Isa 9 | NASB1995 | STEP | But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish ; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt , but later on He shall make it glorious , by the way of the sea , on the other side of Jordan , Galilee of the Gentiles .

Isaiah 9

Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

1 ^{▼▼ Ch 8:23 in Heb}But there will be no more ^bgloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He ^ctreated the ^dland of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the ^{▼▼ Or nations}Gentiles. 2 ^{▼▼ Ch 9:1 in Heb
,} ^gThe people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3 ^hYou shall multiply the nation,
You ⁱshall ^{▼▼ Another reading is not increase}increase ^{▼▼ Lit the}their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness ^{▼▼ Lit in}of harvest,
As ^{▼▼ Lit they
,} ⁿmen rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For ^oYou shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their ^poppressor, as ^{▼▼ Lit in the day of Midian}at the battle of ^rMidian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a ^schild will be born to us, a ^tson will be given to us;
And the ^ugovernment will ^{▼▼ Lit be}rest ^won His shoulders;
And His name will be called ^xWonderful Counselor, ^yMighty God,
Eternal ^zFather, Prince of ^aaPeace.
7 There will be ^abno end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the ^acthrone of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with ^adjustice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
^aeThe zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

8 The Lord sends a ^{▼▼ Lit word}message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people know it,
That is, ^agEphraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in ^aharrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will ^airebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from ^ajRezin
And spurs their enemies on,
12 The Arameans on the east and the ^akPhilistines on the west;
And they ^aldevour Israel with ^{▼▼ Lit the whole mouth}gaping jaws.
^anIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

13 Yet the people ^aodo not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they ^apseek the Lord of hosts.
14 So the Lord cuts off ^aqhead and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush ^arin a single day.
15 The head is ^asthe elder and honorable man,
And the prophet who teaches ^atfalsehood is the tail.
16 ^auFor those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are ^{▼▼ Or swallowed up}brought to confusion.
17 Therefore the Lord does ^awnot take pleasure in their young men,
^axNor does He have pity on their ^{▼▼ Or fatherless}orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is ^azgodless and an ^baevildoer,
And every ^bbmouth is speaking foolishness.
^bcIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

18 ^bdFor wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the ^befury of the Lord of hosts the ^bfland is burned up,
And the ^bgpeople are like fuel for the fire;
No ^bhman spares his brother.
20 ^{▼▼ Lit he slices}They slice off what is on the right hand but still are ^bjhungry,
And ^{▼▼ Lit he eats}they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the ^blflesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
^bm And together they are against Judah.
^bnIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.