21 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack Yet
- Isaiah 9:21 DSS MT lack ready to strike
Isaiah 9
New International Version
Isaiah 9
New International Version
9 [a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom(A) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,(B) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness(C)
have seen a great light;(D)
on those living in the land of deep darkness(E)
a light has dawned.(F)
3 You have enlarged the nation(G)
and increased their joy;(H)
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.(I)
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,(J)
you have shattered(K)
the yoke(L) that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,(M)
the rod of their oppressor.(N)
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,(O)
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,(P)
to us a son is given,(Q)
and the government(R) will be on his shoulders.(S)
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,(T) Mighty God,(U)
Everlasting(V) Father,(W) Prince of Peace.(X)
7 Of the greatness of his government(Y) and peace(Z)
there will be no end.(AA)
He will reign(AB) on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice(AC) and righteousness(AD)
from that time on and forever.(AE)
The zeal(AF) of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
8 The Lord has sent a message(AG) against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim(AH) and the inhabitants of Samaria(AI)—
who say with pride
and arrogance(AJ) of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;(AK)
the fig(AL) trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.(AM)”
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s(AN) foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans(AO) from the east and Philistines(AP) from the west
have devoured(AQ) Israel with open mouth.
13 But the people have not returned(AT) to him who struck(AU) them,
nor have they sought(AV) the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed(AW) in a single day;(AX)
15 the elders(AY) and dignitaries(AZ) are the head,
the prophets(BA) who teach lies(BB) are the tail.
16 Those who guide(BC) this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.(BD)
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,(BE)
nor will he pity(BF) the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly(BG) and wicked,(BH)
every mouth speaks folly.(BI)
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.(BJ)
18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;(BK)
it consumes briers and thorns,(BL)
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,(BM)
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath(BN) of the Lord Almighty
the land will be scorched(BO)
and the people will be fuel for the fire;(BP)
they will not spare one another.(BQ)
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;(BR)
on the left they will eat,(BS)
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[b]:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;(BT)
together they will turn against Judah.(BU)
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.(BV)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.
- Isaiah 9:20 Or arm
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